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This year the CobbRides Holiday Zipper is off to a record start.

Thanks to our commuters, our first two weeks saw a record number of riders, which also means a record number of cars off the road and emissions reduced.

You, too can avoid the stress of holiday traffic.

Join in on the fun, prizes and relaxation. The Zipper runs Monday - Friday until December 21st. Visit our website for specific route and time information.

With gas prices on the rise, now is the time to save some money, reduce stress and arrive at work relaxed.

Let CobbRides help you start a vanpool. Only 7 riders are needed and the volunteer driver rides for free.

Visit our routes page for current routes that may fit your commute.

Vanpool seats are currently only $50 per month, gas included. Contact Jennine@CobbRides.com for details.

CobbRides vanpooler, Carolyn Ashby of Genuine Parts Company won a free lunch for her office last week.

Carolyn found The Clean Air Campaign/CobbRides/ 94.9 The Bull contest on our home page and submitted her commute story.

She explained how she saves time and money, arrives at work relaxed, and has a lot of fun with her co-poolers. Carolyn also stated that she saves money on her car insurance and wear and tear on her vehicle.

Carolyn was one of the weekly winners and she and 50 coworkers received a catered lunch from Copeland's.

When asked about her winnings, Carolyn stated "I would encourage everyone to read the information on the CobbRides reminders because you never know what you might find or win." "We are eating the leftovers tomorrow. Thank you, CobbRides."

See Winning Ways on our home page for this and other exciting year round promotions.

Georgia 511 is a free phone service from the Georgia DOT that provides real-time traffic and travel information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

511 provides information for all state routes and interstates and gives estimated travel times in metro Atlanta.

Callers can speak to live operators to report incidents, request assistance, or connect to other services such as transit partners, airports, tourism information and 511 systems in neighboring states.

Getting around on Atlanta's transit and transportation systems can be confusing and frustrating. A comprehensive source of information is now available!

Citizens for Progressive Transit (CFPT) is bursting with pride as the A-TRAIN Online Trip Planner is launched to help Atlantans get around by transit, bicycle, and on foot.

The new A-TRAIN Trip Planner tells you the shortest way to get to where you want to go, by walking, using transit, biking, and transferring between different routes. It can be used online or via cell phone. Visit their new site.

Alternative commuters need to be sure they can get home in a hurry on a day an emergency arises. The Guaranteed Ride Home program exists to ensure you get where you need to be in case of an unexpected situation.

In order to provide even greater quality service to commuters, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is making changes to the Guaranteed Ride Home Program that will become effective February 1, 2008. Program changes are currently being finalized.

Please visit www.187ridefind.com or wwwcobbrides.com periodically, for further details.

Earlier this year the Texas Transportation Institute released the 2007 Urban Mobility Report. What does that mean for Atlanta?

Unfortunately, it is confirmation that our traffic problems are some of the worst in the country.

Atlanta ranks second for the number of hours the average driver spends stuck in traffic (60 hours annually).

Congestion costs Atlanta commuters an extra $1,177 per year, a total of $2.6 billion regionally.

Drivers waste more than 96 million gallons of fuel while sitting in traffic.

Here is the good news. A recent study* shows that metro Atlanta has a growing and dedicated number of commuters and employers embracing commute alternatives.

Nearly 500,000 commuters telework on at least an occasional basis.

Approximately 14 percent of all commuters (350,000 people) use commute alternatives three or more days per week. Of those, almost half carpool or vanpool.

Sixty-nine percent of employers now offer information or services on commute alternatives.

These numbers show that the combined efforts of clean commuters across the region are having a large impact.

If you are not already using a commute alternative, it is time to check out your options. Visit CobbRides.com for more information and to see what works best for you.

* Source: 2007 Regional Commuter and Regional Business Leaders Surveys, conducted by the Center for Transportation and the Environment on behalf of the Georgia Dept. of Transportation