3 Campuses Launch Car Sharing Programs
The University of South Florida, Saint Mary's College of California, and West Virginia University have each launched a car-sharing program on campus in partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car's WeCar. USF's program will allow drivers to rent one of four hybrid vehicles for a few hours at a time. The WeCar vehicles will be parked in designated spots in two locations on campus, allowing USF students, employees, and others who are at least 18 years old and who have preregistered as WeCar members to access them. Saint Mary's College of California has two cars parked on campus available for student use. In order to be a part of the program, students pay an enrollment fee and can rent a car by the day or by the hour. The College waived the enrollment fee for students who applied before June 1, 2009 and agreed not to bring a car to campus. WVU offers four hybrid rental cars to students who live on campus and to employees in academic departments seeking to cut back on travel expenses.
Ohio State U Adds Special Parking for Green Vehicles
Ohio State University has reserved 24 parking spaces for low-emissions vehicles and has announced plans to add 12 more in its South Campus Gateway garage. To use a "Green Spot" parking space, a vehicle must be listed on the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy's list of green vehicles.
Austin Peay State U Purchases 4 Electric Vehicles
Austin Peay State University (TN) has purchased four new Global Electric Motocars (GEMs). The vehicles – two six-passenger GEMs, one four-passenger and one two-passenger – are used by APSU staff to travel on campus for maintenance projects, deliveries, and errands. The four GEM vehicles, which cost a total of $69,000, were funded with money from student sustainability fees.
Dickinson College Partners with City for Bike Lanes
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the hometown of Dickinson College, has received full funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for a $2.8 million road project that will reduce the number of lanes from four to two and add a 5 foot wide bike lane on each side of two roads that run through a portion of the Dickinson campus. Dickinson contributed more than $50,000 toward traffic surveys of the High Street corridor.
Princeton U to Introduce Electric Fleet
Princeton University (NJ) has announced plans to launch a new electric fleet. The new four-wheel vehicles travel up to 25 mph and will replace several gas-powered automobiles that are currently in use.
Alfred U to Open Bicycle Library
Alfred University (NY) has announced plans to open a bicycle lending program this fall. The program will make 20 hybrid bicycles, which were purchased with $10,000 in funding from the AU Student Senate, available to AU students, faculty, and staff for a nominal fee. The AU Bicycle Lending Program will also offer a bike shop that will be staffed with a work study position. In addition, a University trustee made an anonymous donation of $2,000 per year to help cover ongoing costs of the program.
Indiana U Offers Parking Pass Discount to Green Vehicle Owners
Indiana University has begun offering a 20 percent discount on parking passes for employees who drive zero emission vehicles, as determined by the California Air Resources Board, or a car that has achieved a minimum green score of 40 on the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy's annual vehicle rating guide. Some employees have responded to the new discount negatively, arguing that it rewards people who can afford more fuel-efficient automobiles.
2 Indiana Campuses to Receive Shuttle Service
Citilink, a service of the Fort Wayne, IN Public Transportation Corporation, has announced plans to begin a campus shuttle service this fall that would provide free rides to and around Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and Ivy Tech Community College. The company will provide the campus shuttle service free of charge and will offer discounted passes to faculty and students to use other Citilink services.
Middlebury College Funds Carbon Reduction Initiatives with Parking Fee
Middlebury College (VT) has announced plans to begin charging students $50 per semester to park a car on campus. The College will use funds generated by the new fee, which will go into effect this fall, to support its carbon neutrality initiative. The revenue will be distributed between carbon reduction efforts and public transportation, in addition to paying for maintenance of parking lots.
Delta College Switches to 4 Day Schedule
Delta College (MI) has begun Green Fridays, a new schedule in which the campuses closes on Fridays. The campus extended its hours Monday through Thursday for students, faculty, and staff to perform their usual activities. The initiative seeks to reduce campus emissions without decreasing the level of education and services provided.
Western Illinois U to Pilot Bike Share Program
Western Illinois University has begun collecting bike donations and abandoned bikes on campus in preparation for its pilot bicycle share program to be launched this fall. The program, which is being implemented by the Transportation Subcommittee of the WIU Campus Sustainability Committee, will allow students to check out bikes for up to 72 hours.
St. Clair County CC Purchases Electric Car
St. Clair County Community College (MI) has purchased an electric car for its campus patrol. The car can travel up to 26 miles per hour and operates on six 12-volt batteries that can be charged with a standard electrical outlet.
SUNY Oswego Launches Car Share Program
The State University of New York at Oswego has signed a contract with Zipcar to provide two self-service cars to the campus community. The two vehicles, one of which is a hybrid, can be reserved online and are available to all faculty, staff, and students ages 18 and older. Faculty, staff, and students can join Zipcar for $35 and can drive for $8 per hour or $66 per day.
Brown U, Rhode Island School of Design Begin Bike Share Prgms
Brown University (RI) and the Rhode Island School of Design have begun new bike-share programs. RISD's program, which grew out of a class project, launched with 30 pink bicycles that are available to students for six-hour blocks. At Brown, students who pay a $5 yearly membership fee can be sign out bikes for a day.
Kansas State U Completes Commuter Study
The Kansas State University Physical Activity and Public Health Lab has completed a study to help the University understand the attitudes about active commuting as well as the major obstacles that keep people from either walking or biking to their destinations. Participants were asked about their physical activity levels, driving, health, work habits, and reasons for or against active commuting. About 800 K-State students, faculty, and staff and 428 Manhattan residents answered the surveys. Researchers found that about 5 percent of students routinely biked while 15 percent routinely walked to campus. The group also found that the distance to campus is the major factor for most people in deciding whether to actively commute or not. According to the study, individuals living within a 20-minute walk or bike ride to campus were twice as likely to walk and 17 times more likely to bike to campus than individuals living farther away.
U Idaho Installs Bicycle Air Station for Commuters
The University of Idaho has installed an air station at its Steam Plant to encourage campus members to leave their cars at home and bike to campus. The station is free to anyone who needs it and provides tire valves for both types of bicycle tires.
Dalhousie U Students Report Campus Travel Trends
Four Dalhousie University (NS) graduate students, in conjunction with the DU Director of the Office of Sustainability, have completed a project to identify travel trends of faculty, staff, and students and developed recommendations regarding how Dalhousie can move forward with alternative transportation programs. The group recommends education and awareness, the development of an employee bus pass, tele-working and compressed work week programs, hybrid vehicles in university fleets, the creation and promotion of safe cycling storage and changing facilities, and enhanced promotion related to formal carpooling and car-sharing programs. Currently, nearly 60 percent of faculty and staff and nearly 44 percent of students drive to campus.
U California Irvine Transportation Prgm Recognized by EPA
The University of California, Irvine's Sustainable Transportation Program has been honored by the Pacific Southwest division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through its Awards program that acknowledges commitment and significant contribution to the environment in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Pacific Islands, and tribal lands. UC Irvine's Sustainable Transportation Program eliminates more than 19,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and saves the university community more than $21 million annually. The program includes one-on-one commuter counseling, construction of an extensive network of bike/pedestrian paths, retrofitting the entire campus shuttle fleet to operate on biodiesel, and specialized nitrogen oxides traps to further reduce shuttle emissions. Other actions include replacing traffic lights with LEDs, timing traffic lights to reduce fuel-burning waits, improving shuttle service, and restricting car parking by students.
Portland State U Receives $200 K for Bike Cooperative
Portland State University (OR) has received donations of $150,000 and $50,000 toward its bicycle cooperative. The $150,000 donation is intended to help fund the construction of bicycle parking facilities on campus, and the $50,000 donation will be used to upgrade the program's current facilities. The new space will create between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet of indoor bicycle parking.
U at Albany Receives Grant to Study Campus Commute Patterns
The University at Albany has received a $97,290 grant from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to identify commuter vehicle patterns of students, faculty, and staff and research alternative modes of transportation. The University will evaluate transportation flow to and from campus in an effort to reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as develop new transit recommendations. The University's Office of Environmental Sustainability along with Associate Professor Kate Lawson, Geography and Planning Department, will examine surveys to find out how people get to work. Researchers will study campus community awareness of alternative transportation, as well as identify clusters of commuters for potential car pooling opportunities. The 18-month study is expected to be completed in fall 2010.
U California Los Angeles Prof to Build Hydrogen Fueling Station
Vasilios Manousiouthakis, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, has received $2.1 million in grant funding to build a hydrogen fueling station on campus. The fueling station will have the capacity to produce 140 kilograms of hydrogen per day for use in hydrogen-powered vehicles. The station, which will be available for use by the public, will be run by UCLA Engineering's Hydrogen Engineering Research Consortium.
Virginia Tech to Bring Car Share Program to Campus
Virginia Tech has announced plans to bring U Car Share, a car sharing program, to campus this summer. The program will allow students, staff, and faculty access to cars 24/7. U Car Share will provide six EPA SmartWay certified vehicles, a Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Ford Focus, Toyota Yaris, Mini Cooper, and a Ford F-150. The vehicles will be parked at four different locations near classes, residence halls, and the Squires Student Center. Membership will be free to the campus community for a limited time, and participants of VT's Commuter Alternative Program will be able to join for free all year round.
U Rhode Island Begins Carpooling Challenge
The University of Rhode Island has begun a carpool challenge on campus. The two week program includes free $3 coupons for carpooling participants, a free one-day parking pass, and the chance to win one of four mp3 players.
U Wisconsin Madison Recognized as Bike-Friendly Campus
The University of Wisconsin, Madison has been named a silver award winner in the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Business program. Bicycle Friendly Businesses are defined as corporations, organizations, and nonprofit groups that weave bicycling into their business culture and encourage their employees and constituencies to be active in cycling.
Zipcar Partners with Zimride at Stanford U
Zipcar, a car-sharing provider, and Zimride, a social online ride-sharing community, have launched a partnership to integrate car sharing and ride sharing services on the Stanford University (CA) campus. The partnership eliminates the need to own a car to share a ride for all faculty, staff, and students at Stanford. Both Zipcar and Zimride have offered their services on the Stanford campus since December 2007 and November 2008 respectively, but now members of the Stanford community are able to use a Zipcar to share a ride organized by Zimride.
Macalester Colleges Brings Car Share Program to Campus
Macalester College (MN) has signed an agreement with Zipride, a car share program. The program's website allows users to post rides offered, whether one time or habitual commutes, as well as rides wanted. Current Macalester students, faculty, staff, and alumni can participate in the program.
Case Western Reserve U Purchases 4 Electric Vehicles
Two departments at Case Western Reserve University (OH) have purchased four new electric vehicles that travel up to a maximum speed of 25 mph. The four new vehicles are replacing four gas-run campus automobiles.
Clark U Launches Bike Share Program
Clark University (MA) has launched a new bike share program on campus. The program is organized, maintained, and promoted by Cycles of Change, a new cycling club on campus. Students in the club earned bicycles by volunteering at a local bike shop where they learned how to build bicycles from salvaged parts. The program will start out with six bicycles that Clark students, faculty, and staff may borrow upon leaving a valid Clark ID at the university center's main desk. Helmets and locks will also be available. A bike need only be returned by midnight of the day it is borrowed.
Rice U Grad Housing Begins Bike Promotion Program
Rice University's (TX) new graduate student apartment complex has begun an initiative aimed at increasing the use of residents who commute by bike and reducing the number of need parking spaces on the property. The housing complex offered a free bike to students who signed an agreement not to register a motor vehicle with Rice for one year. In addition, students who bring their own bikes to campus or receive them through the program may keep them in a dedicated storage room at the apartment complex.
Towson U Announces New Green Transportation Initiatives
Towson University (MD) has announced plans to pilot several initiatives aimed at lowering the demand for parking spaces on campus. Towson will be partnering with a car rental agency to provide students with the opportunity to reserve a car on an hourly or daily basis. Rates will include gas, insurance, and maintenance. The cars will be either hybrid or electric and more will become available if the demand is high. Parking and Transportation Services will also be providing new off-campus shuttles next semester. In addition, the University will begin offering discounted bus passes to faculty and staff, will continue offering four free parking passes to anyone who agrees to use alternative transportation as their primary means of getting to and from campus, and will continue the Guaranteed Ride Home program, which provides a free or discounted ride home to people who do not bring a car to campus.
U Minnesota, City of Minneapolis Announce 2 New Bike Programs
The University of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis have announced the creation of two federally funded bicycle initiatives. A new U of M Bike Center will be constructed on campus, and a bike sharing program will be launched with a total of 1,000 bicycles and will be available to the campus and local communities. Both initiatives will be created with the federally funded Bike Walk Twin Cities initiative that aims to increase biking and walking and reduce driving in Minneapolis and neighboring communities.
U North Carolina Wilmington Purchases Electric Truck
The University of North Carolina, Wilmington has purchased its first electric truck. The ECOtealmobile is used for delivering products to the new eco-friendly campus store, which is dedicated to selling only environmentally friendly products.
U Wisconsin Madison Launches Commuter Solutions Website
University of Wisconsin, Madison Transportation Services has launched a new website for its newly named alternative transportation program, UW Commuter Solutions. The website offers resources for alternative transportation options including transit, pedestrian, bicycling, carpooling, and vanpooling. The department has also launched an e-newsletter and implemented an outreach program that offers personalized transportation consulting for those who are interested. The primary goal of the new initiatives is to increase awareness, both of the benefits of alternative transportation and of the options themselves.
Binghamton U Offers Parking Discount to Carpoolers
Binghamton University (NY) has begun offering a discounted parking pass to carpoolers. The pilot program offers the discount to vehicles containing three or more passengers and provides five parking coupons to each participant for the days when s/he needs to drive separately. In addition, certain parking spaces on campus have been reserved for the high occupancy permits.
Ohio State, Pepperdine Start Car Share Programs
The Ohio State University and Pepperdine University (CA) have signed contracts with the Hertz Corporation to offer a car share programs on their campuses. The rentable cars, which are placed at various locations across campus, are available to all students, faculty, and staff age 18 and older
U Central Florida Adds Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle to Campus Fleet
The University of Central Florida has purchased its second eco-friendly vehicle. The new electric car, which can travel up to 15 miles per day, has been retrofitted to run on solar power alone. Three solar panels were installed on the roof of the vehicle and produce the needed 72V to run it.
U Idaho Purchases 5 Electric Vehicles
The University of Idaho has purchased 5 new electric vehicles for its campus fleet. The two cars and three trucks will be used by Facilities Services, Housing, and Parking and Transportation Services staff. The fully electric-powered vehicles can drive distances of 40-50 miles on a single charge and can reach a top speed of 25 miles per hour.
U New Hampshire Buys Electric Vehicle
The University of New Hampshire Housing Department has purchased an electric truck. The new truck replaces a gas vehicle that was previously used by the department. The truck has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and can go from zero to 20 in five seconds. It can travel upwards of 60 miles before the battery, which is good for 25,000 miles, needs recharging. The vehicle has zero tailpipe emissions, does not require any gas, and needs 90 percent less maintenance than gas-fired cars.
Western Washington U Opens Sustainable Travel Information Desk
Western Washington University has introduced a new travel desk that aims to help students find cheaper and more sustainable travel options regionally and locally. The desk, which is staffed by WWU's Sustainable Transportation program, provides information about how students can travel around the Bellingham and Puget Sound area via the bus system, biking, walking, or hiking.
U Western Ontario Purchases Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
The University of Western Ontario has purchased a hybrid sedan to move employees, consultants, and clients around campus. In addition, the campus has announced plans to purchase a two-seat electric utility vehicle. The vehicle's features include six 12-volt flooded electrolyte batteries, which can be charged by plugging into a standard household electrical receptacle, a top speed of 40kmh, and an average range of about 30 miles on a single charge.
Wilson College Purchases 2 Electric Vehicles
Wilson College (PA) has replaced two of its gas-powered vehicles with electric vehicles. One is used for campus security patrols and the other is used to collect recycling. Both vehicles can travel approximately 50 miles on one charge, and charging the vehicles takes about 4 to 6 hours.
AP, Chronicle of Higher Ed Cover Prevalence Biofuels on Campus
The Associated Press and the Chronicle of Higher Education have both published articles on the increasing number of schools that are converting used vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel for use on campus. Institutions mentioned include Stetson University (FL), Keene State University (NH), Dickinson College (PA), Sinclair Community College (OH), and the University of Kansas
Clatsop CC Offers Free Bus Pass to Campus Members
Clatsop Community College (OR) has begun offering a free bus pass to all students, faculty, and staff. The new pass, which saves students $60 each term and saves faculty and staff $45 each month, allows campus members to ride anywhere in the county that the bus services.
Duke U Signs Agreement with Zipcar
Duke University (NC) has signed an agreement with Zipcar to provide students, faculty, and staff who are age 18 and older with an alternative to keeping a car on campus. The agreement provides the campus with four new cars, two of which are hybrids. Zipcar members age 18 – 20 can only reserve cars assigned to the Duke campus; members 21 and older have access to Zipcar’s network of more than 5,500 vehicles throughout North America and the United Kingdom.
U Idaho Purchases Electric Truck
The University of Idaho's Housing department has purchased an electric work truck. The truck can get 50-60 miles per charge and has a battery life of up to 25,000 miles. Its top speed is 25 miles an hour and can charge in about six hours.
U Michigan Flint Implements Student Carpool Initiative
The University of Michigan, Flint has launched GreenRide, an online map-based carpool program that connects people who want to share rides. The campus, which currently has over 6,900 commuters, offers the program to anyone affiliated with the University.
Dalhousie U to Receive Grant for TDM
Dalhousie University (NS) will receive a contribution of up to $15,000 for a project to reduce single car occupancy travel to and from campus and to identify ways to increase the use of bicycles. The funding is the result of the "Moving on Sustainable Transportation" program implemented by the government of Canada.
Pace U Converts Fleet to Use Extended Performance Oil Filter
Pace University (NY) has converted its fleet of campus vehicles to use an extended performance oil filter. The new filter allows the vehicles to travel 24,000 miles before needing an oil change, saving an estimated 650 gallons of motor oil and over 30% in oil-related maintenance costs within a 12 to 18 month period. Campus cars, vans, and buses were all included in the conversion.
