"Going Green" in West Michigan

Since July 1, 2012, The Rapid has been running a “Go for Green” promotion to encourage West Michigan residents to choose green commutes. The results in just over two months have been impressive:

• The Rapid’s GreenRide users have increased by ~24%;
• Twelve large companies in West Michigan, faith-based organizations, and the Grand Rapids Public School among others have signed on to the program; and
• More than 5,000 trips including carpool, vanpool, bus, bike, and walking have been logged, taking the equivalent of over 2,900 single occupant cars off the road, which means faster commutes, lower tailpipe emissions and fewer community dollars spent on gas and vehicle maintenance.

To help reward local residents for their green actions, The Rapid’s partner, Ecology & Environment, Inc., (E&E) has given away over $2,200 in raffle prizes for green commutes.  Karl F., an employee of a local company and “Go for Green” supporter recently won a $500 gift card. “I plan to use my Go for Green winnings to buy an iPod, a Keurig coffee maker and scuba diving gear,” he said.  “It was really easy to register and participate in the promotion.”   Additionally, The Rapid and E&E will be giving an iPad to the winner for August later this week.

The promotion continues through September 30, 2012, so there’s still time to sign up for a chance to win up to $500 in raffle prizes at the Go for Green webpage at http://therapid.greenride.com.  Participants can register for daily, weekly and monthly raffles and log their green commutes.  So far, daily winners have won Amazon gift cards valued at $25, weekly winners won gift cards between $50 and $100, and the monthly winner for July received a $500 gift card and the August winner an iPad. Feedback from “Go for Green” participants has been very positive: For example Adam King said “That worked... thank you for all your help. Making a healthy lifestyle choice was my goal this summer, and this makes a pleasant reward.” And Steve Ramus said “The raffles are definitely motivating me and my carpool friend to log our commutes every day. I even found myself getting up 30 minutes earlier last week to carpool. In the past when my carpool friend needed to go in early, I'd have just driven separately.”

If you are an individual, sign up and join the promotion at http://therapid.greenride.com. If you are a local employer and would like to learn more about how your employees and members can participate, please contact The Rapid and Ecology & Environment, Inc. at the numbers below.

Michael Bulthuis, The Rapid, 616-774-1188

Mary Ann Ferris-Young, Ecology & Environment, Inc., 616-855-0571