For the second year in a row, UF students, faculty and staff are choosing not to drive themselves crazy while getting around Gainesville.
Registration for the second annual One Less Car Challenge, which promotes saving the environment by finding alternatives to driving, began Monday and will last until Nov. 20.
Stephanie Sims, the implementation plan coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, said some of the alternatives the challenge highlights include cycling, public transportation from the Regional Transit System and Zipcar, a hybrid-car rental service.
Sims said this year the challenge is also using GreenRide, a carpool-coordinating software program, to give people the option of carpooling to and from campus. Students will be able to register for GreenRide though the Office of Sustainability's Web site and find carpool partners in their area.
She said the software also records each participant's alternative commutes and keeps track of the points they earn throughout the challenge.
Teams and their members receive points for using alternative transportation and referring friends to the challenge, Sims said.
Anna Prizzia, the director of the Office of Sustainability, said she rides her bike to work each day to avoid searching for parking and to get fresh air.
"Being the director of the Office of Sustainability, I find it very important to walk the talk and lead by example," she said.
Andrea Grossman, a junior environmental science major and intern at the office, said she also bikes to campus from her apartment.
Grossman said biking helps her get to campus faster.
"I feel like it would just be good for people to try some different ways of getting to campus because they might find something that is more convenient for them and that also helps out the environment,"she said.
To showcase these different forms of commuting, the challenge will host an Alternative Transportation Fair Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Reitz Union North Lawn.
