During October, Washington University staff, faculty, and students participated in Active Transportation Month by commuting more on foot, bike, and/or the Metro. Studies have shown that active commuters add 15-45 minutes of physical activity to their day, depending on the mode of commuting. For many WUSTL commuters, benefits include escaping the stresses commonly associated with rush hour driving in single occupancy vehicles.
Throughout the month, hundreds of WUSTL community members also attended events including free bike tune-ups by Big Shark Bicycle Company, Breakfast for Bikers at Kayak’s Coffee, and a Bike-In Movie on Art Hill in Forest Park, featuring local food trucks and a screening of “Ghostbusters.”
In addition to attending events on the Danforth and School of Medicine campuses, several dozen WUSTL members participated in the Active Transportation Challenge by forming teams and logging their car-free commutes. Congratulations to the BiblioRiders team for winning all of the challenge categories for the second time in a row! They won in each of the following categories:
- Highest number of car-free trips – 335 trips
- Greatest number of car-free miles – 3773.3 miles
- Largest number of team members at the end of the month – 20 participants
The next Active Transportation Month will take place in April 2016. We encourage you to step up your commitment to active transportation between now and then, even if it’s just one day a month!