Community Transportation Challenge Rewards Sustainable Trips this September

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Back-to-school season marks a fresh start and the perfect time to start building new habits—that’s why RoundTrip, a public program in Dane County, is inviting community members to join the Smart Trips Challenge and rethink how they get around this September.

From Sept. 1–30, participants are encouraged to replace as many drive-alone trips as they can with biking, busing, carpooling, and walking/rolling. Participants can then log their trips in the RoundTrip website to enter weekly and grand prize drawings for gift cards and prizes donated by Metro Transit, Madison Bikes, and local businesses, including Metcalfe’s Market, TREK Madison East, Machinery Row Bicycles, Monk’s Bar & Grill, and Buck & Honey’s. The first 50 to log a trip will also receive a $10 Ian’s Pizza gift card.

The Smart Trips Challenge aims to inspire more Dane County residents to swap solo drives for greener options, and to reward those who drive less year-round—whether for work, school, errands, or entertainment. The challenge is free and open to everyone 18+ in Dane County.

Challenges are a fun way to show our collective impact through small changes to our daily routines. 

Think about drive-alone trips you could swap for a greener mode, whether it’s riding the bus to work, biking with the kids to school one morning, or carpooling with a friend on the weekend. These trips also tend to be healthier, more affordable, and more fun—an all-around win.

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Zia Brucaya, RoundTrip Program Manager

Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. (28%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency), making everyday travel choices one of the most direct ways individuals can take climate action. Driving less is also good for household budgets—the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimated the average annual cost of owning and operating a vehicle exceeded $12,000 in 2024. In RoundTrip’s last transportation challenge, Dane County residents avoided nearly 15 tons of carbon dioxide emissions—the equivalent of taking four gas-powered cars off the road for a year—and collectively saved more than $9,500 in travel costs.

To participate, create a free RoundTrip account at www.RoundTripGreaterMadison.org and log your trips throughout September. 

About RoundTrip: RoundTrip is a program of the Greater Madison MPO that helps individuals and employers in Dane County access affordable, sustainable alternatives to driving alone. In 2024, RoundTrip members logged more than 16,000 green trips—saving $27,000, burning three million calories, and cutting 35.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

About the Greater Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO): The Greater Madison MPO leads a cooperative, comprehensive regional transportation planning and decision-making process for the greater Madison area and allocates millions of dollars of federal funding to local transportation projects.

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