Danny Albert
Did you know that more than one quarter of all greenhouse gases come from the transportation sector? By altering your commuting methods, you can drastically reduce your carbon footprint. For uOttawa commuters, there are numerous programs offered by the Parking and Sustainable Transportation Office to do just that.
The University was the first organization in Ottawa to implement the ECOPASS transit program. This pay deductible bus pass offers a fifteen per cent discount and is good for one full year; that means no more running around every month to get a new bus pass. Live in Quebec? The Outaouais transport association has a Passe-partout PLUS program which offers similar advantages to users.
It is quite possible that you may need your car. In this case, car-sharing may respond to your needs. A new City of Ottawa initiative offers access to car-sharing for ECOPASS holders and they are exempt from the $500 deposit which is good news for OC Transpo users. In addition, the University has a car-share vehicle right on campus!
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Carpooling is also an effective option. One of the main benefits of carpooling is the financial savings. Thanks to the preferential parking program, approved carpool groups have their own dedicated parking space. In the event of an emergency, approved carpool groups have access to our Emergency Ride Home program. If you want to start carpooling, use our state-of-the art carpooling Web site at www.uOttawaCarpool.ca.
There are also many cycling initiative on campus. Our latest program, CAN-BIKE; is a series of nationally standardized cycling courses designed for various cycling abilities. CAN-BIKE teaches assertive cycling skills, traffic analysis skills, general bicycle maintenance, route planning and more. The course is offered at a fifty per cent discount for uOttawa cyclists. As well, bike theft prevention and bike repair sessions are also very popular. The University also offers a Bike-Share program where bikes are loaned, free of charge to University community members.
Later this fall, the Parking and Sustainable Transportation Office will conduct a modal share survey which will allow us to improve and implement new sustainable transportation incentive programs on campus. If you really want to reduce your carbon footprint, take a look at how you get around.
For more information on how you can reduce your transportation footprint, visit www.uOttawa.ca/sustainabletransportation or contact Danny Albert at danny.albert@uOttawa.ca.
