The Switch, Part 1 – Mobility Lab’s video series on how everyday Americans can rethink their transportation options.
Teachers who rideshare, or “carpool,” get to wave at the other commuters stuck in traffic as they breeze past in the HOV lanes.
And that’s not all. Once teachers get to school – in the case of this video, at Oakridge Elementary School and Arlington Community High School – they have priority carpool parking right in front.
Some call it “carpool therapy.”
At Oakridge, teachers have added a “commuter lounge,” where teachers and staff who bike or walk to work can have a place to change and store their gear for the day.
If driving is not their thing, all employees of the public schools get a free membership to Capital Bikeshare. Yes, free. And pretty stress-free too.
This is all part of Arlington County, Va.’s first-in-the-nation program to help teachers and staff with their commutes to work.
While Safe Routes to School and other organizations have long worked to improve the rates of students returning to the days of active transportation to school, Arlington Transportation Partners is the wing of the county government that is taking the ideal one step further.
The work that Elizabeth Denton and her ATP team is performing to transform travel patterns in Arlington is featured in the first of our new series of videos called The Switch. Many Americans are coming to the realization that driving alone to work is no longer cool, sustainable, healthy, or smart.
Mobility Lab, along with our production team at Rainlake, is highlighting these stories to help inspire YOU to make The Switch.
For more about about transportation options and school, see these Mobility Lab resources: