Maryland incenTrip
Inspiring and rewarding Maryland commuters
How often have you sat in traffic and thought about all the time and money you could be saving? If you live in Maryland, chances are a lot. In Baltimore alone, drivers lose nearly 60 hours of their lives to congestion each year, which is equal to almost $1,000 in excess fuel. MDOT* wants to change that by aiming to reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles on the road and encouraging Maryland commuters to consider alternate modes of transportation when possible. incenTrip is a mobile app that connects users with multi-modal transportation options and rewards responsible commute trips with points that can be exchanged for gift cards.
* Maryland is covered by two incenTrip programs: MDOT and Commuter Connections. Program eligibility is determined by your work location. The information on this website is for the MDOT program. Commuters who work in Washington, DC or in Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County should visit the Commuter Connections website for information about their rewards program.
Tutorial video
Check back soon for a new video that explains how incenTrip works.
How it works
As long as you work in a qualifying location and your commute trip starts during peak hours, you can earn points in the MDOT rewards program.
AM peak hours: 6:00 am – 9:00 am
(Monday – Friday,
excluding federal holidays)
PM peak hours: 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
(Monday – Friday,
excluding federal holidays)
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Download the app and create your account
You will be asked to enter your home and work addresses. incenTrip uses your work location to award points.
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Plan your commute
Enter your start and end destinations and plan a trip for now or pre-plan a trip for later. Remember that your journey must start or end with your pre-selected work location in order to earn points!
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Take your trip
incenTrip logs your trip as you travel along your route (be aware that incenTrip does not provide navigation) and awards points when you arrive at your destination.
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Collect points and earn rewards
Users are eligible to earn points for one morning and one event commute trip per day. Once you’ve earned enough points, you can redeem them for gift cards, which are delivered right through the app.
Earn points by regularly or occasionally commuting with the following modes:
Walking
Save $1.40 and burn 58 calories for each mile you walk.
Biking
Save $1.40 and burn 31 calories for each mile you bike.
Transit
Save $1.10 and reduce 411 grams of carbon emissions for each mile of transit you take.
Ridesharing/
Carpooling
Save around $1 and reduce 205 grams of carbon emissions for each mile you rideshare.
Multimodal
Save around $1 and reduce 205 grams of carbon emissions for each multimodal mile you take.
While the goal of incenTrip is to reduce single-occupancy vehicle commutes, driving alone might sometimes be a better option. incenTrip even allows single-occupancy vehicle drivers to earn points for each commute trip – just keep in mind that you earn the most points when you shift your behavior from driving alone to one of the other qualifying modes. The app’s eco-driving feature also allows users to earn more points for responsible driving habits like reduced braking and acceleration.
Benefits
incenTrip not only improves quality of life for Marylanders by reducing overall traffic congestion, it also provides many practical benefits for individual users.
Earn rewards
As long as you work in a qualifying location and commute during peak hours using a qualifying transportation mode, you are eligible to earn points for your trip.
Avoid traffic
incenTrip makes it easy for you to take a break from the daily hassle of traffic gridlock, allowing you to reduce stress while cutting down on congestion for your fellow commuters.
Save money
incenTrip helps you save money on gas, parking, and overall car maintenance by providing alternatives to driving alone.
Reduce your footprint
As if earning rewards, avoiding traffic, and saving money weren’t enough, incenTrip also allows you to minimize your impact on the environment by reducing transportation-related emissions.
FAQs
“Commute trips” going to or from work are eligible. Trips must occur on weekdays (Monday – Friday) during the morning peak commute times (6:00am – 9:00am) or during the afternoon peak commute times (3:00pm – 7:00pm). Users can only earn points for one morning and one evening trip, per day – even if you stop along the way. Each journey must start or end with the user’s pre-selected work location, which can be changed once each day, to earn points. Users can start their trip from any location; however, if multiple stops are planned, users should start their trip from the last stop before arriving at their destination. For instance, if you are meeting someone at a Park and Ride (P&R) location to rideshare (carpool/vanpool), you should start your trip at the P&R lot. Teleworking is not currently eligible for trip rewards, but it could be incorporated into the app at a later date.
No, this app is a pre-planning trip tool and determines your commute route prior to departure. It should not be used for navigation during your trip and will not reroute around unexpected delays once your trip is in progress. If you need navigation during your trip, you should use the navigation app of your choice in conjunction with incenTrip running in the background to continue earning points. During your trip, you may see a grey and green line. The grey line is the route planned by incenTrip and the green line is the route taken by the user. The app allows for fairly significant route variability. The actual route a user decides to take can deviate from the planned route and will not disqualify the users from receiving points.
You can earn between 1 and 50 points per peak period commute trip. The app verifies mode and departure time before rewarding points. The program exists to help users find alternative commuting options to driving alone, so you’ll likely find higher point values associated with modes such as ridesharing (carpooling/vanpooling), transit, or biking/walking as opposed to lower point values awarded for driving alone.
Point values may change over time to reflect your commuting behavior and patterns. If you’ve demonstrated superior commuter savviness, the app may make it more challenging for you to earn points. Take pride in knowing that you’ve accomplished something that alludes other commuters in the region: finding a smart, sustainable commute!
It is recommended that you redeem your points within six months. Though points do not currently expire, it’s possible that you could lose your points due to account inactivity.
You can also earn points by referring a friend. You will receive the points once the new user creates an account with a valid login using the same email address you referred.
Rideshare (carpool/vanpool) participants for the same ride may earn a different number of points. incenTrip uses advanced algorithms to identify users’ commuting behavior. Users are allocated different amounts of points based on their travel patterns. If a user utilizes ridesharing more frequently, they will receive fewer points than a user that utilizes ridesharing only on occasion.
Enter or select your origin and work destinations then select “Depart Now” or “Depart Later.” You will be given three trip options based on your preferred mode of travel (or select “more options” to see other modes of travel). Select the trip option you would like to take and select “Start Now” to begin your trip. The app will track your trip and end automatically when you have arrived at your destination. You will earn your points as long as you did not significantly deviate from the pre-planned route you selected. Don’t forget to start your trip as you won’t earn points unless you have trip logging turned on. Points earned during pre-planned trips will show up immediately.
You can change your work location one time per day and you can store unlimited favorite locations within the app. Manage your work location and favorite locations on the “Account” page by selecting “My Locations.” To delete, swipe to the left over a location.
Trip logging occurs when you leave the app running in the background. It will record your weekday peak-hour trips and reward you with points accordingly. You can review your trips under the “My Trips” tab the next day. Points earned through the logging module will show up the next day. You can change location settings to “only while using the app” in your device settings.
Android devices may receive notifications for trip logging. Even if a user does not plan a trip, the app will use the background logging module to reward points for eligible trips. However, you can turn off trip logging in the app, under “Settings,” “Trip Logging.”
incenTrip currently does not have a function available to customize your multimodal trip. However, we are willing to learn your preferred option to improve our algorithms. You can share your preferred option along with the origin, destination, and departure time through the “Feedback” section within the app or by sending an email to incentrip@mdot.maryland.gov.
We value your privacy
MDOT understands that data and privacy protection are important to you. incenTrip is owned and operated by local grant-funded nonprofit organizations whose missions are to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in the Baltimore/Washington region. Information and data stored in incenTrip will remain completely private. It will never be sold or given to technology companies, advertisers, etc. Read our for more information.
Have questions?
Contact us at incentrip@mdot.maryland.gov.
MDOT initiated incenTrip as a pilot program to help reduce traffic congestion and emissions by incentivizing Marylanders who use alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle travel when commuting to and from work. We’re interested in hearing about your experience using the app. Contact us at the email address above and let us know what you think.
Imagine all the new adventures you’ll experience when you choose a smart commute!
Download incenTrip now to start your adventure
Your information and data stored in incenTrip will remain completely private. It will never be sold or given to technology companies, advertisers, etc. Click here to read the Terms of Use.