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| Public transit is the most popular means to commute to the University. |
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Eight out of ten commuters to the University of Ottawa campus use “green” means of transportation, according to the results of a survey administered last fall by the Parking and Traffic Division.
The survey, sent to 4,000 students, 1,800 faculty and 2,470 support staff, generated 1,644 responses. Only 19 per cent of respondents indicated that they traveled to the University alone in their cars. All the others used public transit, carpooling, walking, skating, or cycling as their primary mode of transportation to and from campus.
“Not only do uOttawa commuters save a lot of money, but as a result of employing sustainable methods of transportation, they contribute to the conservation of the environment,” says Danny Albert, transportation demand management co-ordinator at the Parking and Traffic Division.
University of Ottawa commuters make more than 40,000 trips to the campus daily, more than 8.5 million per year — a total distance of over 273 million kilometres.
Based on survey results, Albert estimates that car commuters (single occupancy and carpooling) collectively spent more than $6 million in fuel costs in 2005. Together, all commuters produce approximately 20,700 metric tons of greenhouse gases, a figure that would be dramatically higher if alternative methods such as walking and cycling weren’t as popular.
Public transit remains the preferred mode of transport (49 per cent) on a yearly basis. During the summer, 11 per cent of commuters cycle to and from campus.
From June 4 to 10, University of Ottawa staff and students are invited to take part in the 2006 Commuter Challenge by using means other than their own car to get to campus during the week. Participants register and log their kilometres online to see their results in terms of reduction of greenhouse gases. In the 2005 Commuter Challenge, the University of Ottawa ranked top among organizations with 1,000 to 5,000 employees.
For more information, see
www.commuterchallenge.ca.
