Cars driving on a road next to a bike path with cyclists riding along it
Greater Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

Smart Trips Challenge

The RoundTrip Smart Trips Challenge takes place every September! 

This month-long challenge is a fun, free way to encourage people who live and work in Dane County to swap solo car trips for biking, taking the bus, walking or rolling, carpooling, and other sustainable transportation options whenever they can. It's also a chance to celebrate the people who are already making these ways of getting around part of their everyday routine!

Get Ready for the 2026 Smart Trips Challenge!

The 2026 Smart Trips Challenge kicks off Tuesday, September 1, and runs all month long through September 30. We're hoping to make this our biggest challenge yet!

How to Join🏆

Anyone 18 or older can join the Smart Trips Challenge by creating a free RoundTrip account! 

Then, anytime from September 1–30, log your eligible trips in RoundTrip's CommuteHub platform for chances to win weekly and grand prizes.

Register with RoundTrip

What trips count? We love walking and biking for fun and fitness, too! For this challenge, eligible trips are ones that replace a solo drive—helping you save money and reduce local air pollution.

Smart Trips Challenge 2026 logo with icons of a pedestrian, person in a wheelchair, bus, bicyclist, person on a scooter, carpool, and vanpool.

2025 Smart Trips Challenge

Our Collective Impact

  • 336 participants
  • 9,296 bus, bike, walk/roll, and carpool trips
  • 48,000+ miles traveled
  • $11,700+ saved on gas and car maintenance
  • 17.7 tons of CO2 emissions avoided

    —the same as taking four gas-powered cars off the road for an entire year! 

  • 1,200,000 calories burned
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