Sustainability hosts first Alternative Transportation Week
Students, staff and faculty may be rewarded for using different forms of transportation to get to campus during USU’s first Alternative Transportation Week, Oct. 24-31.
When students or faculty arrive on campus by bus, foot, bike or carpool, they will be able to check in at Aggie Blue Bikes using their A-number or student ID card. A computer will randomly pick daily winners.
Prizes were donated from different organizations on campus. They include tickets to the Banff Film Festival, a car bike rack and block meal plans.
Stephanie Tomlin, Aggie Blue Bikes program coordinator, said the event was set up to help USU students, faculty and staff realize there are other options available for getting to campus besides driving.
“We understand that it is not reasonable for everyone to ride their bike every day, so that’s kind of why we opened it up as Alternative Transportation and not just ‘bike to work’ week,” Tomlin said. “The Student Sustainability Office works a lot with sustainable initiatives on campus, and we do a lot with cycling on campus. It was kind of a natural fit for us to team up and conquer.”
The event is a week long, and Tomlin hopes the week will get students in the habit of thinking about sustainable transportation.
“The idea is obviously long-term changes,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes people just get wrapped up in how they commute. They just get in this mindset of ‘OK, this is how I get to school,’ or ‘This is how I do this.’ They don’t really consider some of the options, even though they might be viable for their lifestyle. The prizes are kind of that incentive to make the change.”
Kristin Ladd, a Student Sustainability office intern, said air quality in Cache Valley is a big reason for the event.
“So we want to really draw attention to how we can use alternative transportation, especially in the winter,” she said. “I think that’s when people just start to drive their cars. We wanted to show that you can use buses, carpooling, or if you are really ambitious or live close to campus you can walk or bike.”
Tomlin said she hopes the week helps students realize there are alternatives to driving.
Students who live on campus will still be able to participate in the event by using alternative transportation when they leave campus and return.
“It’s for students, faculty and staff. Anyone on campus can participate,” said Tomlin. “The idea was to have them look at some of their own transportation habits and see if there are ways to make adjustments to them when possible. We’re not telling anyone they shouldn’t drive, we’re just asking people to see if there are ways they can include something like carpooling once or twice a week or maybe ride the bus once a week.”
– rmhenline@gmail.com