The Rapid is launching a three-month effort through its rideshare site www.wmrideshare.org to encourage residents of Kent, Ottawa, and Allegan counties (The Rapid's ridesharing area) to track commuting behaviors. The promotion will run from July 1 - September 30, 2012. Ecology & Environment, Inc. (E&E), the developer of the GreenRide software that powers The Rapid's car and vanpool matching on-line tool, is providing all of the prizes and some assistance with program promotion and administration. The prizes will be given away through daily, weekly and monthly raffles, ranging in value from $10 - $500. To be eligible to win, participants must log into GreenRide to report on their commuting habits.
"We are very excited to be able to partner with The Rapid to support a program which rewards area residents for trying a green commute," said Mary Ann Ferris-Young, GreenRide Program Specialist with Ecology & Environment, Inc.
The Rapid is working with area business partners to promote this program and as of today Amway, American Seating, Dematic, Farmers Insurance, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition, Haworth, Metro Health, and Perrigo have signed up to promote the program and encourage employee participation. Employers also have the option of providing additional incentives to those within their organizations.
The Rapid and E&E will announce winners on www.therapid.greenride.com and through The Rapid's Facebook page. To register, participants must visit the www.wmrideshare.org website and click on the link for the carpool program to develop a profile to use to track their commute behavior and then sign up for the incentives on their "mypage." Those who already have a profile on GreenRide can sign up directly for their incentives on their "mypage."