Commuter Challenge

2024 Commuter Challenge Information

Prizes

Team Prizes

The workplace team in each size category with the highest percentage of participating employees will win a catered lunch party. When more co-workers get involved in taking alternative transportation during the challenge, the better your chances at winning the team prize! More information on team prize eligibility can be found in the Rules section.

Individual Prizes

Participants can become eligible for random drawings for gift cards to local businesses both before, during, and after the Commuter Challenge by recording their trips on CommuteAndWin.org. Prizes include:

• Early Start Contest: Log trips taken before the challenge begins on May 1 to be entered for a chance to win a $50 gift card to The M Den or Dear Golden.
• Bus Week: Log a transit trip between May 5-11 to be entered to win one of two $10 gift cards for The Dawn Treader Book Shop. 
• Bike Week: Log a bike trip between May 12-18 to be entered to win one of two $10 gift cards for New York Pizza Depot.
• Walk Week: Log a walking or active rolling trip between May 19-25 to be entered to win one of two $10 gift cards for Amer’s Deli. 
• Carpool Week: Log a carpool or vanpool trip between May 26-31 to be entered to win a $20 gift card for Frita Batidos.
• Teleworking: Log a telework trip anytime between May 1-31 to be entered to win one of two $10 gift cards for Vault of Midnight.
• A2Zero: We’re celebrating the anniversary of the City of Ann Arbor's A2Zero plan. Log a commute trip between June 1-15 to be entered for a chance to win one of two $20 gift cards to Red Hawk Bar & Grill.

All challenge participants who log at least one trip by walking, biking, active rolling, bus, carpool, or vanpool between May 1 – 31 are eligible for a coupon for one free scoop from Washtenaw Dairy. Waffle cones are not included; patrons can purchase waffle cones at their own expense. 

Social Media Challenges:

Win prizes during the Commuter Challenge by sharing your sustainable commute with your community and the getDowntown Program on Facebook and Instagram. Remember to tag the getDowntown program and use hashtag #MyA2Commute so we can see your posts. More information on social media prize eligibility can be found in the Rules section.

• May 1-4: Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram with a photo with the Commuter Challenge Zoom/Teams background for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Vault of Midnight.
• May 5-11: Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram with a photo outside of a bus or stop on the new route 104: Washtenaw Express for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Cherry Republic.
• May 12-18: Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram with a photo from your bike commute for a chance to win a $10 gift card to The Dawn Treader Book Shop.
• May 19-25: Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram when you post a photo of a scenic sunrise or urban art from your walk for a chance to win a $15 gift card to Everyday Wines.
• May 26-31: Gather your carpool buddies for a photo and tag getDowntown when posting it to social media for a chance to win a treat you can share with your fellow riders.

Rules

To be eligible for team prizes: 

• Workplace teams must submit their total number of employees to getDowntown, not just those signing up to be eligible. Information submitted when creating teams on www.CommuteAndWin.org will be reviewed and confirmed for accuracy. Co-workers participate together to see if they can get the highest percentage of employees to try an alternative commute. 
• If you get the most participation in your size category, participants from your organization will win a celebration at your worksite.
• In the case of a tie, the category winner will be determined to be the workplace team with the higher average distance logged per participant. 
• Eligible workplaces must have addresses in the city of Ann Arbor, city of Ypsilanti or Ypsilanti township. Teams from Ann Arbor DDA, AAATA and City of Ann Arbor are not eligible to win team prizes 
• Qualifying trips must be logged by June 5, 2024 to be counted toward this contest.

Organization size categories:

• 2-20 employees
• 21-49 employees
• 50-100 employees
• 101+ employees

 

Social Media Challenges:

For social media contests, posts must tag @getDowntown on Instagram or Facebook, and be visible to getDowntown’s page managers during the period of the contest to be entered to win. You may also send your submission to information@getdowntown.org within the same timeframe to meet the qualifications. Winners will be chosen at random from those who meet qualifications at the time of the drawing. 

FAQs & Tech Help

Why does this program exist? 

The goal of the Commuter Challenge is to help community members become more inclined to commute via walking, biking, carpooling, vanpooling, and taking the bus in May and after the competition.

What are the dates of the event? 

Commute trips taken May 1 - 31, 2024 count towards the challenge.  

Am I eligible to participate? 

This challenge is for people who work in the greater Ann Arbor area. See Rules section of this website for additional details. 

Can I participate by myself? 

Yes. We encourage co-workers  to join the challenge together and try get as many employees as possible trying an alternative way of commuting at least one day this May. If you are the only person from your workplace who signs up, you could still win individual prizes. Additional tools to help you recruit your co-workers can be found under Marketing Materials on this page.

How do I register? 

You can register at commuteandwin.org. See our video tutorial for step-by-step instructions.

How do I create a team?

See our video tutorial for team leaders with step-by-step instructions on how to create a team, add and remove team members, and message team members.

How do I earn points? 

You earn points by logging travel for work trips. You receive points for trips logged by walking, bus, bike, carpool, vanpool, active rolling, teleworking, scootering, skateboarding and rollerblading. The platform will allow you to log personal trips you may take, like going to the grocery store, but those trips won’t count towards the challenge. Only logged trips for work will count toward the challenge. Start our video tutorial at 2:15 for details on how to log trips.  

What counts as a trip that I can earn points from? 

You receive 2 points per commute trip logged by walking, bus, bike, carpool, vanpool, active rolling, teleworking, scootering, skateboarding and rollerblading. The platform will allow you to log personal trips you may take, like going to the grocery store, but those trips won’t count towards the challenge.

How many points can I earn in a day? 

You can earn up to 4 points per day in this challenge; each commute trip logged by walking, bus, bike, carpool, vanpool, active rolling, teleworking, scootering, skateboarding, or rollerblading is worth two points. 

Where can I find all the activities happening during the challenge?

The Commuter Challenge Calendar drop-down below is a good resource for activities related to the Commuter Challenge.

Where can I find resources to help me with alternative commuting?

Many resources for bike, bus, rideshare and walking can be found on getdowntown.org/commuter-resources. Additional tools to help you recruit your co-workers can be found under Marketing Materials on this page.

Why do I have to log the starting and ending location of my trips?

Logging where your trips started and ends helps calculate the greenhouse gasses that could be saved from your trip. The getDowntown program measures and reports the collective miles travelled and the estimated impact on greenhouse gas emissions of those participating in the challenge.  

Do I have to input the time my trips start?

When logging trips manually, you can input any start or end time to save time. If you are using Live Track to automatically record trips when detected, it is important to put in actual times and locations for the automation to detect your trips. The getDowntown program does not use information on travel times for reporting purposes.

What are the prizes? 

See the Prizes section of this page for detailed information about prizes. getDowntown will provide prizes at levels that fall within the IRS safe harbor for de minimis limits.  

How are the winners chosen? 

See the Rules section of this page for detailed information about how prizes are distributed.  

What should I do if I’m experiencing a glitch with the website or app?

Please don’t be shy about pointing out a bug you are experiencing! We might not know about the issue so explaining what you are experiencing to us will help get it fixed. Contact the getDowntown Program at information@getdowntown.org

What should I do if I have questions that aren’t answered in the FAQ or tutorial video?

Contact the getDowntown Program at information@getdowntown.org. We want you have to a great experience so get in touch!

Marketing Toolkit

We are happy to share materials to help encourage participation in the Commuter Challenge. Materials for the 2024 challenge are linked below. For hard copies of materials, contact the program by phone or email.  

• Join the challenge flyer (PDF)
• Tutorial on how to sign up and log trips on desktop (video)
• Tutorial for team leaders on how to create and manage teams (video)
• Virtual background (for Zoom or Teams)
• Tips for organizational social media accounts to engage in the Commuter Challenge

Resources for bike, bus, rideshare and walking can be found on getdowntown.org/commuter-resources. 

May is also National Bike Month. Find information and resources regarding biking here and a local Bike Month calendar here. 

 

Commuter Challenge Calendar

The Commuter Challenge 2024 isn't just about logging commutes! Check out these fun events and social media challenges:

May 1-4: Telework/TDM Awareness Week

• May 3: First Friday in Ypsilanti
• Social Media Challenge: Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram with a photo with the Commuter Challenge Zoom/Teams background for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Vault of Midnight! 

May 5-11: Bus Week

• May 8: Bike & Roll to School
• Social Media Challenge: Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram with a photo outside of a bus or stop on the new route 104: Washtenaw Express for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Cherry Republic! 

May 12-18: Bike Week

• May 15: Ann Arbor Bike to Wherever Day – The City of Ann Arbor and its partners will be hosting Bike to Wherever Day on May 15, 2024, from 7-9:30am. 
• May 17: National Bike to Work Day
• Social Media Challenge: Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram with a photo from your bike for a chance to win a $10 gift card to The Dawn Treader Book Shop! 

May 19-25: Walk Week

• May 25: Bicentennial Bike-a-Palooza
• May 25: Ann Arbor’s 200th Birthday
• Social Media Challenge: What is the scenery like on your walking route? Walks to the bus stop and walks to the carpool meet up count too! Tag getDowntown on Facebook or Instagram when you post a photo of a scenic sunrise or urban art from your walk for a chance to win a $15 gift card to Everyday Wines! 

May 26-31: Carpool/Vanpool Week

• May 27: Memorial Day
• Social Media Challenge: Gather your carpool buddies for a photo and tag getDowntown when posting it on Facebook or Instagram for a chance to win a treat you can share with your fellow riders! 

Post-Challenge

• June 15: Find us at the Annex during the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. 

Stay tuned for a full calendar of Commuter Challenge 2024 events!