Non-Polluting Commuters Reap Cash and Prizes

Cycling, skating, running and walking--the human-powered alternatives to car commuting--are attracting a wide range of workers, especially those who are being rewarded by their companies to not drive to work.

Incentive programs from cities and major corporations are aimed at reducing the number of people who drive. While most alternative commuters began cycling, skating and walking for health reasons, they now get incentives for reducing the number of cars on the road.

McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach has a monthly contest--with prizes including trips to San Diego via Amtrak--for employees willing to try a different method of getting to work. To qualify, employees need to arrive in some way other than a solo commute at least three days a week. According to a recent survey, 76 employees ride their bikes to work on a regular basis.

“We are going to be installing enclosed bicycle lockers that will enable (bicyclists) to ride their nicer bikes to work and not their ‘beaters,’ ” said Janet Newton, commuter services administrator at McDonnell Douglas.

Kathy Hanson, 32, a Douglas engineer and one of six women who rides a bicycle to work, won a three-day cruise to Ensenada during Ride Share Week last October.

Alternating skating with jogging and cycling, Douglas employee Chuck Denman of Belmont Heights “blades” to work along Westminster Boulevard on a pair of Rollerblades, a skate in which the four wheels are placed in one line along the length of the skate. The trip takes the “fortysomething” man 45 minutes on the in-line skates, 30 minutes on his bike and more than an hour when he jogs.

“Commuting to work this way is being more efficient in your life style because you’re getting to work and staying in shape at the same time,” Denman said. Using modified ski poles, he gets a total body workout comparable to downhill- and cross-country skiing.

“I get some emotional satisfaction knowing I’m not contributing to the (traffic and pollution) problem. It makes me feel better about myself,” Denman said.

The Irvine Spectrum business complex, between the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways, has its own transportation management association named Spectrumotion. Reducing traffic into the area through ride sharing, van pooling, walking and cycling is its goal, said executive director Charity Gavaza.

“We encourage every company that moves into Spectrum to install enclosed lockers or special rooms for bike storage,” Gavaza said. “We also encourage companies to provide showers and lockers.”

The Spectrumotion Wheelers bike club sponsors lunch rides, bicycle fairs and lunchtime speakers aimed at promoting bicycle transportation.

“We have over 200 people who are part of the Spectrumotion Wheelers with many of them riding their bikes to work at least on an occasional basis,” Gavaza said.

At Hughes Aircraft Ground Systems Group in Fullerton, eight of 9,000 employees commute on bicycles and 10 people walk to work on a regular basis. Showers and bike racks were installed at a cost of $78,000 to encourage participation.

“We have a larger number of seasonal cyclists who ride during daylight-saving time,” said Dan Reeder, a spokesman for Hughes. “Many (cyclists) feel that riding after dark is just too dangerous.”

Safety is also a major concern of cyclists at Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA in Irvine, where about 15 of 310 employees ride their bikes to work.

“I have a number of employees here who currently do ride their bikes and some who don’t who have stated that if the roads were safer, they would bicycle commute more often,” said Mark Nelson, personnel programs coordinator at Kawasaki.

Beginning in March, the city of Costa Mesa will offer a subsidy to city employees who bike or walk to work, said Kevin McCourt, employee transportation coordinator for Costa Mesa.

The $40-a-month subsidy to full-time participants can be used to upgrade their walking shoes or bicycle equipment. Currently, out of 600 full-time employees, 10 walk to work and 15 ride bicycles.

Sgt. George Yezbick, 44, of the Costa Mesa Police Department walks the 3.6 miles from his home in Costa Mesa to the police station. His morning commute takes about an hour, although he admits he could speed it up if he stopped reading while he walked.

Fullerton city employees get one day off or $120 when they cut down the number of times they drive to work alone in a six-month period.

Battalion Chief John Clark, 46, has been riding one of his three bicycles from his home in Westminster to Fire Station 1 in Fullerton for more than a year. “I was not quite as faithful about doing it (bicycle commuting) until the city came up with an incentive program. It was a challenge as much as anything.”

Clark now rides to work 80% of the time. When riding his racing bike, he can make the 15-mile trip in just 47 minutes. Driving his car gets him to work 12 minutes sooner.

“Station 1 has about 20 guys who ride to work on an occasional basis, some more faithfully than others,” Clark said.

It’s more than just physically fit firefighters who have taken to the streets on bicycles.

Pat Clark, 57, who co-owns Clark’s Bicycle Shop in Westminster, cycles 10 miles to work each way from her home in Seal Beach. A member of the Orange County Wheelmen bicycle club and one of their trip leaders, Clark has been riding seriously for eight years.

“If you are within 10 miles of your work, you should be (bicycle) commuting at least part of the time,” said Clark, who qualifies her statement to exclude the people who live where it’s impossible to ride without taking their lives into their hands.

“City officials keep talking about building new highways to alleviate traffic problems. When they build a new street, if they’d include a bike lane, they would encourage more people to bicycle commute,” Clark said.

Don Harvey, 57, cycles to McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach from his home in Newport Beach. He has been cycle-commuting every day for 10 years.

“I have one bike hanging up in the garage, retired, with 80,000 miles on it. I have two other bikes with about 40,000 and 25,000 miles on them,” Harvey said.

A member of the Bike Trails Committee for Newport Beach, Harvey is a vocal supporter of bicycle riding. He commutes daily along Pacific Coast Highway and is pushing for a bike lane on the highway, not just a bike trail that is shared with pedestrians.

“I think cycling is a serious alternate to driving,” said Harvey, who pedals his 20-mile commute in just over an hour.

Ron Lytal, a 30-year-old computer programmer, started pedaling to work to beat the traffic, keep in shape and save money on gas. He can make the 9 1/2-mile trip from his home in Rancho Santa Margarita to Medstone International in Irvine in 20 minutes; that’s only five minutes longer than if he drove.

Sometimes riding a bicycle saves time, especially if the rider uses short cuts, side streets and avoids intersections with long traffic lights. Jenny Vargas of Garden Grove and Andy Huey of Anaheim both get to work quicker on their bikes than in their cars.

“I can just get on my bike and go,” Vargas said. “Half the time I think I’m going to be late but I get there quicker than when I drive.”

Huey can make the one-mile ride to work in two minutes, often arriving before friends who are loyal car commuters.

Lost love was the reason Bradley Quinby of Anaheim began cycling to work. After separating from his wife, Quinby, 24, gave up driving his car to save money on repairs, auto insurance and gas bills. “I haven’t driven for a year,” says Quinby, who works at Neil’s the Bicycle Experience in Anaheim.

Also wheeling to work are Matt Harward, 17, and Scott Lindsey, 18, both from Fountain Valley, who ride their skateboards. Harward has been skateboarding two miles to Gremic Skates South in Huntington Beach for 1 1/2 years. The trip takes him 15 minutes.

Lindsey rode his skateboard to high school and for the past two years, he has been using it to cover the four miles to Little Caesar’s Pizza in Fountain Valley where he works. “It saves money on gas,” Lindsey said.

Harward rides his skateboard because “sometimes I just feel like it. It’s fun.” The environmental benefits also are critical to this teen-ager, who says, “The environment is totally important.”