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Arlington citizens can win prizes and help the environment if they take the pledge not to drive their car today, Sept. 22, during Car Free Day, hosted by Arlington Transportation Partners.

Car Free Day is an annual event to encourage sustainable travel methods and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion, according to the event鈥檚 website. By taking the , citizens are automatically entered into a raffle for a chance to win prizes. Prizes include grocery store gift cards, a Capital Bikeshare membership, a $25 SmartTrip card and gift cards to local restaurants.

As of Sept. 21, the majority of the pledges said teleworking would be their mode of transportation rather than a car. But Jim Larsen, the Bureau Chief at Arlington County Commuter Services, said transit and metro are usually the most popular in previous years.

鈥淎rlington has been a leader in getting people not to drive their car,鈥� Larsen said. He said as climate change continues to become a global problem, Arlington has only continued to reduce its emissions and encourage eco-friendly modes of travel.

While the Department of Environmental Services does not have recent emissions data, it has maintained a trend of reducing emissions even as the population goes up, according to a

Larsen also provided a survey by MobilityLab with data on Arlington commuters from 2019. According to the survey, Arlington residents:

• used a bus or train for 40% of their weekly commute trips, compared to the regional average of 24%;
• used a car alone for 41% of their trips, below the 57% rate for all regional employees;
• biked or walked for 8% of weekly trips, compared to 3% for regional employees.

Since this data is from 2019, it does not reflect the shift away from public transport and toward telework. Matt, 34, who didn鈥檛 want to provide a last name, is one of Arlington鈥檚 teleworkers who would have taken transit otherwise.

鈥淚 would be taking the metro under normal circumstances because I work in downtown D.C.,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut working from home, I don鈥檛 use any transit most days.鈥�

Larsen said Car Free Day provides an opportunity to advertise that some public transit, specifically the metro, is available, and safe, for people to ride.

鈥淲e push the fact that things are washed daily and substantially sanitized,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or other transit, we鈥檙e hoping for January. We鈥檙e hoping sooner than that, but the question still becomes: how do we get people back on?鈥�

Larsen said he worries that the pandemic has driven people away from more sustainable transportation, such as transit and carpooling. But Sarah, 29, who didn鈥檛 want to provide a last name, said the pandemic actually made it easier for her to drive her car less because of telework options, which she said is her way of reducing emissions.

鈥淚 feel like we鈥檙e driving a lot less in general,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e spent way less on gas. One tank of gas a month, mainly.鈥�

For those who do leave their houses, WMATA is working to make riding the metro safe. Some may still be afraid, but Larsen said Arlington has other options beside taking a car. He specifically mentioned BikeArlington, a bike -education and -encouragement program, and Capital Bikeshare, a bike-share service where if you buy a pass, you can use any of the bikes on sidewalks to get around Arlington.

鈥淲e always try to be innovative, and we have been innovative,鈥� Larsen said. 鈥淲ithout our programs, there would be 45,000 cars on the road.鈥�