Champion Commuter

Steven Gimpel - WA St. Department of Ecology

Steven is a Grants and Planning Specialist for the WA State Dept. of Ecology. Being environmentally conscious, Steven started using commute options after he began working at the Dept. of Ecology in June 2019. He began riding his bike into work 4 days per week during the summer months and would carpool with his wife 4 days per week the rest of the year.

Since the pandemic, he’s now able to telework 4 days per week. With an 18-mile round trip commute, only having to drive into work 1 day each week saves him money, time and honestly, he HATES driving!

Steven enjoyed the exercise when he was able to ride his bike into work. But now bicycling is a bit more challenging as he would have to carry all his clothes and computer equipment during his commute.

Steven admits he’s a bit of an efficiency freak. When he does drive into work, he tries to include other errands, as he hates to just drive back and forth to work.

He tries to encourage everyone, just not co-workers to use commute options, not only for the environment, personal finances, but for the physical fitness as well.

ETC, Amanda Hiebert says, “Steven is a great advocate for commuting smart and logging his trips and sets a great example for other employees”.

Congratulations Steven!