Going "Car-Free" September 17-23

The Patrick-Murray Administration is encouraging residents who are able to leave their cars in the driveway and try going “car-free” – by bicycling, walking, public transit, carpooling or vanpooling for Massachusetts Car-Free Week, September 17-23.  

Massachusetts joins over 1,000 cities in 40 countries across the globe in an effort to showcase the community, environmental, and quality of life benefits of reducing the number of vehicles on the road.  

For the third year in a row, Massachusetts will be celebrating an entire week of going car-free or “car-light,” which includes carpooling or vanpooling instead of driving alone. No other state in the nation has proclaimed a statewide Car-Free Week celebration.

This year, those who take car-free and “car-light” modes of transportation during Car-Free Week and year-round can start earning discounts and incentives from area businesses through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s rewards program, NuRide, the nation’s largest travel rewards program for individuals who take greener trips, and is free for anyone who lives or works in the Commonwealth. 

“Car-Free Week is a great time to remind individuals to sign-up for NuRide and be rewarded for their efforts to commute green,” said MassDOT Secretary Richard A. Davey. “NuRide is a free program, it is easy to use, and it enables MassDOT to reward travelers for incorporating sustainability into their daily commutes.”

Massachusetts Car-Free Week supports GreenDOT, MassDOT’s comprehensive environmental responsibility and sustainability initiative launched to support the Global Warming Solutions Act, signed by Governor Deval Patrick in 2008. The Act requires a 25% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2020, the first step toward a required 80 percent reduction by 2050. The transportation sector generates more than one-third of the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Car-Free Week is a collaboration between the MassDOT, MassRIDES, the statewide travel options program, and MassCommute, the Massachusetts Transportation Management Association. For more information, visit www.mass.gov/massdot/carfree or email Johanna Blue, Johanna.Blue@state.ma.us

Comments

[boblothrope]

You should have made all transit systems in the state free this week, and made an extra effort to prevent delays and service disruptions.

That could give people an excuse to try taking transit to work, and if they liked it, they'd keep doing it year-round.

[Andreae]

After going car-free, come celebrate walking and bicycling in Newton--first annual Walk Bike Week Sept. 28-Oct. 3 details at http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/executive/walkbikeweek.asp

[Odile Beniflah]

This is a wonderful initiative: I wish this could happen in all States! Have a great Car-Free time in Massachusetts next week and let's all work together for America Car-Free Week in 2013 :-)