Commuters completed over 12,000 sustainable trips in May

ANN ARBOR, MI – The getDowntown Program, along with the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide), is pleased to announce that 644 people logged 12,356 sustainable trips during this year’s Commuter Challenge, which ran from May 1 – May 31. The challenge inspired commuters travelling to and within the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti areas to choose sustainable transportation options, such as walking, biking, carpooling, or taking the bus, to get to work.

“We were thrilled to welcome 329 first time participants to this challenge. Their participation contributed to the 2025 Commuter Challenge exceeding total trips and emissions savings as compared to the 2024 challenge,” said Lilliane Webb, getDowntown Program Director. “By using alternatives to driving alone, our community avoided emitting more than 96,000 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.” According to the US EPA, this amount is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 43 acres of forest in a year.

Webb also thanked all the local businesses that contributed prizes or otherwise supported the challenge. Twenty individuals won gift cards to area restaurants and shops by logging commutes and engaging in social media contests, and all participants could receive a free scoop of ice cream from Washtenaw Dairy when they logged their first commute.

In addition to the individual prizes, dozens of local workplace teams competed in four size categories to record the highest percentage of employees logging a sustainable commute. Celebratory lunches catered by Sweetgreen were awarded to top teams. The winning 2025 Commuter Challenge workplace teams are:

• 2-20 employees: U-M ADVANCE Program

• 21-49 employees: U-M Office of Campus Sustainability

• 50-100 employees: Mathematical Reviews

• 101+ employees: U-M Center for Academic Innovation

Community members are invited to keep logging their commutes throughout the year at win.getDowntown.org and to be on the lookout for future challenges from the getDowntown program.

The Commuter Challenge is organized by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide) and the getDowntown Program in partnership with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and the City of Ann Arbor. For up-to-date information on this and other benefits of commuting by alternative modes of transportation, visit www.getdowntown.org.

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