Carpooling program saves millions of pounds of CO2

By Gabrielle Gasser ASSOCIATE EDITOR

BIG SKY – A month-long carpooling incentive program for commuters driving from the Gallatin Valley to Big Sky saved millions of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions in the month of March.

The Big Sky One Less Car program, offered through local organizations the Big Sky Sustainability Network Organization and GoGallatin, was a pilot effort to reduce the number of cars driving the Gallatin Canyon on a daily basis. The program, funded by a Yellowstone Club Community Foundation grant, offered $15 gift cards to commuters who carpooled at least four times in March and logged their trips. 

According to Lizzie Peyton, community engagement director of SNO, the goal is to start a year-long continuous incentive program based on the success of the pilot in March. SNO applied for a grant to support the new program and will continue working with GoGallatin to reduce single-occupancy vehicles in the canyon.

“Overall, SNO and GoGallatin are thrilled at the success of the Big Sky One Less Car commuter incentive program this March,” Peyton wrote in an email to EBS. “With over 70 individual commuters signing up for the SNO network, and 46 logging 4 trips to redeem $15 gift cards, we feel strongly that this program has vast growth potential to reduce carbon emissions and transit costs while growing a sense of community.”

View the graphic below to see the program by the numbers.