October 2022 Way 2 GO MAINE

FIRST: WHAT THE WAY 2 GO MAINE COMMUTER CHALLENGE IS ALL ABOUT

GO MAINE is pleased to bring you the second Way 2 GO MAINE Challenge of 2022!  Running the month of October, this friendly competition between individuals and organizations across the state encourages everyone to walk, bike, carpool or vanpool, take the bus, ferry, or train, or commute from home.  This fun, free event:

  • Builds morale & teamwork
  • Improves health & social connection
  • Engages & rewards employees for commuting another way
  • Shows workplace citizenship & connection with local communities

THE FUN: 2022 LEADERBOARD, RACES & PRIZE QUESTIONS

TEAM SPIRIT RACE

Calling all organizations! Lead your employee team to greatness as the folks who post-the-most from October 1-31. Show us how great green commuting can be with your photos, videos and stories – plus #Way2GOMAINE – on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Remember: working from home, walking, bicycling, taking the bus or train, carpooling and vanpooling all count as green commutes!

  • GO MAINE staff determines “Team spirit” through review of social media postings from October 1-31 with #Way2GOMAINE – and other promotional efforts  by each organization – using a points system for number and quality of postings.
  • Results for the Most Team Spirit race aretallied at the end of the challenge.
  • The winning organization receives a Way 2 GO MAINE Award and Way 2 GO MAINE social media shout out.
  • Remember to tag all your posts with #Way2GOMAINE! (Note: If you’re not on social media, just ask a friend, family member or co-worker to post for you – or email GO MAINE and we can.)

$50 GIFT CARD WINNERS EVERY WEEK

Each week in October we’ll reward a different kind of green commute. Any GO MAINE member logging that week’s trip type will automatically be entered to win a $50 gift card.  A new winner will be chosen every week!

  • Week 1: CARPOOL & VANPOOL week – October 1-7 — Carpool with your spouse, your partner, friend, co-worker, fellow GO MAINE member and/or working age kids. Share your Carpool pics!
  • Week 2: TRANSIT – October 8-14 — It’s transit week! Whether you take the bus, ferry, or train, all transit trips count towards this week’s prize.
  • Week 3: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION (WALKING, BIKING, ROLLING, SCOOTER) – October 15-21 —Try getting to work the human powered way, or incorporating it into part of your commute.
  • Week 4: ALL GREEN TRIPS – October 22-31 — Everything counts this week!  Take any form of green transportation or work from home to celebrate the end of the October Way 2 GO MAINE challenge! Plus if you email your completed Telework Bingo Card to rides@gomaine.org you will receive additional entries for this week’s raffle.
  • NOTE: Weekly winners will be selected and notified via email. Winners have 24 hours to respond and accept their prize, after which time a new winner will be selected. All winners agree to allow GO MAINE to use their photo and likeness (name, hometown, and organization) for promotional purposes only.

NEW GO MAINE MEMBERS CAN WIN $100, TOO.

Commuting green? Earn points to win perks year-round as a GO MAINE member, which is always free. Plus, if you sign up during Way 2 GO MAINE 2022 (October 1 – October 31, 2022) you have a chance to win $100! Working from home qualifies, too. Check it out!

  • New members are those who signed up to join the free statewide GO MAINE program during the period of October 1, 2022 through October 31, 2022. Winner will be selected on November 1, 2022.

GRAND PRIZES! ALL MEMBERS LOGGING TRIPS HAVE A SHOT AT WINNING

Log your green trips and be entered to win one of the following prizes:

  • Maine State Park Vehicle Pass
  • $200 gift card

WHAT QUALIFIES AS A GREEN COMMUTE FOR THE WAY 2 GO MAINE CHALLENGE

  • Walking, bicycling, taking the bus, ferry, or train, carpooling or vanpooling and working or connecting from home (telecommuting) are the green commute options we accept.
  • Driving Part Way (yes!): If you have driven part way to work and then walked/biked/bused/ferried/trained/carpooled from there, that definitely counts!
  • Carpooling with Another Adult/Driver from Your Household (yes!): If someone carpooled with another adult and/or driver (e.g. a teen driver) who is also a member of their household, that also definitely counts. One less car on the road!
  • Carpooling or Vanpooling with friends, co-workers, or other GO MAINE members
  • Rollerblading & Skateboarding (yes!): If co-workers use an alternate commuting mode like skateboarding or rollerblading to work – they can log their commute under either walk or bike. Whichever they prefer!
  • Working or Connecting from Home (Telecommuting): Yes this counts!
  • Commuting Outside Maine (check these details to see): the Challenge is open to all folks who are commuting to and/or from the State of Maine. So if you live in New Hampshire but work in Maine that works! Likewise if you live in Maine and work in New Hampshire, that works too!
  • Driving an Electric Vehicle or Very Low Emission Vehicle Such as a Scooter or Motorcycle (sorry, no): Electric passenger vehicles and ultra-low emission vehicles do help with improved air quality and reduce natural resource extraction.  However, driving alone in an electric vehicle, scooter, or motorcycle still adds to things like traffic congestion, wear and tear on road infrastructure, the demand for more road widening/expansion, and the need for parking  GO MAINE works overall to support a decrease in drive-alone trips in Maine, through walking, bicycling, carpooling and vanpooling, taking the bus, ferry, or train, and telecommuting.
  • Note about Logging Trips on Holidays: The GO MAINE trip recording system is set up automatically not to record reoccurring trips if they fall on common U.S. holidays, with the assumption that most people will not be working those days. However, many of us do work holidays, so the system has a way to handle that. To remove a holiday or add a day off to your calendar, simply Sign In, go to Trips>Trip Calendar, select the holiday date you would like to make sure you get credit for commuting and choose Remove Holiday.  Similarly You can also do the opposite for holidays or days off that are not on the calendar but that you have observed. Just Sign In, go to Trips>Trip Calendar, select the date you took off from your regular commute and choose: Mark as Day Off or Observe Holiday.

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS/CONCERNS

  • Syncing with Strava: For those syncing their Strava data to track their trips: if not all commutes are showing up it may be because the start and end of your trip is fairly close to the same location (by Strava’s standards, not ours!) To make sure your commutes count, you can manually start and end your commute trips in your Strava app.