Commuter Challenge 2026

Each year, the Commuter Challenge encourages community members to choose sustainable transportation (such as walking, biking, carpooling, vanpooling, and using public transit) for travel to and from work. During the 2026 Commuter Challenge, which ran from May 1 – May 31, six hundred nine people reported using green transportation for 11,570 commutes. 

Participants in the challenge avoided purchasing an estimated 4,678 gallons of gas and more than 45 tons of CO2 that could have been products of their May commutes. According to the US EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator, the amount of CO2 the 2026 Commuter Challenge avoided is nearly equivalent to 10 gas-powered vehicles driven for a year.

Twenty individuals won prizes from area restaurants and shops by logging commutes and engaging in social media contests, and all participants earned a free scoop of ice cream from Washtenaw Dairy when they logged their first commute.

In addition to the individual prizes, dozens of local workplace teams competed in four size categories to record the highest percentage of employees logging a sustainable commute. The winning 2026 Commuter Challenge workplace teams are:

• 2-20 employees: University of Michigan ADVANCE Program
• 21-49 employees: Workantile
• 50-100 employees: Atomic Object
• 101+ employees: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Additional kudos to runners-up:

• Small: Thistle and Bess and A2RU 
• Medium: William L. Clements Library and SOS Community Services 
• Large: Mathematical Reviews and SmithGroup 
• X-Large: U-M Center for Academic Innovation and U-M SPH Department of Epidemiology 

The 2026 Commuter Challenge would not be the same without the support of local businesses that contributed prizes, including Sweetgreen, Washtenaw Dairy, Ypsilanti Food Co-op, Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Comet Coffee, Zingerman's Deli, Found Gallery, Human Electric Hybrids, Bivouac Ann Arbor, Kerrytown Market & Shops, Spun, Detroit Street Filling Station, Jabal Coffee House, and University of Michigan Credit Union.

Community members are invited to keep logging their commutes throughout the year at win.getDowntown.org and to be on the lookout for future challenges from the getDowntown Program.