BCB and BATMA Encourage Atlantans to Bike to Work!

The Buckhead Community Bank announced a new partnership with the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA) that will give commuters who open a MAX Reward Checking account that opportunity to apply for a 12-month, 0% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) loan towards the purchase of a bicycle up to $2,500.

The MAX Reward Checking account pays 4% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on balances up to $100,000, has no maintenance fee, and provides account holders with free access to ATMs anywhere. To earn the 4% APY, account holders must meet three requirements during each billing cycle:

1) Make 10 signature based debit card transactiosn

2) Receive monthly statements electronically through Online Banking, and

3) Make at least one Direct Deposit or Automatic Payment.

BATMA is offering various incentives and programs to encourage commuters to bike to work in order to reduce their carbon footprint, increase physical fitness, and loosen traffic buildups. New bike commuters can earn $3 a day up to $100 ove a three-month period. Cyclists who commute to Buckhead by bike three or more days a week can also earn a $20 gift card each month. In addition to all of this, biking commuters are eligible to receive up to five free taxi rides home in the case of inclement weather or emergency.

For more information about BATMA and its programs, visit www.BATMA.org, or to oepn a MAX Reward Checking account, visit www.UpgradeYourBank.com or call (404) 231-2265.

Buckhead Cops Get Bikes

Specially-trained Officers Stewart, Bynum and Lawrence from the Zone 2 Atlanta Police Department stand with their new bikes that will make it easier for them to move through the parking lots and office buildings that make up much of Buckhead.

Chris Breeden, chairman of the board of the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association, presented bikes to Major Jim Sellers of the Zone 2 Atlanta Police Department and his officers. BATMA gave three police bicycles, accessories and program support to the Zone 2 Atlanta Police Department to help minimize harmful emissions from cars, reduce funding spent on gasoline and enhance safety and security of the community.

To keep with its mission of improving mobility, accessibility and air quality in Buckhead, BATMA’s board of directors recognized the benefits of having Zone 2 Atlanta Police officers outfitted on two wheels rather than four. The board turned to Atlanta City Councilman Howard Shook to help BATMA provide local police with the bikes they needed and pledged to ensure their continued operation and maintenance. The new bikes will not only be environmentally and economically friendly, but they will also provide another layer of safety as an effective way to quickly reach areas of Buckhead neighborhoods and office parks that are otherwise difficult to reach on foot or by car.

“For every mile a car is driven, a pound of pollution is released into the atmosphere, so these bikes will help improve air quality in Buckhead” said Denise Starling, executive director of BATMA. “BATMA also works to improve mobility for every person travelling in Buckhead, including those who serve and protect our citizens, so we hope these bikes do just that for our police officers.”

www.batma.org

BATMA Gives Away Smart Car

The best things come in small packages, especially when they get at least 40 miles per gallon and produce few smog-forming emissions. That’s why the Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA) celebrated Earth Day in April by giving away the chance to get behind the wheel of a smart car at its Go Green & Commute Clean event at Lenox Square Mall. The smart car was provided courtesy of smart center Buckhead.

Sharon Cost of Newnan ended up being the big winner. Every day Cost drives from Newnan to the College Park MARTA station and rides to the Lenox station in Buckhead. Now she’ll be driving her smart car to MARTA and saving hundreds of dollars on gas while the car is hers.

“The convertible top and six CD player will be a lot of fun for me,” said Cost, “But I’m most looking forward to saving some money on gas. My gasoline budget just to get to College Park has doubled in the last year and a half.”

Cost is not alone. Reports from the Boston Globe say “SUV sales for the month of April alone fell 32.3 percent from a year earlier and small car sales rose 18.6 percent. This fundamental shift comes against a backdrop of relentless gas increases, and growing concerns over the environment and US oil consumption, according to auto analysts and car dealers.”

Smart center Buckhead has seen this trend as well. Currently the dealership—the only smart car dealership in Georgia—reports a year-long waiting list for the smart car fortwo. They are classified as an Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) on account of extremely low exhaust emissions and get superb gas mileage.

For more information about clean commuting and the Go Green & Commute Clean event, visit www.batma.org.