Champion Commuter

Patrick Hallinan - WA State Department of Ecology

Pat is an Environmental Engineer for WA State Dept of Ecology. Pat began riding his bike to work in the mid-90s, primarily because he really enjoyed biking, but he also felt it was an easy way to commute into work. Now nearly 30 years later, Pat continues to ride his bike into work 2-4 times per week.

With a 4-mile one way commute, Pat feels biking to work is a great way to get a bit of exercise in his daily routine. And, when the weather isn’t great and the days start to get colder and shorter, Pat has a couple bus routes that are convenient and will take the bus into work.

WA State Dept of Ecology currently offers a $1/each way incentive for using commute options to get to work. The financial incentive and chance to win prizes really motivated Pat to start tracking his commutes. Since logging his trips in 2004, Pat has saved nearly 7,000 miles on our roads by using commute options.

Pat is an advocate for commute options. He continues to inquire with the Department about the possibilities of offering a work sponsored bus pass program. He wants to make using commute options more accessible to more employees and show them how easy it is to use commute options.

ETC, Amanda Hiebert, says “Pat is more of a quiet leader when it comes to commuting options, but he leads by example”.

Congratulation Pat!