ACT's Lone Star chapter drew 40 attendees to its Oct. 14 breakfast event entitled Creating Sustainable Mobility. Featured speakers included ACT TMA Council Chair Maureen Farrell, Paul Steinberg (aka Captain Carpool) of Carma Carpool, and ACT VP Rob Henry (executive director of GVF TMA). The event was aimed at management districts, local governments and other community stakeholders, and addressed employer transportation needs, shared-use mobility opportunities, and the public policy of transportation. 

"This first Lone Star event in several years was very well received," said David McMaster, Director, Commuter Services, METRO STAR. "Attendees voiced their gratitude for ACT bringing expertise to the table for this event and expressed an interest in continuing their engagement with the association." The event was sponsored locally by ACT member organizations Energy Corridor Management District, Enterprise Rideshare, METRO STAR regional vanpool, NuRide, and vRide, and plus breakfast sponsor Ruggles Green restaurant. 

Oct. 9 NetConference Recording Available

A free recording of the Oct. 9 "Travel Behavior Change and New Social Justice Issues" netconference is available online at bestworkplaces.org. The webinar was co-sponsored by ACT and Best Workplaces for Commuters (BWC) at the National Center for Transit Research at the University of South Florida, and was a condensed version of a standing-room-only session at the 2014 ACT International Conference in San Francisco. Presenters included Daniel Kaempff, Emma Pachuta, and moderator Chris Simmons.

Take a Member of Congress to Work

Use ACT's "Take a Member of Congress to Work" program to spotlight your organization's effectiveness. ACT will set up local meetings, roundtables, and tours with your Members of Congress for you this fall and winter. Nothing is more powerful or helpful to our public policy efforts than for your legislator to see your efforts firsthand.

Participation is easy. Simply contact Jason Pavluchuk (pavluchuk@actweb.org; 202.285.6414). He will work directly with you to secure time with your Member of Congress and help plan the event to make the most of everyone's time.

This program provides an opportunity for you to bring local elected officials to see the value of your programs while helping the broader cause of your association. For more information, please download this PowerPoint presentation (PDF) or contact Jason at the address above.

Remember, there's no extra cost. This is an ACT member service.  

Award Winner Spotlight

The ACT Connections newsletter is spotlighting a 2014 award winner in each issue.

Marketing & Outreach - Partnership Award: The Walt Disney Company

Employees of The Walt Disney Company are committed to being good environmental stewards by engaging in actions to protect the environment, including choosing alternatives to driving alone. With new employees joining the company on a weekly basis and existing employees working at various locations throughout Southern California, Disney Commuter Assistance was faced with the challenge of finding an efficient way to engage and educate employees about ridesharing.

Earth Day at Disney's Glendale, Calif., campus

Luanna Huber, director, TDM & business integration at The Walt Disney Company, explained that the company expanded Earth Day into a month-long celebration, launching DisneyEarthMonth.com to offer employees several chances to connect and learn. Her staff also coordinated two Earth Month fairs at Disney's Burbank and Glendale locations and invited employees to pledge to rideshare online.

Next, Huber's team educated workers about the company's commuter assistance program, encouraged them to pledge to share the ride at least twice a month, and asked them to show how they are taking action through a photo contest.

Disney Commuter Assistance coordinates annual Earth Day fairs at the Studio Lot in Burbank and the Creative Campus in Glendale. The fairs are designed to engage and inspire Disney employees to conserve nature. They also serve as major events to promote Commuter Assistance.

The Earth Month Celebrations were held on April 8 (Burbank) and 10 (Glendale), and served as kick-off events for Earth Month. The events included 85 vendors (30 more than in past years), live entertainment, sustainable lunch options, a farmers' market, live animals from Zoo to You, JPL Eyes on Earth, electric vehicle demos, a s'mores station, and more. Disney Commuter Assistance used employee badge scanners to track how many employees visited their table and had a fun, interactive game where employees had to answer a question about rideshare programs to play and win a prize.

The photo contest encouraged employees to submit a photo of themselves in the act of ridesharing or recycling. Every rideshare pledge triggered a donation to the National Park Foundation's "Ticket To Ride" program.

The two celebrations attracted participation from 4,589 employees. The Commuter Assistance booth engaged 1,291 employees directly--a six percent increase over 2013. A follow-up survey was sent to all who visited the booth and 174 requested more information about ridesharing. Ultimately, the website was able to reach 27 countries, in six languages.

Disney Commuter Assistance invested $20,000 in its portion of the Earth Month Celebration event. All 85 vendors brought information to share and most of the vendors had promotional items to give away at their tables.

By putting on fun events with engaging and relevant vendors, Disney Commuter Assistance showed that employees are more likely to participate and be inspired to take action. Huber's team also highlighted ridesharing as one of those actions that could last well beyond Earth Month. Visit DisneyEarthMonth.com to view rideshare pledges and photos.