“Governor Gary Locke and the Washington State Department of Transportation have announced the 14 winning employers of the third annual Governor’s CommuteSmart Awards.The awards recognize employers who create and implement the most innovative programs aimed to reduce their employees’ single occupant vehicle commute trips.Washington State’s Commute Trip Reduction Law was adopted during the 1991 legislative session and incorporated into the Washington Clean Air Act. The Commute Trip Reduction Program encourages employees who drive alone to work to consider commute trip alternatives such as riding the bus, riding or driving with someone else, bicycling, walking, compressed work weeks, and working from home.There are approximately 1,100 worksites participating in CTR in Washington, affecting some 500,000 employees. At these worksites, more people use commute alternatives than in 1993 when the programs were initiated. Each morning, 18,500 vehicles are removed from our state’s roadways as a result of the CTR Program. In addition, the program reduces 3,200 tons of air pollution and saves 6.5 million gallons of gas annually. 2000 Governor’s CommuteSmart Recipients include:- Avista Corporation, Spokane – Bellingham Cold Storage – King County Courthouse Complex – Point Plaza West, Olympia (Washington state departments of Social and Health Services, Retirement, Transportation and the Office of Financial Management) – Port of Tacoma – Premera Blue Cross, Mountlake Terrace – SAFECO Corporate Headquarters, Seattle – Simpson Tacoma Kraft Company, Tacoma – Spokane Regional Health District – St. Joseph Hospital Main Campus, Bellingham – URM Stores, Inc., Spokane – Washington Dental Service, Seattle – Washington State Department of Transportation (Olympia Service Center, South Central Region and Southwest Region) – Washington Trust Bank, Spokane”