Ann Arbor, Mich.’s getDowntown Program announced that over 35,000 alternative commutes were logged by almost 2,300 commuters in this year’s Commuter Challenge held during the month of May. These commuters, from 307 different organizations, commuted to work by walking, biking, taking the bus, carpooling, vanpooling, and telecommuting.

The Commuter Challenge encourages commuters to travel to work using alternative modes of transportation during the month of May. The goal of the challenge is to encourage people that may not otherwise use alternative modes of transportation to use it at least once during this competition. By doing so, they may be more inclined to continue after the competition is complete. Participants earned points for the challenge by logging their alternative commutes on a website and referring friends, neighbors, or co-workers to do the same.

“We appreciated all of the energy provided to this year’s competition,” Chris Simmons, director, getDowntown Program, said. “We were really excited to be working with new partners for Bike to Work Day, especially the Bike Alliance of Washtenaw, and are looking forward to ways to do more events with partners for next year.”

The Commuter Challenge is organized by getDowntown Program, a partnership of TheRide, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, and the City of Ann Arbor. This year’s Commuter Challenge Sustainability Superstar Sponsor is Google.