Alternate Modes Save You Money

Driving alone in your vehicle for your work commutes may cost you upwards of $12-$18 per day (around $4,000 per year), including fuel and operating costs. And if you work downtown, you probably have to pay for parking on top of that.

Pima County offers benefits to us employees who choose alternate modes.

• Take the bus to work with a monthly subsidized bus pass costing employees a mere $10, while regular monthly passes cost $28.
• Carpool to work, and besides splitting operation and parking costs with your carpool buddy (or buddies), get discounted parking rates at County lots.
• Bicycle to work and use a bike garage for a $10 deposit and $1 per paycheck.
• Use an alternate mode at least twice a week, and then you can get a voucher for a free taxi ride home in case of an emergency through the Guaranteed Ride Home Program.

There are lots of benefits to using alternate modes of transportation besides saving money. Think about it…we can get:

• Cleaner air
  
• Improved respiratory and heart health
  
• Increased exercise time
  
• Reduced stress
  
• More personal time
  
• Reduced global warming
  
• Reduced dependence on foreign oil
  
• Beautiful mountain views

Give alternate modes a try.

Contact karen.wilhelmsen@deq.pima.gov for a free 2-ride bus pass to try transit, to sign up with the Guaranteed Ride Home Program, or with questions about using alternate modes.

Contact Pima Association of Governments for an on-line carpool/vanpool matching system or call them at 792-1093.

Coping With the High Cost of Prescription Medications

On March 4th, the Pima County Board of Supervisors launched their Prescription Discount Card Program to help Pima County employees, residents and families cope with the high cost of prescription medications. The County is making the free prescription discount cards available in partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo) offering discounts on prescription medications not covered by insurance.

The Health Department will be distributing these discount cards (available in English and Spanish) through Health Department offices, other county departments and through community partners, such as schools, businesses, community organizations, and health clinics.

These cards offer average savings of 20% off prescription medication not covered under insurance (including pet prescription medications) at any of the 99 participating pharmacies throughout Pima County.

There are no enrollment fees, eligibility requirements. One Discount Card services the whole family. Please note that this is a Discount Prescription Card and not medical insurance.

If you are interested in learning more or to participate in the distribution of these Prescription Discount Cards, please contact the Pima County Health Department at 243-7772 or visit www.pimahealth.org/NACO for more information about this program.

Use the T.I.C.E.T.—Reduce Downtown Workday Miles Driven

Downtown workers can save gas, time, money, and air quality by using the Tucson Inner City Express Transit (T.I.C.E.T.). Have a meeting at the UofA? Have plans to go to lunch on 4th Avenue? Need to get over to the Commerce Park Loop? Consider leaving your vehicles and the County motor pool vehicles parked…the T.I.C.E.T. can get you there!

The T.I.C.E.T. is a free shuttle running on five routes through the Downtown area, five to seven days a week depending upon the route. The free shuttles provide a convenient way to take you to your too-far-to-walk meetings or errands, or can take you from your parking spot to nearly any Downtown location. Funded by parking revenues, T.I.C.E.T. is sponsored by the City of Tucson's ParkWise program. All vehicles are handicap accessible. General route information is listed below.

Orange Route: Stops between Tucson City Court and Manning House, Monday-Friday from 6:00AM-6:00PM, 20 minute intervals, 7 stops, 2 transfer points

Green Route: Stops between Hotel Congress and Catalina Parking Lot, Monday-Friday from 6:00AM-6:00PM, 20 minute intervals, 6 stops, 3 transfer points

Yellow Express Route: Stops between Old Pima County Courthouse and Catalina Parking Lot, Monday-Friday from 6:30AM-9:00AM and 3:00PM-5:30PM, 10 minute intervals, 5 stops, 2 transfer points

Redline Route: Stops between Pennington Street Garage, 4th Avenue, and UofA Main Gate, Sunday-Tuesday from 10:00AM-10:00PM, 30 minute intervals; Wednesday-Saturday from 10:00AM-2:30AM, 30 minute intervals, 25 stops, 1 transfer point

Commerce Park Shuttle: Stops between Armory Park and Commerce Park Loop, Monday-Friday from 6:30AM - 5:30PM, 30 minute intervals, 11 stops, 2 transfer points

Reducing the miles you drive helps keep our air clean, saves gasoline and money, reduces congestion, and may even save you time.

Price of Gas Got You Down? Vanpooling May Pick You Up.

If the high price of gasoline is stressing you, and taking the bus is not on option for your lengthy commute, vanpooling may be a very beneficial way to travel to work. Vanpooling could be a much more viable option than driving to work a-l-o-n-e every day, for your wallet, driving stress, and air quality considerations.

It works best if vanpool members live in the same general vicinity, and work in the same area with similar hours, so that you only have to make one or two stops during the commute. Members decide the route, times, and where stops will be. Your monthly cost should be between $70 and $106, including fuel costs, and depending upon the size and style of the vehicle. Considering gas costs, the wear and tear on your vehicle, and the stress related to driving by yourself, that is quite favorable. And your car insurance company may give you a discount since your mileage will drop considerably.

The Pima Association of Governments (PAG) is working with VPSI to offer vanpooling in our region to any commuter in southern Arizona. In order to get you going, VPSI provides financial incentives by discounting fares up to $300 the first month, $200 the second, and $100 the third month for each vanpool. PAG also subsidizes $400 of the monthly fare in 2008 (this will be reduced to $300 in 2009). There are several VPSI vanpools currently in use in our community, and once a person joins one, it is rare that they go back to driving their own vehicle for work commutes.

Highlights of the Vanpool Program:
• You can gather your own group of five to fifteen people for a vanpool.
• If you don’t have a group to vanpool with, you can sign up to be matched through PAG www.884RIDE.org.
• Pima County Facilities Management can offer the subsidized “carpool” parking rate to vanpoolers, if the vehicle will fit in a County parking facility. It’s likely that downtown monthly parking rates may cost you only $30 per month (divided amongst the vanpool members).
• If you use the vanpool at least twice each week, you qualify for a free taxi ride home voucher in case of an emergency through the Pima County Guaranteed Ride Home Program (GRH).

If your work schedule, work location, and home address is conducive to the way vanpools work, you will probably feel very wise for choosing it.

Contact Gayle Johnson with PAG at 792-1093, ext. 425 or gjohnson@pagnet.org if you have any questions about the vanpool program. You can also contact Karen.wilhelmsen@deq.pima.gov or 740-3345 for general information on air quality, the Guaranteed Ride Home Program, and the Travel Reduction Program for Pima County employees.

Clean Air Days & Bike Fest 2008

Thank you Clean Air Days and Bike Fest participants—you help keep the air clean!

The Clean Air Days and Bike Fest events (held March 30-April 24) drew in lots of new people taking action to use alternate modes of transportation and keep our air clean. With over 5,000 people (including, but not limited to Pima County employees) participating in the 17 activities, we met and exceeded our goals—especially if everyone who participated continues the carpooling, bike riding, taking the bus, and walking for their commutes. Over 1,000 contest entries were received, which is more than double what we received last year.

Bicyclist filling out Clean Air Days and Bike Fest Contest form at the Free Valet Bike Parking area during the 4th Avenue Street Fair.

From the contest entry forms, we determined that at least 141,034 miles were not driven during the 26 day period, over 7,050 gallons of gasoline were not burned, and about 4,550 pounds of air pollution (2.3 tons) were not created during the event time frame. Most of the prizes for the Clean Air Days contest will be awarded during the month of May.

Congratulations Bike 2 Work Day Winners!
April 11 was Bike 2 Work Day, and 83 Pima County employees registered and rode on this special day. The City of Tucson Department of Transportation offered incentives for everyone in the community to ride to work, and gave Pima County gift certificates to JJ Bicycles. A random drawing was made of the registered participants, and the winners are:

Grand Prize, $225 gift certificate: Joe Visic, Superior Court; Second Runners Up, $50 gift certificates: Natalie Gonzales, Joel D. Valdez Main Library and Laban Hansen with Natural Resources, Parks, and Recreation.

Thank you for participating and for continuing to go green for healthy air.

Team Swift Justice (of Pima County Superior Courts) riding via the U of A campus to the downtown Bike 2 Work Celebration.

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