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Reminder: CommuteInfo Awareness MonthMay is CommuteInfo Commute Options Awareness Month

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) wants all regional commuters to be aware of the commuting options available in Southwestern Pennsylvania by proclaiming May to be CommuteInfo Commute Options Awareness Month. May also includes National Transportation Week, National Bike to Work Day, National Employee Health and Fitness Day, National Try Transit Week, and National Clean Air Week.  As part of this month, commuters are encouraged to participate in one of the following activities:

  1. CommuteInfo Partners Planning Meeting –May 2nd from 10 AM – Noon in the Davis Room on the 23rd floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower. 
  2. Regional Commuter Questionnaire.  Available on-line throughout May for commuters to complete.  The goal is to help paint a better regional picture of the commuters, their patterns, etc.  Click here to access the survey.  At the end of the month all the information will be compiled and a summary will be distributed in our next e-newsletter. 
  3. Special Vanpool New Riders Ride Free Week – The week of May 22nd will be a week where any new rider to a vanpool will be able to try it for free.  Call 1-888-819-6110 for more details.
  4. BikePool Sign-ups – Working with Bike Pittsburgh, people interested in forming BikePools will be registered with the CommuteInfo program.  Click here to sign up for a bike pool list.

Bzz…Bzz…What’s the Buzz About? Car sharing is a hot topic in Pittsburgh right now.  But why such buzz about a program that doesn’t exist here yet?  Maybe it’s part of the increasing interest in all things related to Downtown Pittsburgh, now that residential development is heating up.  Maybe it’s the attractiveness of being able to drive a car while doing so in an environmentally sensitive manner. In May the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is sponsoring an informational session on car sharing to introduce the concept to attendees and to assess the level of interest in starting a car sharing program in Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland. Whether you’re an individual, business, institution, or public agency, join us on Wednesday, May 17, from 7:30 – 9:30 A.M. on the 31st Floor, Regional Enterprise Tower, 425 Sixth Avenue to learn more about this innovative alternative to car ownership.  Call Kathy Stefani (412-325-0157) or Lucinda Beattie (412-325-0158) at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership for more information.

Other news that may be of interest:

Annual AAA Study Shows Driving Costs Average 52.2 Cents Per Mile (PDF)
AAA Newsroom/March 28, 2006
www.aaanewsroom.net

Further surge in gas prices expected (PDF)
MSNBC/April 11, 2006
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12265103/from/ET/print/1/display mode/1098

Gas prices play growing role in job decisions (PDF)
MSNBC/April 11, 2006
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12268667/from/ET/print/1/display mode/1098

Vanpool Groups Looking for Riders

Ever considered joining a vanpool?  Several of our groups have seats available.  Why not try it one week for free?  And as a special promotion, anyone trying a vanpool the week of May 22, will ride the entire week for free.

If vanpooling works for you, you can join on either a full-time or part-time basis.   Learn more about our vanpool program on our website.

Origination:                               Weirton, WV
Destination:                               Downtown Pittsburgh
Time Leaving for Work:            6:30 A.M.
Time Leaving for Home:            5:10 P.M.

Origination:                               Latrobe
Destination:                               Downtown Pittsburgh
Time Leaving for Work:            5:50 A.M.
Time Leaving for Home:            4:45 P.M.

Origination:                               Weirton, WV
Destination:                               Downtown Pittsburgh
Time Leaving for Work:            6:40 A.M.
Time Leaving for Home:            4:05 P.M.

Origination:                               Latrobe
Destination:                               Downtown Pittsburgh
Time Leaving for Work:            6:20 A.M.
Time Leaving for Home:            5:00 P.M.

Origination:                               McKeesport
Destination:                               Oakland
Time Leaving for Work:            7:10 A.M.
Time Leaving for Home:            5:05 P.M.

Origination:                               Irwin
Destination:                               Oakland
Time Leaving for Work:            7:00 A.M.
Time Leaving for Home:            5:05 P.M

Did You Know?

Join Community and Business Leaders at Regional Economic Development Workshop:  Learn About and Discuss Strategies for Local and Regional Development

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) invites you to learn about and discuss strategies for local and regional development in Southwestern Pennsylvania. SPC has partnered with a team of Commonwealth agencies, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and SPC County and City staff to produce a set of regional workshops on economic development strategies. These workshops will include brief presentations on development strategies from state, regional and County/City comprehensive plan levels followed by discussions of how to optimize the best efforts of each.

The resulting discussions of best fit strategies will provide input to Project Region, the process for preparing our next regional plan. In addition to these economic development workshops, you may also receive information about other workshops on community revitalization, smart growth and other topics of interest on which SPC has partnered with others in order to provide for more informed regional planning and development policy.

For more information, please call (412) 391-5590 or visit www.ProjectRegion.org.

Monday, May 1, 6:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh and East Suburban area: Eastern suburbs of Allegheny County, City Of Pittsburgh, and Murrysville area in Westmoreland County
Gettysburg Room, Soldiers and Sailors Hall, 4141 Fifth Avenue, Oakland. Underground parking in front.

Tuesday, May 2, 6:30 p.m.
Westmoreland/Indiana area: central and northeastern Westmoreland County and central and southern Indiana County (Greensburg to Indiana and Route 22 corridor)
Blairsville Community Center, 101 North Lane, downtown Blairsville

Wednesday, May 3, 6:30 p.m.
Northwest area: Lawrence County, northern Beaver County, and northwestern Butler County
Ellwood Municipal Building, 525 Lawrence Avenue, Ellwood City

Tuesday, May 9, 6:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh International Airport area: Allegheny County west from City of Pittsburgh, southern Beaver County, & northern Washington County
Findlay Township Activity Center, 310 Main Street, Imperial

Hold the date – May 23 for the SW PA Air Quality Partnership Spring Meeting!
The Southwest PA Air Quality Partnership, Inc. will hold its spring annual meeting on May 23.  The meeting will feature a number of speakers who will discuss ways to decrease your energy usage and save money, as well as the new trends in air quality this summer. 

Featured speakers include:

  1. Department of Environmental Protection Meteorologist Sean Nolan who will talk about what we might expect in summer heat and ground-level ozone levels.  
  2. Southwest PA Commission’s CommuteInfo program staff will discuss ways employers can make carpooling work for their employees.
  3. Partnership member Evey True Value’s Andy Amrhein will show the proper way to grill food and still be protective of air quality.  He’ll raffle off the grill used to make lunch for everyone! 

Come learn about a new local project that hopes to be the new fuel of the future and hear about the Partnership’s plans for the busy summer season ahead.

Location for the annual meeting will be in Schenley Park in Pittsburgh.  Exact pavilion directions can be found closer to the meeting date on the Partnership website, www.aqpartners.org.

Port Authority Saves Commuters Time, Money and More
With gas prices at an all-time high, smart people are seeking even smarter ways to commute. In fact, approximately 50 percent of people who work and shop in Downtown Pittsburgh use Port Authority service. So for Commute Options Awareness Month, Port Authority congratulates you and the 240,000 other smart commuters who benefit from Port Authority’s network of transit services each day.

One of the most measurable benefits of public transportation is the cost savings. If you are now using 20 gallons of gas a week, you will save about $160 with a monthly Port Authority Zone 2 pass.  Click here to read more.

Five StepsFive Steps to a Better Commute
Sharing a ride or taking public transportation are the best ways to lower the stress and strain of a long commute.  But there are also ways take back the time and energy a long commute steals.  In Five Steps to a Better Commute, Dr. Marie A. Mastria, of www.commuter-assist.com, shows you techniques that will help you relax during the long commute and structure your time effectively so that you gain an extra hour or two in your busy day.  To download the first article of the series, click here.  To sign up for the complete series, click here, www.Commuter-Assist.com.  

HOV Lanes Can Save Some Commuters Time
An HOV lane is one specifically designed for use by High Occupancy Vehicles (in our region this means vehicles occupied by 2 or more passengers).  These vehicles can include carpools, vanpools, as well as buses. 

There is no cost to travel on the HOV Lanes - - because only some of the vehicles traveling on the roadway are eligible to drive on the HOV Lane, there may even be a big time savings because of not having to wait in traffic.

Learn more about the region’s HOV Lanes by clicking here.

The All-Star Game Is Coming… The All-Star Game Is Coming…
As you probably know, the City of Pittsburgh is “redding up” for the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 11.  But Major League Baseball has much more planned than just one baseball game.  Events kick off with the start of Fan Fest at the Convention Center on Friday, July 7 and end with a closing reception at PNC Park on Wednesday, July 12.  In between are planned such activities as a Little League championship event and All-Star Reception on Saturday; an all-day event at PNC Park on Sunday with a night concert at a location TBD; all-day events at PNC Park on Monday with an All-Star Gala at the Convention Center that night; the All-Star Game on Tuesday; and a Closing Reception on Wednesday. And much, much more…

What does this mean for you?  To start with, every hotel in the city is booked for this period with Major League Baseball expecting 100,000 people to come into the city to enjoy the 5 day Fan Fest.   There are three days of daylong activities at PNC Park: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  For security reasons, much of the North Shore will be closed to traffic, although specific street closures have not been finalized.  As we get closer to the date for the All-Star Game, be sure to check the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s website at www.downtownpittsburgh.com for street closure information.

Meet CommuteInfo Representatives at one of these Upcoming Events . . .

We are always looking for community events or speaking opportunities where CommuteInfo can be represented – please email us with your ideas!

With approximately 60% of the Southwestern Pennsylvania region's 1.5 million workers traveling outside of their resident municipality to work each day, commuting options are clearly an integral part of life for the region’s employers and workers.

CommuteInfo is a program of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), operated in partnership with transportation management associations, transportation providers, businesses and non-profit service organizations throughout Southwestern PA.

Through the strong network of partnerships, the CommuteInfo program offers a wide range of ride-sharing services to employers and commuters within the region, including a toll free phone number for information requests and referrals, vanpool/carpool rider matching, transit/biking/walking resources as well as park and ride lot information. CommuteInfo serves commuters and employers in 10 counties, including Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland.

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Thanks again for your interest in commuting alternatives and CommuteInfo . . . a better way to work.