The storm that passed through our region in late April left many damaged vehicles, homes and hearts in its wake. It's hard to imagine that anything good could have come from it but Smart Trips has learned from its participants that that is exactly what happened.
Hail took Smart Trips coordinator Alisa Ashouri's family from two cars down to one. "Simply put, we had to explore other options. At first my husband and I just made do with the one car and then I thought maybe it's time to check again and see if I have any carpool matches. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit, I was driving alone."
Between the new ridematching system and the many registrants signed up during the Commuter Challenge, Alisa found a carpool partner and is happy with the results. "We got our car fixed, but I'm still carpooling. It's great having someone to converse with on the way to and from work and not having to fill up my tank as often is pretty nice too!"
For Dr. Patricia Sura, another commuter whose windshield was damaged by the storm, bicycle commuting was the chosen alternative. During the month of May, while waiting for the windshield to be fixed, Dr. Sura used the bike to visit friends, run errands and to get back and forth from work. Once the car was fixed, she simply stayed with it. Dr. Sura has been chosen as Smart Trips April Commuter of the Month.
For information about the Smart Trips program and the Commuter Challenge, go to www.knoxsmarttrips.org.
