This article is adapted from one that was published at ATP’s blog here.
Arlington Transportation Partners just celebrated 231 businesses and properties at its fourth annual Champions banquet. (See Mobility Lab’s coverage of last year’s event here.)
Zipcar’s Sabrina Sussman
That’s 231 businesses and properties that have made commitments in the Virginia county towards implementation of significant transportation amenities.
Zipcar’s Sabrina Sussman, formerly a policy advisor for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, was the keynote speaker this year. One of our favorite metaphors Sussman shared is that mobility and our transportation options should be more like Chipotle — where we can pick from a menu of options to create what we like. With more options, people are able to make more conscious decisions about how we get from place to place.
In reference to Champions, Sabrina states, “The strength of this program is the diversity of the program.” Just as no two Chipotle burritos are the same, no two Champions journeys are identical either. To further illustrate her point, she shared a slide originating from the City of Toronto that highlights nearly 40 options that are each vital cogs to the success of an overall transportation network.
Also at the banquet, we launched our latest video that really shows how Champions programs work for ATP’s clients and for individuals. Take a look, it’s pretty touching.
Finally, take a look at some of the accomplishments of Champions from this past year alone. We think our work makes a pretty compelling case to implement these kinds of programs in other places:
- 13 Champions installed new facilities to support active commuters
- Three new companies received Bicycle Friendly Business designations from the League of American Bicyclists (with one company improving its level), and
- Of all the Champions, there were 396 new initiatives, including the introduction of things like carsharing subsidies, support for Bike to Work Day, telework programs, and implementation of transportation tax benefits.
Sussman challenged the business and property representatives attending the banquet to always be considering the addition of even more mobility “ingredients” to their unique Chipotle order – whether it’s carshare, bikeshare, transit, or vanpool.
Photo of awards by Reema Desai/ReemaDesai.com for Arlington Transportation Partners.