Fed up with fueling up, three families from the Portland metro and Vancouver areas are competing against themselves to reduce their mileage for one week in the second Drive Less Family Challenge. The challenge runs May 27 through June 3. With gas prices close to $4 a gallon, hopes are high to find practical ways to cut back on driving.

This year's grand prize is a Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop computer with Intel® Pentium® Dual Core processor, Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition, a high contrast 14.1 inch widescreen display and CD/DVD writer provided by Intel, as well as a catered gourmet dinner for 10 by Crave Catering.

Check out nightly blogs from the challenge families at http://www.kgw.com/green.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Grand prize sponsors:

Participant package sponsors:

Drive Less Family Challenge 2008 Participants:

Dave, Emily, Raven and Nigel Edwards-Schofield

This active family of four lives in NE Portland. Dave, who works at Intel, commutes by car on HWY 26 to Hillsboro. That's a 38-mile round trip each day. During the challenge, he's going to combine bike commuting and transit to reduce road miles. His wife, Emily, home schools their kids, Raven, almost 12, and Nigel, age 3. But home is just one of many places you will find her and the kids. Emily says, "We practically live in the car." In addition to taking the kids twice a week (or more) to the Village Home Education Resource Center in Beaverton (where Emily also works), they go "all over the place." In addition to their regular outings, Emily and the kids run lots of errands. Plus, the kids are involved in a variety of activities. Raven's photography class meets in downtown Portland and she also attends the Girls Rock Institute closer to home. Emily and the kids are going to give transit a try in getting to Beaverton, as well as walk when possible.

Michelle, Greg, Kailla and Jade Coomes

This Beaverton family is always on the go, especially with two active teenagers. Michelle is an IT manager for Nike. She drives 4.7 miles one way to work and back. Michelle plans to leave her car at home and bike commute to work since she's so close. Michelle is excited about saving gas money and getting some exercise, too. A retired police officer, who was injured in the line of duty, Greg's flexible schedule enables him to manage many of the family's errands. Plus, he switches off with Michelle in driving his two daughters to the many places they need to go. The oldest daughter, Kailla, (age 15) plays soccer and attends SPARQ (agility) class. Her younger sister, Jade (age 10) plays tennis. They love driving into Portland almost every weekend to enjoy the city. The family plans to use options to reduce their road miles, including using Zipcar, carpooling with other parents to get the kids around, taking public transportation, and walking.

Tom, Deborah and Janaya Pfeifer
This Vancouver family puts on the miles. Tom is a corrections officer who drives from his home in La Center nearly 20 miles to and from work in downtown Vancouver. During the challenge, he's going to combine using a new C-Tran transit service with bike commuting. Deborah, who works as a school teacher, is going to give carpooling a try with a fellow co-worker who lives nearby. Janaya, a college student, is aiming to reduce her driving by using transit. The family makes lots of individual trips to stores, the mall and other places. Plus, they frequently visit Tom's mother, who lives in a local nursing home. Their aim is to plan ahead more and combine trips to stores and other places.