Commuter Challenge Frequently Asked Questions

How the Challenge works

Commuter Challenge is a week long, national event that occurs during National environment week. The event is coordinated by Green Action Centre in Winnipeg. This event encourages people to use sustainable transportation during the week for their Mental and physical health, to minimize their impact on the environment and for workplaces to demonstrate commitment to environmental sustainability. During the Pandemic, the challenge was expanded to include activities outside of commuting. This year, the challenge will be focusing on Commuting once again.

What activities count towards my kilometres?

Any active and/or sustainable modes of transportation that is related to your daily commute. Recreation activities do not count towards your kilometres.

Here are some examples:

Commute to your Job sustainably
Sustainable commuting to the grocery store (Cycling, taking the bus)
Telecommuting/Working from Home (you’re helping the environment by just staying home!);
Commuting to University
Go for a jog or bike ride during your lunch break;
Bike with your children to school and pick them up on your bike
And so much more!

What do I do if my activity isn’t listed?

Unfortunately, the website capabilities are limited for the amounts and types of trips you make. We hope to be making adapted pages and activities for future years but this year it is limited.
With that said, please input Walking for most activities, or an equivalent option to the level of activity you enjoyed.
If you are interested in seeing the impact your specific activities are making we encourage you to also sign up for GoManitoba, this has quite a few options for single trip types and will record the positive impact you are making to your health and the environment! And by using it throughout the month of June you will be entered to win a variety of additional prizes!

How Teams Work

Teams do not necessarily mean that you do the activities and kilometres together, but that you work together for a collective goal of making a positive impact to the environment. The National Commuter Challenge event is focused on teams made up from workplaces. One of the goals of commuter challenge is to get whole workplaces involved.

Teams can be your household bubble where you do activities together. Friends and family can make it a friendly competition between each other to beat team members distances, colleagues can reconnect in a fun way while each tries a new activity and compares experiences, and workplaces can show their initiative to get their employees moving to contribute as a whole, these are all new, fun and different ways people can (re)connect through shared experiences and collective goals. Each individual participant’s km’s can be logged into their total team (or workplace) count, for better chances to reach the goal and win prizes.

Registration & Log-In

Who can participate? The Challenge addresses Canadians of legal driving age (16+). In the past it has been predominantly a workplace program but this year we have expanded it so that you can join in smaller teams with friends, families and/or coworkers or even as an individual. We will provide the opportunity for everyone to have a chance to win no matter how you join as long as you participate in and log some sustainable travel throughout the week!

I participated in previous years. Do I need to register again? Yes, please register again; it only takes a minute to set up your team or your personal account.

Until when can I register? You can register and log your kilometers up until the challenge is over. You can enter all your distances at once for the whole week. Please go to the home page to sign up for the Challenge.
Do I need to pay a fee to participate as individual in the Challenge? No! In Manitoba, the challenge is FREE for anyone to take part.

Why do I need to register? By registering with the Challenge you gain access to our tracking tool and can measure your impacts during week. You can also share your impacts with your friends and co-workers, lead by example and challenge them to participate in the Challenge too. This also helps us keep track of our records year to year and make sure you have a chance to win prizes.

I registered my team/workplace but now I cannot log in. What’s wrong? To protect your personal information we have separated workplace registration and individual registration. You already completed the first step by signing up your team/workplace. In order to track your personal commute please register yourself as individual under your team/workplace. You can use the same email address and password if you wish.

Can ANY group of individuals register as a team?
Yes, however the national commuter challenge event focuses on participation through workplaces. So, signing up with coworkers on a workplace team opens you up to more prize categories, depending on the size of your workplace. You are able to sign up with friends or family should you choose to do so. Teams are encouraged to to between 1-5 people.

City & Workplace Coordination

I would like to get my community involved in the Challenge. How do I get started? Great that you want to get your community moving! Please check the Contacts page if there is already a host organization in your community. If there is no existing host organization, please contact the national Commuter Challenge office for further information and assistance. You may also find our Commuter Challenge City Coordinator kit and case studies from previous years useful.

Is there a local contact in my community that can support me with the Challenge? In Manitoba, Green Action Centre coordinates the event. Please have a look at the Contacts page to find your contact.

How can I promote Commuter Challenge in my workplace / community? Please check out the Coordinator Corner page to access materials and resources to help you promote the challenge! You can also sign up for the Online Info Session that will give you tons of useful information and tips to help make it a success!

Participation Requirements

What is a sustainable mode of transportation? Sustainable modes of transportation include: walking, wheeling, cycling, carpooling, taking transit, and telecommuting. These modes are significantly less harmful to the environment and personal health than driving alone. Everything active that does not involve motorized transportation is also considered a healthy and sustainable commute, e.g. rollerblading, skateboarding, unicycling, canoeing, etc. Commuting in a single family vehicle does not count.

Do I have to participate every day of Challenge week? To participate in Challenge you only need to make one trip without driving alone in your car. The more trips you make without your car, the greater your positive impact will be, and it will help to increase your standings against other teams and organizations! Bragging rights are always nice to have.

Tracking Your Trips & Measuring Impacts

I don’t know the distances I moved. Where can I find it? We recommend Google Maps to find out distances. Enter your home street address in the search field and click ‘Search Maps’. Your address will appear on the left side of the map; sometimes there are different options, e.g. for SW or NW. Click on ‘Directions’ under your home address and enter your destination address in the empty search field that pops up. Depending on your location you can choose different modes of transportation (car, transit, walk, bike). You can modify your search with different options like avoiding highways, fastest connection, distance in km or miles, etc. Once you have chosen all applicable options, you will then get three options with distance and time estimates. You can also use apps like Strava, or GoManitoba to track your distances.

How are my impacts calculated?

Co2 = Potential Co2 – Co2 Emitted
Potential Co2 = Total KM * 0.2242 (assumes mid size car/gas) o Co2 Emitted = Total KM * [Emission Factor based on Mode]
Emission factors – Drive: 0.2242 – Carpool (2 people): 0.1121 – Carpool (3+): 0.0747 – Scooter: 0.0472 – Transit: 0.03635726
Fuel saved = Total KM / 100 * [Fuel Factor]
Fuel Factors – Drive: 0 – Carpool (2 people): 3.17 – Carpool (3+): 4.75 – Scooter: 7.5 – Transit: 8.9183 – All other modes: 9.5
Calories: 55 per KM

Source: GHG Protocol

How are winners determined? Community winners are declared based on their participation numbers in each population category. The population categories are:

Over 1,000,000 people
500,000 and above
250,000 and above
100,000 and above
50,000 and above
25,000 and above
10,000 and above
5,000 and above
Less than 5,000 people

Local winners are also determined by City Coordinators based on different criteria including percentage of participation, most days participated, most kilometres traveled sustainably, most participants in a certain mode, etc. Some cities also draw individual winners at random among all participants to receive various prizes from sponsors. Green Action Centre will have additional prize categories that celebrate participation in the event.