5 Reasons to Keep on Pedaling for Bike Month

You still have plenty of time to get your 10 bike trips in to be eligible for prizes! Head on over to Pierce Trips for your chance to win. Going to a game, a museum (free third Thursday, anyone?) or restaurant? Arrive by bike! 

5 Great Reasons to join the Bike Everywhere Challenge:

1. Explore. Travel through downtown Tacoma while completing Downtown On the Go’s Bike Bingo or get rewarded biking to the Broadway Farmer’s Market!
2. Commute. Practice your bike commute by planning your route and trying it out on the weekend. 
3. Destress. Take in the sights and sounds that you would miss when you drive a car. What do you see along your route? Share a photo on Facebook or Twitter with #BikeMonth and #PierceTrips to win a prize.
4. Compete. Race amongst other Pierce County bicycle teams to win a pizza party! Check out the Bike Month team leaderboard.
5. Practice. Get the family involved! Get fitted for helmets (confirm with locations first) and bike to a shop offering Bicycle Benefits or enjoy a trail.

June is Ride Transit Month

June is Ride Transit Month, which encourages folks to replace a car ride with a bus ride! Take a look at the bus stops nearest to you. Which bus routes do you see? Can you take any of those routes to a destination? Perhaps you can combine bicycling and transit or travel to a Park and Ride and take transit. Some examples include: Taking transit to a Rainiers game, a performance or concert, a museum, a restaurant, or a park.

To kick off Ride Transit Month, Pierce Transit is providing free rides on Pierce Transit’s bus, SHUTTLE and Runner services on Thursday, June 1.

Thank You for a Great Bike Swap

Thank you to everyone who made the 12th Annual Bike Swap a success. Hundreds of people came to the Swap on May 6 to buy and sell bikes for themselves or their loved ones, engage with the Map Masters to find good bike routes, test their ridings skills at the Bike Rodeo, and engage with vendors including a bicycling balloon artist (using biodegradable balloons!). There were plenty of smiling faces. Take a look at the photo album! 

Walk Tacoma: Downtown Tacoma Waterfront Tour, Wednesday, June 14 

Join Downtown On the Go for a tour of the infrastructure, built environment and natural processes that go into the Commencement Bay watershed, led by experts from Metro Parks Tacoma, the Port of Tacoma, and GeoEngineers. Find out that: “It’s Under Your Feet: Rocks, Water and the Built Environment!”

Walk Tacoma with us on Wednesday, June 14th at 6:00 p.m., starting at the Foss Waterway.

Learn more and register here.

2023 Second Quarter Pledges

Whether you want to share the ride, walk or bicycle, or work from home more often, keep yourself on track by creating a pledge on the Pierce Trips Calendar (scroll under calendar). Folks who set and complete a pledge between April 1 and June 30 will be entered into a prize drawing for a $20 or $25 gift card!

Sound Transit Updates

Sounder South Train Updates: Commuting habits have changed, and Sound Transit (ST) recognizes the opportunity to reimagine the Sounder South and how it can better serve your travel needs. Stay tuned for public outreach later this year, where you can share your input about priorities for Sounder South.  

Sound Transit Express Routes Survey: Do you ride a Sound Transit Express Route or interested in being a future rider? You can help shape the future of the Express Routes 560, 566, 577/578, 590/594, and 592. ST is surveying transit riders to make potential service improvements, which will be announced this summer. Please take the 3–4-minute survey which closes on Friday, May 26.

Our Next Commuter Profile: Jasleen K.

As a student at UW-Tacoma, Jasleen has a U-PASS which provides her with unlimited rides on regional buses, commuter trains, light rail and water taxis as well as full fare coverage on vanpools. At $45 a quarter, it's easy to see why she and many others take transit for school, work, and personal trips.

Check out the full commuter profile here.

Take Transit to Events in University Place or Lakewood

Getting ready for Ride Transit Month? The City of University Place and the City of Lakewood have ORCA cards loaded with $10 available for folks to attend their community events. Events in Lakewood include Farmer’s Markets and Summer Outdoor Concerts. Events in University Place include the Duck Daze celebration and Music on the Square.

Request your ORCA card for Lakewood events and University Place events.

Don’t forget – all riders 18 and younger can take transit for free! Learn more here.

Pierce County Sustainability 2030 Plan Update Survey

Pierce County is collecting feedback for their Sustainability 2030 Plan update, which calls for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by the year 2030. Achieving this goal requires the County to listen to and work with community members to connect solutions with community priorities. If you live, work, or play in Pierce County, you are invited to share your feedback on what's going well and what can be improved in the County.