Some members of D.C. government are notorious for parking illegally, shielded from tickets thanks to their government-issued parking permits. But at least one elected official is trying to promote public transportation use, and is challenging other city electeds to do the same with the help of a Bingo-themed game.

Starting today, Erin Palmer, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Takoma Park, is launching TranspoBINGO. Palmer partnered with alternative transit groups like Handlebars DC and Coalition for Smarter Growth to create a week-long challenge that encourages D.C. residents, notably ANC commissioners and councilmembers, to get around the city only using public transportation for a week. The challenge ends on Feb. 4, which is Bus to Work Day.

“I think the idea of using public transportation more than you otherwise would, or in ways that you wouldn’t necessarily use it, is a way to maybe understand what legislative and policy changes might be necessary to make those systems work better,” Palmer says.

TranspoBINGO has 24 different tasks to complete over the course of one week. Participants are supposed to complete as many tasks as possible, like thanking a bus driver or completing a multi-modal trip. Those who complete a card will be eligible for a transportation-themed prize at next Tuesday’s celebratory happy hour in Chinatown.

https://twitter.com/Erinfor4B02/status/1221908355922518017

Palmer was one of the more than 20 ANC commissioners to reject their government-issued parking passes over the summer. The parking passes allow D.C. government officials to park without paying meter fees, and ignore time limits and other space restrictions.

While the commissioners’ push for less vehicles on the road lies partially in environmental and road safety concerns, Palmer says she hopes that elected officials take the TranspoBINGO challenge as an “exercise in empathy.”

“I think some of them are very car-reliant. The bus is heavily used by low-income folks, or people who work off hours, restaurant workers or service workers,” Palmer says. “So when I say empathy, what I mean is the act of understanding the challenges that those folks might face who either don’t want or don’t have the ability to rely on a car and have to use public transportation to get around.”

Last September, the Regional Transportation Planning Board’s “State of the Commute” found that more than two-thirds of D.C. commuters drive alone. And the happiest commuters? According to the report, 92 percent of pedestrians and cyclists said they were satisfied with their commutes, while less than half of drivers reported being satisfied with their trips to work.

Palmer says the challenge, which is in its first year, has time to improve, and just hopes its pilot-run will encourage D.C. residents to think more about public transit, its benefits, and also areas where it can get better.

“As ANC Commissioners, we work on a lot of kind of drudgery or we work really hard and feel like we’re not making any progress,” Palmer says. “So this is a fun activity, and it’s also something that will hopefully bring some meaningful insights or, who knows, lead to new actions or a change of behavior for the people participating.”