M E T R O * P O O L * Smart Talk

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S July, 1999
WHAT'S COOKIN' THIS SUMMER? CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 1999 EARTH DAY CONTEST PARTICIPANTS! NEW CHANGES ON WESTCHESTER'S BEE-LINE SYSTEM COMMUTER REWARDS PROGRAM EXPANDED For further information on commute programs and services, contact the MetroPool Program Manager in your region: In Connecticut: Southern Fairfield Region: Theresa Fanelle - 203/696-0455 Northern Fairfield Region: Holly Burbank - 203/324-6700 In New York: Westchester County: George Waddell - 914/993-0649 Hudson Valley: Carol Ryan - 1-800-FIND-RIDE Smart Talk is published by MetroPool, Inc. with the support of federal and state funding from the Connecticut and New York Departments of Transportation. The views expressed in Smart Talk are not necessarily those of MetroPool, Inc's funders, Board Members, nor supporting agencies or organizations.

WHAT'S COOKIN' THIS SUMMER?
Not everything that cooks in the summer sun and heat is a good thing. Most people are aware of the dangers of excessive sun exposure. Not as many, however, know about the effects of intense sunlight and warm temperatures on the formation of ground-level ozone, a major component of smog. Cars, trucks, factories, businesses, and gasoline powered products all produce gases that react in high temperatures, 90 degrees and over, on hot, sunny days to produce ozone. In Connecticut and New York, ground-level ozone is our worst air quality problem. Ozone is a highly reactive gas, and as a result is damaging to lung tissues. Ozone pollution can cause shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, headaches, nausea, eye and throat irritation and even permanent lung damage. High concentrations of ozone not only affect people with impaired respiratory systems, such as asthmatics, but healthy adults and children, as well. Motor vehicles account for nearly half of the air pollution in our region and are the single greatest contributor to ground-level ozone. The average motor vehicle is responsible for 200 pounds of ozone-causing pollution a year! Motor vehicles pollute the air not only from the tailpipe, but also through what evaporates from the fuel system and the engine. A car or truck pollutes even while it's standing with the engine off! Not all ozone is bad for us. Six to thirty miles above the earth's surface, stratospheric ozone occurs naturally as a layer which protects us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. It's the ozone "down below," at the earth's surface, that causes problems, but it can be impacted by our commuting habits. Driving less is probably the most significant thing we can do to reduce air pollution! What actions can you take to reduce ground-level ozone? Join a carpool or a vanpool, walk or ride a bicycle, ride the bus or take the train, combine errands to make fewer trips, and avoid drive-through lanes. Drive a clean machine - use radial tires, keep tires properly inflated, tune your car regularly and test vehicle emissions on time. Be a smart driver - drive a fuel saving, moderate speeds, avoid jackrabbit starts and sudden stops, don't top off the tank, avoid idling, and on hazy, hot and humid days when the air quality is poor, refuel after dark. As the Transportation Coordinator you can multiply your individual efforts to reduce air pollution by encouraging the employees at your worksite to also use transportation alternatives for commuting. Here are some ways to do this that are simple, easy, and require very little of your time and effort: Hold a Transportation Day. Employees can find out about carpooling, vanpooling, transit and other alternatives. Call your MetroPool Program Manager to arrange this event. Your Program Manager can help with all the aspects of the planning, from arranging for transit providers to attend, to providing you with a custom designed flyer for publicity. Post the monthly flyers that MetroPool sends on your Commuter Information Center (CIC) or company bulletin board. To receive a FREE CIC and/or monthly flyers, contact your Program Manager. Place the transportation articles (sent with the monthly flyers) in your company newsletter. The June newsletter article was about ozone pollution. If you would like to receive the articles electronically, send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 203/324-6700. By taking actions to encourage the use of transportation alternatives, you will be doing a lot to ensure that we all breathe easier this summer.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 1999 EARTH DAY CONTEST PARTICIPANTS!
Congratulations to the 78 employers and more than 2,500 employees who participated in the 4th Annual "Get Alternative" Earth Day Contest! Thanks to your efforts, more than 2,100 single-occupant vehicles were removed from the road on at least one day; 6,200 gallons of fuel were saved and the following pollutants were eliminated: 397 lbs. of hydrocarbons, 447 lbs. of nitrogen oxide and 2,160 lbs. of carbon monoxide. Following is a list of the participating employers in Connecticut: (bold face and italic type indicates a winning company or organization - those with the most participants or highest percentage of participants) *Champion International Corporation, Stamford* Hyperion Software, Stamford Elizabeth Arden, Stamford Cytec Industries, Stamford GE Capital, Stamford Cologne Life Reinsurance, Stamford Mott's N.A., Stamford *Town of Greenwich, Greenwich* Trans Lux Corporation, Norwalk Inter-Act Systems, Norwalk Southwestern Regional Planning Agency, East Norwalk Cendant Mobility Corporation, Danbury Raytheon, Danbury Pitney Bowes, Inc., Danbury DuPont Photomasks, Danbury Grolier, Inc., Danbury Praxair, Inc., Danbury Union Carbide, Danbury Boehringer Ingelheim, Danbury Allied Signal, Danbury AVIS/Life Co., Danbury ComNet, Danbury Danbury Health Systems, Danbury Dean Witter, Danbury Pyramid (AON Risk Service), Danbury Visual Access Technology, Danbury Bristol Technologies, Danbury Westport Worldwide, Danbury *Garner Correctional Institution, Newtown* Hubbell Plastics, Newtown *Pitney Bowes Credit Corporation, Shelton* Robert Scinto, Inc., Shelton *Stratford Board of Education/Stratford Academy, Stratford* Emson Research, Inc., Stratford Housatonic Community Technical College, Bridgeport U.S. Postal Service, Bridgeport Sacred Heart University, Fairfield Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, Fairfield Following is a list of the participating employers in New York: (bold face and italic type indicates a winning company or organization - those with the most participants or highest percentage of participants) *Renaissance Westchester Hotel, White Plains* *Office of Hearing & Appeals, Social Security Administration, White Plains* NY State Insurance Fund, White Plains Albert Ashforth, Inc., White Plains Westchester County White Plains Office, White Plains Bell Atlantic, White Plains New York Power Authority, White Plains College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities, White Plains Bally, New Rochelle IBM, Hawthorne Westchester Medical Center, Hawthorne IBM, Yorktown Heights Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla American Health Foundation, Valhalla Sunburst Communications, Pleasantville Refined Sugars, Inc., Yonkers Leake & Watts Services, Inc., Yonkers Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry, Dobbs Ferry NYS Peekskill City Court, Peekskill Bell Atlantic, Peekskill Zierick Manufacturing, Mt. Kisco Sprint, Purchase Castle Oil Corporation, Harrison Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center, Mount Vernon County of Rockland, Pomona Barr Labs, Pomona Avon Products, Inc., Suffern *Rockland Community College, Suffern* Champion International Corporation, West Nyack The Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters, West Nyack Pearson Education, West Nyack Wyeth Ayerst, New City Letchworth DDSO, Thiells Town of Clarkstown, New City Rockland Psychiatric Center, Orangeburg Bell Atlantic Mobile, Orangeburg Barr Labs, Blauvelt IBM, Sterling Forest

NEW CHANGES ON WESTCHESTER'S BEE-LINE SYSTEM
Westchester Bee-Line has made several adjustments to its service, effective June 21. Service improvements include the expansion of Route 16 service into the Peekskill Railroad Station and improved connections on Route 14 for passengers transferring to Route 16, particularly for service into the Cortlandt Town Center for work and shopping. Service will be restored to the Boston-Secor Housing in the Bronx for Route 52 passengers and Routes 12 and 18 will serve new areas. Bee-Line has discontinued service on four bus routes: Routes 19G, 31, 49 and 84. Most passengers of Routes 31 and 49 will be able to ride Routes 18 and 12, respectively, where trips have been adjusted to provide comparable service, where possible, to the discontinued routes. Alternate service to Route 84, which serves park-and-ride locations in Putnam County for commuters to the White Plains area, is available on Route 77 from Carmel or MTA Metro-North Railroad service from the Brewster North train station. Service to less used locations on Routes 1T and 6 on weekends and Routes 16, 54 and BxM4C on weekdays will be reduced when certain segments of these routes are discontinued. The promotional fare of $2.50 on the BxM4C will end on June 21. Also, starting June 25, a new Bee-Line Route 75 will shuttle Playland Park visitors six days a week between the MTA Metro-North's Rye Railroad Station and Playland Park. Fare collection on Route 90, which serves the Bronx and Playland Park, will be simplified by collecting round-trip fares on the northbound trips only. These changes are designed to ease the heavy demand for bus service into Playland. Information on available alternate service can be obtained by calling the Bee-Line System at (914) 682-2020 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays.

COMMUTER REWARDS PROGRAM EXPANDED - NOW OVER 900 RETAILERS PARTICIPATING!
The Connecticut and New York State Departments of Transportation have announced the expansion of the SMART Ride Stuff Commuter Rewards Program, a bi-state rewards program for commuters who use alternative transportation one or more days a week. The program, launched last June, has grown from 200 merchants to more than 900 merchants representing over 8,100 locations locally and nationwide. Your MetroPool Program Manager is available to visit your worksite to promote the SMART Ride Stuff and enroll employees on-site. Membership cards and merchant catalogs will be distributed to employees who carpool, vanpool, walk, bike, ride the bus or train, telecommute, or work alternate hours or a compressed work week. For more information contact your Program Manager.

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