ATLANTA - After a five-month competition to find Buckhead’s greenest commuters, employers and office buildings, the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA) recognized the winners of the Go Green and Commute Clean Challenge at a luncheon today. One commuter, one office building and four businesses were honored for their clean commuting accomplishments.

“Go Green and Commute Clean was a fun way for us to encourage more people to get involved with clean commuting, and we’re really pleased with the results,” said Denise Starling, executive director of BATMA. “There are a lot of fantastic people and programs that are having a positive impact every day by reducing traffic and improving air quality in Buckhead. The Go Green winners are just the best of the best.”

The Go Green and Commute Clean awards were presented at a luncheon held today at Maggiano’s in Buckhead. Local business leaders and clean commuters gathered to honor the award recipients and to mark BATMA’s first 10 years of work in the community. In its first decade, BATMA has compiled a list of impressive accomplishments, including:

- establishing the buc free shuttle service, which has carried more than 12 million passengers in its six years of operation;

- encouraging more than 6,000 commuters – nearly six percent of Buckhead’s workforce – to log their commutes and become eligible for monthly prizes and rewards;

- launching 32 vanpools and providing nearly $390,000 to support their operating costs; and

- preventing more than 250 tons of emissions from being emitted and keeping more than 137 million miles of vehicle travel off the roads by encouraging commute alternatives.

Rollins, parent company of Orkin, was named winner in the "Best Overall Commuter Program" category, having eliminated 400,000 vehicle miles of travel by encouraging employees to take advantage of commute alternatives. Rollins offers transit and vanpool riders the option of paying for their commutes through pre-tax deduction, enabling them to save up to 30 percent. The company also constantly promotes commute alternatives through its newsletter, intranet and other means.