The Transportation Committee, a subcommittee of the Sustainability Advisory Group for Environmental Stewardship (SAGES), will be meeting this month to further develop initiatives for reducing campus carbon emissions. Although the Transportation Committee has made incremental progress in improving the efficiency of campus fleets, the high environmental cost of faculty, employee, and student commuting still remains a concern.
According to Director of Physical Plant Cliff Ashton, 4,115 metric tons of green house gases were released from University fleets in 2007—this includes staff, faculty and student commuters. This number represents a sizable portion of the total amount of University green house gas emissions (324,111) recorded that same year.
Since making this calculation, several changes have been made to campus transportation. In 2007, the University implemented a new policy encouraging Wesleyan Departments and long-term contractors to purchase environmentally friendly vehicles when replacing older vehicles. Since 2007, Physical Plant, Public Safety, Bon Apeite and ABM Custodial Contractors have purchased several electric vehicles and pickup trucks.
According to Ashton, the Transportation Committee has continued to research and sample new electric vehicles with the ultimate goal of converting the approximately 40 vehicles used by Physical Plant to electric, environmentally efficient models.
In 2008, the Transportation Committee created a University Ride Board—a web page designed to reduce the number of cars on the road by increasing the ease and efficiency of organizing carpools. The environmental cost of commuting, however, remains a core concern for the committee as they consider which improvements to pursue in the future.
“We want to encourage reductions in commuting,” Ashton said. “Americans are pretty much married to their vehicles.”
The Transportation Committee is currently trying to garner interest in the “Easy Street” Connecticut commuter van service—a program that nearby workplaces have already taken advantage of—which would organize and run commuter vans to and from campus.
To further reduce carbon emissions, the Committee is also looking at ways to encourage employees to live closer to campus. The Committee may propose a modification of the University’s Incentive Program—which currently offers financial benefits to those employees living within a twenty-five mile radius—that would include a smaller radius.
In September, the University discovered that by adjusting the work schedules of 12 employees, it could increase transportation efficiency and reduce emissions by about eight metric tons in carbon-dioxide equivalents.
While the Wesleyan Student Association (WSA) spearheaded the recent adoption of a Zipcar service, the Transportation Committee hopes to find additional ways to increase the environmental efficiency of student travel options. The Committee is considering the formation of a bike share, the implementation of free or reduced fair on Middletown Area Transit and Connecticut Transit buses, and the arrangement of a consistent campus shuttle to downtown and the surrounding market areas. Ashton added that there are other forms of public transit already available, such as the Old Saybrook connection to Shoreline East and Amtrak Train Service.
When President Roth signed the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment in Oct. 2007, he pledged to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Ashton and the Transportation Committee, however, have set their own goal at 2040. By increasing awareness of the issues at hand, the Committee hopes to turn its attention to daily commuter and transportation details.
The committee recently drafted a Transportation Sustainability policy, soon to be reviewed by SAGES. The plan confirms the initiatives already in place and provides a framework for the implementation of future innovative ideas.
“We are experimenting with what is out there,” Ashton said. “A lot of it is going to evolve around communication and education. I think ultimately we are going to make an impact.”