By: Sanjida Amin

Sustainable transportation is one of the key considerations in protecting environment and preventing climate change. Carbon emission and climate change are major issues that have been addressed globally and it is our collective responsibility to find ways to contribute to reduce carbon emissions. One of the ways we can do this is by adopting sustainable means of transportations in our everyday lives. Brock University is committed to promoting sustainable transportation, by offering more environment friendly means of transportations which may reduce on campus carbon emissions by a significant percentage. According to Natural Resource Canada,  passenger vehicles are one of the major contributors of local greenhouse gas emissions. Apart from single-passenger vehicles, there are many alternatives to allow individuals to still travel but in a more sustainable way. Let’s explore some of these transportation offerings below:

Choose Your Sustainable Transportation

Public Transportation

Niagara Region and St. Catharines Transit is offering public transportation facilities to the students of Brock University through the Universal Bus Pass. Most of the city routes are covered by this transportation facility and students, staffs, faculty can use this option, rather than using personal vehicles. The bus goes inside the campus in a regular interval. Both undergraduate and graduate students qualify for a universal bus pass, which provides them with the opportunity to get access to St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara Falls, Welland, Fort Erie, Pelham and the Niagara Regional Transit Systems. So, leaving the personal vehicles at home and using the transit service can reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable transportation behavior. Each stakeholder of Brock University can make great positive impact on climate change by adopting transit services whenever possible.

Biking

Biking is fun way to get from one place to another. It is also physically refreshing and is one way we can fit exercise into our day. Biking is an environmentally sustainable behavior as it saves gas, fuel and reduces overall carbon emissions by a lot. For every 7 kilometers travelled by bicycle as opposed to driving a car, one kilogram of CO2 emissions is saved, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. According to the same UN report, cycling saves 150 grammes of CO2 for every kilometer travelled as opposed to driving.

It occupies small portion of roads, thus reduce traffic congestions and carbon emissions while remain stuck in roads. Brock University promotes biking by offering the superb cycling facilities inside the campus area. There are over 30 bike racks on the main and east campus that students, staffs and faculty can use in order to safely secure bikes. There are also cycling lanes just outside of the campus area on main roads which offer dedicated and safe biking experiences. Please see this page to learn more about cycling paths near Brock.

Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles are modern means of transportation that are reducing our reliance on gass and oil and subsequently reducing the emission of carbon dioxide. Brock University is promoting this environment friendly and sustainable transportation option by offering on campus charging stations for electronic vehicles. There are now 22 ports across 13 stations around campus for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs) to charge the battery while parked. To know more about charging points please visit parking services page. The stations are a 90 Amp unit that provides up to 90 kms of travel on a one-hour charge on select e-vehicles. It has also different indicators to show status of charging.

Walking and Other Activity Based Transportations

Walking or inline skating is highly beneficial to health and also offers to get fresh air which can make you mentally refresh in comparison to driving own vehicle. These options produce little to no emissions while offering alternative means of transportation specially those who stay on campus or nearby to the campus area.

Take Action Today

Choosing sustainable transportation options is just one of the ways you can reduce your carbon emissions and have a collective positive impact on climate change. Leaving your own vehicles at home and instead choosing public transportation, biking or deciding to walk even two times a week can make significant impact. To know more, please visit Sustainable Transportation Options at Brock.