More than 100 air quality and transportation professionals from across the country use the Exchange to share ideas and information on their public education and outreach activities, get feedback, find out about new tools, and learn what other communities are doing to address air quality and transportation problems. Initially launched as a tool for It All Adds Up Community Partners, members of the public and private sectors now use the Exchange to discuss a broad range of air quality and transportation issues. A sampling of information recently “Exchanged” includes:

• The League of American Bicyclists, an Executive Committee member of the Alliance for Clean Air and Transportation, has developed new PSAs promoting bicycling as a transportation option. As you encourage your community to use alternate modes of transportation, you may want to incorporate the PSAs, which have been endorsed by the Ad Council, into your campaign. Click here for more information and a link to the PSAs.
  
  
• In response to an inquiry from the Tulsa Area RideShare/Commuter Choice program about ways to encourage participation in a Commute Another Way Day event, a number of Exchange participants shared ideas that you may find useful as you promote alternate modes in your own community.

  Dorothy Birch of the Alamo Area Council of Governments suggested holding a Commuter Challenge event involving local elected officials. For more information, click here.

  Dave Etienne of Metro Transit proposed a similar idea involving local media personalities. He also suggested collecting out-of-the-ordinary stories from carpoolers and using them to attract media interest. For more information, click here and see the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air DJ Dialogue Suggestions

  Rita Hildebrand of Pima Association of Governments shared the marketing strategy for their “Meet Your Neighbor” event that helped improve alternate mode usage in their community. For more information, click here

• In response to an inquiry looking for Web sites with facts and figures to support a bus-ridership program, Exchange participants recommended sites they’ve found useful. You may want to explore the “Best Workplaces for Commuters” Web site at www.bwc.gov and the TRANSP-TDM listserv for good resources in developing your own alternate mode campaigns. For more information, click here

Our Community Partners use the Exchange to share ideas and research results, promote events, and recognize each other’s efforts. Signing up only takes a few minutes and it’s free. Simply complete a “My Interests” form. And once you’re signed up for the Exchange, don’t forget to use it to tell us about your activities and successes in reaching the public—if you do, you could appear in a future edition of this newsletter!