Austin Mayor Steve Adler is asking commuters to avoid driving during peak hours May 11 as a way to alleviate traffic congestion. Adler’s challenge comes after the success of encouraging residents to avoid driving to downtown Austin during President Barack Obama’s visit March 11 for South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals. Dubbed Austin Don’t Rush day, Adler said residents have other options for commuting. “This time we’re simply asking people to avoid rush hour,” he said in a news release. “Take a train, a bus, or a bike. Talk to your boss about changing your hours to avoid rush hour. Maybe work from home and come in at noon. You have a lot of options, and this time we have a lot of support. The message last time was to work from home. This time it’s even easier: Austin, don’t rush.”

Free public transit

In support of Austin Don’t Rush, Capital Metro, the city’s public transportation provider, will offer free rides all day on its buses, trains and special access vehicles. This includes the University of Texas shuttle, MetroRail and MetroRapid buses. “We're pleased to support the mayor’s vision to reduce traffic congestion in this one-day challenge,” Capital Metro President/CEO Linda Watson said. “This is a great time to try transit, and we hope that people who don’t ride often, or at all, will get on board a bus or train on May 11 to see how easy it can be.” Metropia is an app that helps users find the best route and best time to leave for their destination. Users earn points based on using that route.[/caption]

Traffic app

For residents who still need to drive to their office, Metropia is an app that helps users plan the best time to take their trips and offers rewards for taking that trip. On May 11, users will receive bonus points for traveling outside of the 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. peak periods or using the DUO carpool feature. Mia Zmud, Metropia vice president of ecosystem partnerships, said Metropia’s traffic engineers use real-time traffic data, user data and daily traffic flows to feed into the algorithm that sets points for trips. Metropia shows users the best route for their trip and awards points based on the departure time. “We’re happy to be part of the mayor’s initiative, and if [residents] do drive we encourage them to shift out of their peak time or carpool,” Zmud said. On May 11, users can also enter in the promo code adr2016 to be entered into a raffle for prizes, gift cards and extra points.

Free rural service

Also offering free service May 11 is the Capital Area Rural Transportation System on its nine regional commuter routes that connect Austin to other cities, including Georgetown, Round Rock and San Marcos, and fixed-route service in Bastrop and San Marcos. CARTS serves a nine-county region outside of Austin’s city limits.

Other service

Zipcar and Car2go are also offering residents promotions to sign up before Austin Don’t Rush day. Visit Zipcar site or Car2go site for more information. Austin B-cycle will offer free 24-hour access memberships to Austin residents who use the code 051116 at any station throughout the city. Visit the blog for more information. “Austin B-cycle provides a low-cost, healthy option for short trips and that last-mile connection from transit to work,” Austin B-cycle Executive Director Elliott McFadden said in a news release. “In addition, everyone who rides Austin B-cycle with our Austin Don’t Rush code on May 11 will get an additional month of Austin B-cycle at no charge so they can keep reducing traffic with our fun, fast service.”