Way2Go Gets People from Here to There 
Chrisophia Somerfeldt of Way2Go is considering the purchase of an electric bicycle.
Is it possible that tens of millions of working Americans could get rid of their cars? Those feeling frustration with the way their current transportation, or lack of transportation, is running their lives, or ruining their wallets, can take a deep breath because there are options.
This is where Way2Go steps in. Following a year of intensive transportation research, compiling information and getting waytwogoinfo. org up and running, the county-wide program makes its official public launch with a free workshop called “Go Green, Save Green: Getting Around for Less,” on Thursday, March 11, from 6-7 p.m. at Cornell Cooperative Extension; and again on Saturday, March 13, from 3-4 p.m. in the Borg Warner Room of Tompkins County Public Library.
Based at Cornell Cooperative Extension, Way2Go is a federallyfunded program administered through the Tompkins County Department of Social Services. This program has evolved from what was originally known as RideWise, and is designed to serve as a resource for current transportation needs in Tompkins County. It’s basically a one-stopshop for information about how residents can save money, reduce pollution and learn about innovative transportation solutions that are popping up left and right in this area.
Dwight Mengel, Chief Transportation Planner with the Department of Social Services, says that Way2Go’s consolidated and central education outreach program for transportation modes is the only comprehensive program of its sort in New York State. “No one else has put a Web site like this together,” he says. “As new transportation initiatives roll out, we have this central information program to plug everything into.”
With the hope that the Way2Go model will be expanded regionally, or even state-wide, Mengel says that the conventional way for transportation services in the area to market themselves is on their own, but consolidating is a new way to advertise transportation services. “While the bus and taxi companies have their own marketing programs, there was not, until Way2Go, one place where people could go to find transportation information on all options. This is extremely powerful,” Mengel says.
At the helm of the effort is Chrisophia Somerfeldt, a transportation educator and green living advocate who lives on Ithaca’s West Hill. With experience as an informal community educator working in a variety of arenas, particularly social justice, equity and environmental issues, she gave up her car when she could no longer afford it.
Today, Somerfeldt practices what she preaches, and uses many of the alternative modes of transportation she promotes on way2goinfo. org, including Tompkins County’s van pooling and Ithaca Carshare programs, in addition to moneysavers such as sharing car rides, going car-lite, taking staycations, hopping on the bus to an Ithaca Carshare car, riding scooters, walking, or calling taxis.
“It’s interesting for me to see how my lifestyle has changed since I got rid of my car,” says Somerfeldt, who is considering the purchase of an electric bicycle to make climbing hills in Ithaca less work. It’s much more interactive riding the bus and coordinating transportation with more people,” she says.
In addition to answering calls and e-mails that she receives through way2goinfo.org about Gadabout bus services, ADA paratransit services, park-and-ride lots, bicycle organizations in town, or do-it-yourself carsharing, Somerfeldt reflects on a recurring finding during her first year of research: those who live outside the city, where housing is more affordable, have run-ins with transportation because there are fewer options further out of town. “And owning your own vehicle is the most expensive way to get around,” says Somerfeldt, adding that even though, for the average person, a car sits 95 percent of the time, it still costs about $20 a day to own a vehicle.
Yet Somerfeldt, who can cite many transportation factoids, is not suggesting car owners jump the gun and sell their cars. She has discovered some atypical ways to save gas simply based on the way a person maintains or drives his car. First, take unnecessary weight out of the car; second, don’t drive aggressively; third, stop idling the car, unless you’re at a traffic light (two minutes of idling uses nearly the same amount of gas needed to drive a mile); fourth, keep the tires properly inflated; and fifth, share rides more often to cut costs dramatically.
Since its clear to Somerfeldt that there are long overdue transportation needs for those living in Newfield and Enfield searching for affordable and easy ways to travel to and from Ithaca, Way2Go will soon be promoting CityVan, a program that should be running within the next few weeks. CityVan is a pilot program helping people to travel from Newfield and Enfield to Ithaca, and back. This service has been established to help those who do not live close to TCAT bus routes, or who need to travel at times that TCAT does not operate.
A CityVan will take Newfield and Enfield residents to Ithaca five times a day, Monday through Friday. The one-way fare is $3 for adults (age 18 and older) and $2 for youth (ages six to 17). Children ages five and under ride for free when accompanied by an adult, with a limit of three children riding for free per adult. Once CityVan is up and running, those interested can contact Ithaca Dispatch for a ride.
Other innovative transportation services being established and promoted by Way2Go include Volunteer Ride Services in Tompkins County. And Carrie Kerr, a local retired teacher, has organized a volunteer program called Retired Educators Drive (RED). Says Mengel, “We have been meeting with Carrie regarding RED on a regular basis. What we are looking for are successful models for volunteer driver programs. Once organized, we want them to operate as efficiently as possible and we know that there is some technical assistance the county can give in terms of ride reservation systems.”
What this will mean is that if there are 20 volunteer drivers in the area and there’s an Web site that posts when they are available to drive, the public can register a request for a volunteer ride. That request will then go to those volunteer drivers who are available. “Not only that,” Mengel notes, “but the volunteers can also look at the requests that are not being filled.”
It’s handling the logistics of allvolunteer driver programs that Way2Go wants to support. According to Way2Go, we, as a community, have to get serious about transportation with real options. People need more than one way to go.
