CATS - Earth Day Fair

Target Audience: The target audience was commuters who work or live in Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Union and York (SC) counties, as well as City of Charlotte employees.

Strategy Objective:Using alternative commuting options, such as public transit, not only provides environmentally-friendly results, but also can result in rewards. CATS hosted a month-long contest with its commute tracking platform, Way2Go CLT, to encourage the community to alternatively commute by providing an incentive for making commuting behavior change with their friends, family or coworkers. As part of the contest, CATS engaged with the community in an Earth Day Fair that featured environmentally-friendly vendors and organizations, as well as City of Charlotte departments that have goals to improve the local environment. The contest also included an internal element that targeted City of Charlotte employees to incentivize a few thousand employees to participate in alternative commuting.

Situation Challenge: With ozone season approaching, Charlotte Area Transit System sought to inform the public on sources of ozone pollution, including vehicle exhaust, and how they can decrease the amount of local air pollution. As ozone season kicked off, CATS wanted to ensure citizens adopted better habits before the months became warmer. According to Air Awareness officials, local air quality has improved dramatically over the last decade, but the Charlotte region only narrowly meets the health-based standard for ground-level ozone. When inhaled, ozone has been linked to health problems such as asthma, coughing, throat irritation and congestion. Mobile sources, like passenger cars and trucks, remain the largest source of ozone-forming air pollution in the region.

Results Impact: The contest and Earth Day Fair ultimately motivated 151 people to log alternative commutes on the Way2GO CLT platform, resulting in 3,521 alternative commuting trips of 44,764.1 miles, saving 11.6 tons of CO2 emissions. The event increased awareness in the community of alternative commuting options that motivated community members to potentially change their routines. There was also increased awareness through media coverage, in which CATS discussed the importance of alternative commuting throughout ozone season. During the first quarter of FY19, there was one ozone action day, compared to 8 ozone actions days during the first quarter of FY18.

Why Submit: The Earth Day Fair Event with the coinciding contests served as a great kick-off to ozone season and the important messages we need to educate the community about air pollution. We worked collaboratively with area organizations to conduct the event to motivate people on a personal level to think critically about their commuting options and how they can impact local air quality. The Earth Day Fair served as a one-stop-shop and convenient resource for community members and for CATS to share its message about clean commuting, as well as educate community members about the alternative commuting options CATS offers. The competitive edge of the contest helped to motivate the community in a way not otherwise presented.