City’s Innovative GO Santa Cruz Program Reports Strong Response from Downtown Employees
The results are in and they show strong support for the City’s new GO Santa Cruz Program. The initiative, launched October 1, aims to provide downtown employees with commute alternatives to single-occupant car trips. Since launch, 830 of 4,000 downtown employees (20.8 percent) have registered through the online portal for the program.
To date, participants have requested:
588 free METRO transit passes
181 JUMP bike discount benefits
115 BikeLink bike locker cards
"We are excited to see Downtown employees taking advantage of the benefits of the program and utilizing alternative methods to commute to work,” said City of Santa Cruz Transportation Planner Claire Gallogly. “We expect to see engagement continue to increase as more people become aware of the variety of incentives offered and how easy it is to get started."
In addition to free transit passes, free bike locker cards and discounted JUMP bike memberships, the GO Santa Cruz program offers bike safety trainings, carpool incentives, and carpool ride matching and commute information. Not to mention the opportunity to earn Downtown Dollars that can be spent just like cash at a variety of downtown businesses including many of your favorite shops and restaurants.
Getting started is easy:
Sign up at https://my.cruz511.org/s/gosantacruz – which offers trip logging, carpool matching, transit options, and bike and walk routing.
Scroll down to the “My Rewards” section and choose your rewards.
Follow the instructions you receive and someone from the GO Santa Cruz team will deliver your transportation item to you!
Still unsure if GO Santa Cruz is right for you? Here’s what others have been saying:
“Even though I live just two blocks from a bus stop, I’d never really considered taking public transportation to my job downtown until I saw that the Go Santa Cruz program offered free METRO passes. It was easy to get a pass and figure out the best route. The bus has been on time, more relaxing than driving, and makes it so I don't need to pay for parking. I highly recommend it to everyone that lives along a bus route!”
Shawn Orgel-Olson, Environmental Innovations
“I’ve recently moved outside of walking distance from my job at Bookshop Santa Cruz, and I’ll now use my GO Santa Cruz bus pass for the commute to work. I love having the opportunity to be environmentally conscious, while saving money on gas and parking!”
Jax Caldwell-Dunn, Bookshop Santa Cruz