Clean Commute Partnership Tackles Severe Smog Problem
BALTIMORE (April 22, 2002) --Baltimore area leaders are asking thousands of commuters during May to help fight the region’s severe air quality problem by resisting the urge to drive to work alone.

The exhaust from cars and trucks contributes significantly to the creation of ground-level ozone, commonly called smog. Smog, which aggravates asthma and other health problems, is worst beginning in May and continuing through the summer, when pollutants literally cook in the sun to form ground-level ozone.

During Clean Commute Month in May, elected leaders and environmental activists are teaming up to reduce those pollutants by encouraging people to try an alternative to the solo commute at least once during the month.

Clean Commute Month is sponsored by the Clean Commute Partnership. The partnership includes the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB), the region’s recognized transportation planning body comprising all the region’s elected executives; the Baltimore Metropolitan Council; the Maryland Department of Transportation; the Maryland Department of the Environment; and Clean Air Partners.

Clean commuting offers a number of choices: sharing a ride to work with a neighbor or co-worker, using transit, joining a vanpool, walking, riding a bike, or telecommuting.

Clean commuting also means making sure your car is tuned up and getting the best possible gas mileage.  Anything that reduces fuel efficiency, even under-inflated tires, will increase air pollution.

"We Americans have made the solo commute a daily habit. Unfortunately, this habit is hurting us," said Baltimore County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, chair of the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board. "We won’t change our ways overnight, but we’ll take a small step in the right direction if we just try an alternative to driving alone."

Commuters can learn more by visiting www.cleancommute.com.  This site includes a schedule of Clean Commute Month events, plus information about the health effects of ground-level ozone, local bus systems, and links to transit schedules and rideshare information.

Clean Commute Month kicks off Friday, April 26, with the Clean Air Partners’ Ozone Action Days conference at Camden Yards. May 3 will be Bike to Work Day at Baltimore’s Hard Rock Café and State Center Office Complex, and Market House at City Dock in Annapolis.

The Clean Commute Partnership will have an information booth at the Towsontown Festival on May 4 and 5; Tour de Sol at the Inner Harbor on May 11; and the Flower Mart at Mt. Vernon Square on May 15.

Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer and Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens will greet cyclists at Market House between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on May 3.  In addition, the City of Annapolis is promoting Walk to Wellness every Wednesday, Try Transit every Thursday and Bike to Work every Friday during May.  May 9 will be Thank You Thursday, with gifts, candy and free Maryland Lottery scratch-off tickets offered on all Annapolis buses and trolleys in the morning.

The Clean Commute Partnership asks employers to encourage employees to try a clean commute at least once during May – perhaps designating a specific day as "Clean Commute Day." The Mass Transit Administration’s Commuter Choice program offers tax breaks to employers who help employees get to work by transit.  Other suggestions and resources for employers are available at www.cleancommute.com.

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