RideFinders Wins 2019 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award for Transportation Efficiency Innovations

Nov 11, 2019

On November 6, 2019, RideFinders was one of six organizations recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their innovative work on clean air projects. The 2019 Clean Air Excellence Awards are given to state, local, tribal, and private sector programs that educate the public in improving air quality or reducing harmful air pollutants that threaten health and the environment, demonstrate innovation, offer sustainable outcomes, and provide a model for others to follow. RideFinders received the Transportation Efficiency Innovations award for its RideFinders Commute Green Summer Challenge.

RideFinders Commute Green Summer Challenge, a month-long challenge for commuters to record their greener trips- carpool vanpool, transit, walk, rail, bike, telework, and multi-modal trips, resulted in 6,014 greener trips, 119,028 lbs. of emissions prevented, 125,679 miles not driven, 5,391 reduced car trips, 6,073 gallons of gas saved, 49,638 calories burned, and $68,495 saved. RideFinders partnered with Agile Mile (formerly Nuride) to gather the quantifiable data.  The campaign clearly demonstrated not just the numeric benefits of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs, but also the intangible benefits – education and awareness, public relations and relationship development – that help to make the case for TDM as mobility management and underscore TDM as a cost-effective approach to reducing pollution emissions and helping air quality.

The Transportation Efficiency Innovations award category applied to programs and projects that made transportation systems more efficient and reduced criteria pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, and/or greenhouse gases in the process. Entries were judged by the EPA and the Clean Air Advisory Committee, and winners were recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the awards presented, please visit https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-11/documents/epa_cae-awards_2019.pdf