Could you rely on your car less? Metro thinks so and wants to help

For the month of October, Metro is encouraging riders to park their cars and ride the bus, walk or bike to get where they need to go. The 30-day car-free challenge is part of Metro’s tri*Metro campaign, which was launched in August.
 
Although a Metro program, tri*Metro is fueled by Cincy YP, a Greater Cincinnati young professionals group. The group wanted guidance on how to get young professionals to take public transit, and the three-part campaign and partnership with Metro was born. Tri*Metro consists of a seven-minute, scenario-based video; entertainment buses on Sept. 13; and the 30-day car-free challenge.
 
“Tri*Metro is a three-pronged approach,” says Kim Lahman, ridership development manager for Metro. “The video is the learn piece. The second piece is the experience, which were the entertainment buses. And the third piece is the challenge, where we’re encouraging people to park their cars for 30 days and ride the bus to as many places as they can.”
 
This is the first time Metro has done a car-free challenge, but it’s not the first time Cincinnatians have made car-free commitments.
 
Going car-free
In July, University of Cincinnati graduate student Daniel Traicoff decided to go car-free. He lives in Corryville, works at UC and downtown, and has meetings all over the city. He figured he was spending about $50 per week in commuting costs, and wanted to see if he could cut down on that spending.
 
“I do lots of advocacy work for public transit, but since I moved here in 2009, I had only ridden Metro two or three times,” Traicoff says. “I wasn’t practicing what I preach. I decided to play with the system, see what I liked, what could be improved and learn more about it.”
 
He purchased a Metro/TANK 30-day rolling pass for $100. If he went car-free again, Traicoff says he would purchase a prepaid pass because he found he didn’t use the rolling pass as much as he thought he would.
 
For the first few days of being car-free, Traicoff struggled with scheduling his time. He had to wake up earlier and plan out his day more. But using Google Maps on his Android phone made it easy for him to type in his destination. When he chose the bus icon, the app would show all possible routes, access his calendar and alert him when he needed to leave his house to catch the bus.
 
During his car-free challenge, Traicoff visited Denver, a city that relies heavily on public transportation. Every stop is labeled, and the buses have the time of day, what bus it is, and the upcoming stop on a screen at the front of the bus.
 
“It made it easier to know where to get off,” Traicoff says. “If Metro included the next stop at the front of the bus, I think understanding how the routes worked would be much easier.”

After his car-free challenge, Traicoff continues to ride Metro and uses his car when necessary.
 
“Metro really brings people together,” Traicoff says. “Even for those that do have cars, it gives them access to the population that doesn’t have cars or chooses not to have them.”
 
Accepting the challenge
To accept Metro’s car-free challenge, go online and fill out the participation form. It’s not only a commitment to the challenge, but it will give Metro an idea of how people are currently using Metro or TANK (NKY’s bus system). The first 50 people who sign up online will get a free 30-day Metro pass.
 
Those that accept the car-free challenge are also invited to share their experience on social media, and participate in a focus group after the challenge.
 
“Using only the bus for transportation can be scary for people, so we’re encouraging them to do the challenge in increments and make their own commitment,” Lahman says. “Some might decide to go car-free on weekends or on their Monday-Friday commute. We want people to make the challenge in a way that will give them a good introduction to Metro.”