2023 Way 2 GO MAINE

Illustrations of people commuting in various ways including roller skating, van pool, biking, working from home, walking, and riding a scooter.

FIRST: WHAT THE WAY 2 GO MAINE COMMUTER CHALLENGE IS ALL ABOUT

GO MAINE is pleased to bring you the second Way 2 GO MAINE Challenge of 2023!  Running the month of October, this friendly competition between individuals and organizations across the state encourages everyone to walk, bike, carpool/vanpool, take the bus, ferry, or train, or work from home.

Register your employer here

THE FUN: 2023 LEADERBOARD, RACES & PRIZE QUESTIONS

  • Remember to tag all your posts with #Way2GOMAINE! (Note: If you’re not on social media, just ask a friend, family member, or co-worker to post for you – or email GO MAINE and we will post it.)

$50 GIFT CARD WINNERS EVERY WEEK

Each week in October we’ll reward a different kind of green commute. Any GO MAINE member logging that week’s trip type will automatically be entered to win a $50 gift card.  A new winner will be chosen every week!

  • Week 1: CARPOOL & VANPOOL week – October 1-7 — Carpool with your spouse, your partner, friend, co-worker, fellow GO MAINE member and/or working age kids. Share your Carpool pics!
  • Week 2: TRANSIT – October 8-14 — It’s transit week! Whether you take the bus, ferry, or train, all transit trips count towards this week’s prize.
  • Week 3: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION (WALKING, BIKING, ROLLING, SCOOTER) – October 15-21 —Try getting to work the human powered way or incorporating it into part of your commute.
  • Week 4: ALL GREEN TRIPS – October 22-31 — Everything counts this week!  Take any form of green transportation or work from home to celebrate the end of the October Way 2 GO MAINE challenge! Plus if you email your completed Telework Bingo Card to rides@gomaine.org you will receive additional entries for this week’s raffle.
  • NOTE: Weekly winners will be selected and notified via email. Winners have 48 hours to respond and accept their prize, after which time a new winner will be selected. All winners agree to allow GO MAINE to use their photo and likeness (name, hometown, and organization) for promotional purposes only.

NEW GO MAINE MEMBERS CAN WIN $100, TOO.

Commuting green? Earn points to win perks year-round as a GO MAINE member, which is always free. Plus, if you sign up during Way 2 GO MAINE 2023 (October 1 – October 31, 2023) you have a chance to win $100! Working from home qualifies, too. Check it out!

  • New members are those who signed up to join the free statewide GO MAINE program during the period of October 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023. Winner will be selected on November 1, 2023.

GRAND PRIZES! ALL MEMBERS LOGGING TRIPS HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN

Log your green trips and be entered to win one of the following prizes:

  • Maine State Park Vehicle Pass
  • $200 gift card

WHAT QUALIFIES AS A GREEN COMMUTE FOR THE WAY 2 GO MAINE CHALLENGE

  • Walking, bicycling, taking the bus, ferry, or train, carpooling or vanpooling, and working from home (telecommuting) are the green commute options we accept.
  • Driving Part Way (yes!): If you have driven part way to work and then walked/biked/bused/trained/carpooled from there, that definitely counts!
  • Carpooling with Another Adult/Driver from Your Household (yes!): If someone carpooled with another adult and/or driver (e.g. a teen driver) who is also a member of your household, that also definitely counts. One less car on the road!
  • Carpooling or Vanpooling with friends, co-workers, or other GO MAINE members (yes!)
  • Rollerblading & Skateboarding (yes!): If you use an alternate commuting mode like skateboarding or rollerblading to work you can log your commute under either walk or bike. Whichever you prefer!
  • Working from Home (Telecommuting): Yes this counts!
  • Commuting Outside Maine (check these details to see): The challenge is open to everyone commuting to the State of Maine. So if you live out of state but work in Maine you can participate! However, if you live in Maine and work in a different state, that does not count.
  • Driving an Electric Vehicle or Very Low Emission Vehicle Such as a Gas-powered Scooter or Motorcycle (sorry, no):Electric passenger vehicles and ultra-low emission vehicles do help with improved air quality and reduce natural resource extraction.  However, driving alone in an electric vehicle, scooter, or motorcycle still adds to traffic congestion, wear and tear on road infrastructure, the demand for more road widening/expansion, and the need for parking. GO MAINE works overall to support a decrease in drive-alone trips in Maine, through walking, bicycling, carpooling and vanpooling, taking the bus, or train, and telecommuting.

TEAM SPIRIT RACE

Calling all organizations! Lead your employee team to greatness as the folks who “post-the-most” from October 1-31. Show us how great green commuting can be with your photos, videos, and stories – adding #Way2GOMAINE – on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Remember: working from home, walking, bicycling, taking the bus or train, carpooling, and vanpooling all count as green commutes!

  • GO MAINE staff determines “Team Spirit”through a review of social media postings from October 1-31 with #Way2GOMAINE – and other promotional efforts by each organization – using a points system for the number and quality of postings.
  • Results for the Most Team Spirit race are tallied at the end of the challenge.
  • The winning organization receives a Way 2 GO MAINE Award and Way 2 GO MAINE social media shout-out.

OTHER QUESTIONS/CONCERNS

  • Syncing with Strava: For those syncing their Strava data to track their trips: if not all commutes are showing up it may be because the start and end of your trip is fairly close to the same location (by Strava’s standards, not ours!) To make sure your commutes count, you can manually start and end your commute trips in your Strava app.
  • Note about logging trips on holidays: The GO MAINE trip recording system is set up automatically not to record reoccurring trips if they fall on common U.S. holidays, with the assumption that most people will not be working those days. However, many of us do work holidays, so the system has a way to handle that. To remove a holiday or add a day off to your calendar, simply Sign In, go to Trips>Trip Calendar, select the holiday date you would like to make sure you get credit for commuting, and choose “Remove Holiday.”  Similarly, you can also do the opposite for holidays or days off that are not on the calendar but that you have observed. Just Sign In, go to Trips>Trip Calendar, select the date you took off from your regular commute and choose “Mark as Day Off” or “Observe Holiday.”