WASHINGTON — Car-Free Day is on Sept. 22 and the preparations are ramping up.

Car-Free Day is an international celebration in 1,500 cities in 40 countries. It began in the D.C. region in 2007.

“It’s an opportunity for individuals to try alternatives to driving alone. So that would mean taking the train, bus, walking, bicycling, carpools, working from home,” says Nicholas Ramfos, director of Commuter Connections at the Council of Governments.

He says that the effort gets a lot more traction when the event falls on a weekday. This year, it will take place on a Tuesday.

“If you have to drive, maybe you can drive to the transit stop or bicycle to the transit stop. The whole goal is to get folks to pledge that they’ll go car-free or car-lite,” says Ramfos.

The goal is to reach 10,000 pledges with people picking a team such as Team Train, Team Bicycle or Team Bus.

“It allows you an opportunity to try something different.  Perhaps if it’s a convenient type of a mode, then you’ll use if after car-free day,” says Ramfos.

If you’re interested in signing up, you can do so on the event’s website.