‘Commuter Idle’ – Bike to work day in GREAT style in Washington DC

One of Washington’s favorite radio stations, WTOP, has been running a competition for the past few called ‘Commuter idle’ (you’ll note the spelling). If Simon Cowell is reading this then it may hit a TV screen near you soon! The competition is aimed at finding the person with the worst commute and awards a prize of a limo ride to work and a $1000 towards their gas. One of the finalists spends 6 hours driving to and from work every day and wants to ride the limo whilst reading a book and gazing out at her poor fellow drivers.

So ‘Bike to Work’ day, which took place on Friday 18 May, is a fabulous idea here in DC. Washington has over 10,000 regular cycling commuters which, to my way of thinking, and being generous to those sharing, means at least 5,000 fewer cars on the roads. Actually, well in excess of 11,000 people had registered by the start of the week and they had to stop giving out free t-shirts.

A few interesting facts: the City laid on 58 pit stops with food and drink for cyclists; they organized commuter convoys led by experienced riders; and set up a forum where you could register to find a ‘Ride Buddy’. And they estimated that you can save about $9,000 p.a. if you sell your car and bike instead. In a city with good transport links that is a distinct possibility.

We at the Embassy embraced it with GREAT enthusiasm. Sporting our own t-shirts our group travelled a combined 71 miles each way, which, if we’d all driven in, would have generated about two tons of CO2. Not a bad days work!