September-October 2004 Community Partner Champion

CommuterLink from Queens, New York

CommuterLink began as a small demonstration project in Queens, New York. In eight years it has grown to serve the entire five boroughs of New York City (NYC). The non-profit organization became an It All Adds Up Community Partner in 2000, and has successfully incorporated many parts of the initiative into its outreach program. They have earned the distinction of being the Community Partner Champion of the Month.

CommuterLink promotes carpooling, vanpooling, and mass transit as solutions for the congestion and air quality problems in the greater NYC area. It developed and for four years has managed the Ozone NY Program. This air quality initiative—sponsored by the New York State Department of Transportation with support from the New York City DOT (NYCDOT)—serves the 13 counties of downstate New York, including the five boroughs of NYC, the two counties on Long Island, and six counties in the Lower Hudson Valley. Over 550 businesses have joined as partners to promote responsible transportation choices in the region.

This year Ozone NY launched a new and innovative campaign—Get a Plant, Green Means Cleaner Air. The campaign, which includes traffic, sports, and weather report sponsorships on several radio stations and advertisements on several local cable TV networks (such as HGTV and Fox News), targets individuals rather than the business audience that Ozone NY traditionally targets. The ads center on the simple and thought-provoking concept that plants can improve air quality by reducing ground-level ozone (see www.OzoneNY.org for details on how plants can reduce VOC levels and air temperature).

As part of the program, Ozone NY formed partnerships with 250 plant stores in the region that will allow anyone who mentions ground-level ozone to get a 5-10% discount on the purchase of a plant. The plant stores were given two posters to help them promote the campaign. In turn, the plant stores receive free advertising and a listing on the Ozone NY web site. A plant tag congratulates purchasers for taking the first step to improving air quality, lists three more steps from the It All Adds Up “Ten Simple Steps to Improving Air Quality” flyer, and directs customers to the Ozone NY web site for more information.

A new Ozone NY feature that evolved from the Get a Plant, Green Means Cleaner Air campaign allows individuals, not just businesses, to sign up to receive Ozone Action Day alerts. Go to www.OzoneNY.org to see the TV ad and more about the campaign.

A core part of Ozone NY’s program still involves notifying their partners—and now individuals—of forecasted Ozone Action Days. They rotate several versions of the forecast notice, which include educational information, such as the messages and tips on alternate commute modes and refueling from the It All Adds Up “Ten Simple Steps” and seasonal simple steps flyers.

CommuterLink has developed elementary and middle school curricula for area teachers, and has included some of the It All Adds Up messages in the lessons. The organization also aims to educate young people about the health hazards of ozone and its relationship to the transportation choices they soon will be making.

CommuterLink has been using the It All Adds Up materials in their promotional and advertising efforts for quite a while. In 2000, they added partner logos to the initiative's three television ads, which the local NYC cable company ran for free. Again, in 2003, they customized the three television ads with Ozone NY and partner logos and ran them for nearly two months on the CBS affiliate in New York City. This way, they were able to reach millions of people on a regular basis.

They also have run the It All Adds Up print ads in several local and regional newspapers. Across downstate NY the initiative’s messages and materials were used on give-away items, billboards, bus shelter signs, fast food trayliners, and gas pump signs. NYCDOT provided much assistance by finding sponsors—such as ESPN, Reebok, Mobil Oil, Ford Motor Company, and McDonalds—to print and distribute the materials. They also arranged for the ads to be shown on electronic billboards in Times Square, Shea Stadium, and Yankee Stadium. CommuterLink ran radio ads on two local stations throughout the summers of 2002 and 2003 as well.

Contact John Galgano at (718) 886-1343 for more information on CommuterLink and Ozone NY, or visit their Web sites at www.CommuterLink.com and www.OzoneNY.org, which has been completely redesigned.

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