Ways of Reducing Personal Cars in Campus by 10% by 2015 - Essay Example

? Ways of Reducing Personal Cars in Campus by 10% by One of the contributing factors of increased single-person carsis the incompetent ride share program that exists around the campus roads. There are minimal numbers of available carpool and vanpooling systems that are not scheduled in a manner that will approve more commuters and students to and from the campus. The available programs are ineffective and lack the ride matching services that help the travelers to find travel partners as well as the program have no good strategies that provide rideshare vehicles priorities in traffic and parking (Eric and Miller,1999). The available programs have a shortage of premium quality service options, poor road pricing, lack priority and preferred parking spaces and it is not flexible enough to even allow unscheduled use of the vans or even allow one to use it twice or more times. There are sporadic and confined bus services to the campus and this is a promoting factor to the use of personal vehicles to the campus. The public transport with the buses is limited to some restricted routes and thus it does not reach some areas. This forces the students or staffs in those routes to use private means to reach the campus. The other bus services have fixed schedule time that discourages the commuters since they are not assured of getting a vehicle back home if he/she cannot confine with the fixed time (Nozzi, 2003). The bus services are also inconvenienced in the routes where the boundaries are placed forcing one to walk and this is more time consuming thus it is better to use the private means. Biking services have both physical and external challenges and it is unrealistic to most students. This has many challenges since most of the time the weather changes from time to time discouraging most people from using this cheap means. Majority of the campus students and staffs sees this mean as unworkable because it does not meet the standards of a campus staff or students and it is viewed as a way of killing self-prestige and respect. Bicycles increase the rate of theft in the campus simply because it is easy to pick on someone’s bicycle without raising any suspicions (International Police Mountain Bike Association, 2007). The use of buses around campus seems to have met many challenges ranging from route restriction, conflict in time scheduling and commuting hours. This makes this option in helping reduce car population to 10% by 2015 as being ineffective. This is an important issue because it addresses on how to provide means of improving the infrequent and inconvenient bus services thus encouraging more people to shift to the ridesharing thus reducing the number of the personal cars in the campus. In the implementation of increased ridesharing facility within the campus, a number of steps must be considered which will improve the service as compared to how it currently exists. Ridesharing options within campus transport has been approved by a number of environmental watchdogs in the country due to the level of CO2 emission reduction that it creates. In the implementation of this program, funding sources will have to be created with viable targets being the BC Climate Action Charter and the Live Smart BC groups. The ride sharing processes within campus require the presence of a green staff team responsible for the coordination of the exercises each place must also have a cohort representative to evaluate the prevailing situation in each area before reporting to the green team. Reorganization of the royal shared ride services will also need a functional and user-friendly website that makes it easier for the users to interact and access the services. As a means of publishing these services, the green team shall produce brochures and booklets to highlight the advantages of this service and its benefit in eliminating cars in the campus. In addition, staff and students will be taught on the benefits of using RRU services shall be conducted by representatives from the different cohorts. They shall organize networking and information session to enable them convinces more students in their respective classes to adopt this mode of campus transport (Nozzi, 2003). The RRU shall work towards meeting the target of removing 10% of cars from the campus by creating an environment that allows student staff communication. This will create a situation where more off campus students and staffs are convinced to use these services. The cost of implementing the ride sharing services within the campus is relatively low, as this is not a new idea. There currently exist structures and infrastructure that supports the implementation of this service successfully (Ison, 2008). To increase the presence of these services within the campus, the cohort and green team members must work overboard to ensure they create awareness and educate other students on the benefits of this approach. This can be done through holding of informational sessions through which the green team members and the cohort representatives get to speak to their students in the campus. Through social events, more members can be recruited who are then convinced to adopt the ride sharing option as compared to using their private cars. Green team booths must also be set at different parts of the campus to increase students’ access to these services within the campus. The use of flexible circulating shuttles within and around the campus that will connect to all the routes that leads to the campus as well as the busy buildings within the campus. This will be able to raise the number of people using the public means because it is cheaper and readily available thus reducing the use of personal cars. From the paper analysis, it is clearer that the best endorsement is by implementing strategies that will enable smooth and impressive public services that will have more profitability than use of the personal cars. These strategies should include attractive and discounting customer services, which is reliable and draws inward passion of acknowledging the available services. In reducing the number of cars in the campus by 2015, many issues cannot be overlooked including the level of greenhouse gas emission, comfort of the students and staff and finally their security. The adoption of the busing services presents a number of challenges including restrictive schedules that are inconveniencing to some students and staff, increased greenhouse gas emission and wanting passenger comfort. Catching a bike within the campus may be a healthy way of reaching the campus buildings but is restricted by a number of issues including the weather, comfort of the users and security. This leaves us with one working option that not only conserves the environment but is also convenient. Ride sharing creates booths at different points within the campus from where members of a riding team can be picked. It also has an operational website dedicated to improving the services they offer to the students thus making it a more comprehensive method. Based on the score matrix, ride sharing scores highly on its cost effectiveness, time convenience and ease of implementation. It does not require a lot of input since the infrastructure from the previous teams and cohorts can still be reused. Student satisfaction is also high when they used ride sharing as compared to other means of campus transport. References Eric J. and Miller, D. S. (1999).Integrated Urban Models for Simulation of Transit and Land Use Policies: Guidelines for Implementation and Use, Issue 48. Washington DC: Transportation Research Board. International Police Mountain Bike Association. (2007). The Complete Guide to Public Safety Cycling. Baltimore: Jones and Barlett publishers. Ison, S. (2008).The Implementation and Effectiveness of Transport Demand Management Measures ... Burlington: Ash gate publishing limited. Knut, T. T. (2012). Sustainable Healthcare.New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Nozzi, D. (2003). Road to Ruin: An Introduction to Sprawl and how to Cure it. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More