I sat down in my local coffee shop with a copy of Good Times, one of the weeklies published in Santa Cruz, California. The cover story, Kick The Habit, gives commute alternatives for those who live in Santa Cruz.
Elizabeth Limbach writes about the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission's Commute Solutions program, which was formed 30 years ago to encourage residents to use modes of transportation besides the single occupant vehicle. She points to carpool resources (mostly 511 ride matching) and carpool success stories.
Limbach writes about her surprise in finding that her three mile trip from work to home can be faster on bike than with her car, mentioning the work of Ecology Action and People Power. She quotes Eco Action's Piet Canin, who says the bike commute share in Santa Cruz is now at 9.3%, according to the US Census American Community Survey. This is more than double the 4% bike commute share seen in Santa Cruz in Y2K.
Finally, she writes about the Santa Cruz Metro bus system, including the Highway 17 bus that I ride "over the hill" to San Jose most days of the week.
One option she forgot to mention is telework or "working from home." A lot of my job involves lab work and face to face meetings and collaborating with colleagues, but with planning I can often arrange to work from home once or twice per week. Lately, I've seen a pickup truck parked at the summit of Highway 17 advertising The Satellite, a telework center in Felton with locations opening "soon" in Aptos, Santa Cruz, and Scotts Valley.
Good Times: Kick The Habit. The Feb 4 issue also includes Commute Solutions, a "resource for sustainable transportation options" in Santa Cruz County. If you make The Commuter Pledge, Good Times will enter you in a drawing for prizes including dinner for two, bus passes, and bike locker "ParkCards."
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