By Anonymous
Human-Environment Interaction
George Mason University has high rates of commuting students, which creates high levels of emissions and increased parking installments. George Mason should increase incentivized carpooling and publicize the rideshare program. What good is all of this if these attributes are not advertised? The shuttles are often late and unreliable which prompts students to drive themselves. The campus does require parking passes at an unreasonably high price so the shuttles are a second resort, but they are very unreliable. Due to the small success rate of the shuttles in punctuality, most students buy the parking pass anyway, which increases the need for parking lots and destruction of land to build more. Thus, carpooling should be publicized and advertised through incentives that are apparently offered.
Resource characteristics
Air pollution caused by fossil fuel emissions is one of the greatest resource characteristic, environmental aspects involved. Air pollution is significantly high at George Mason due to the heavy commuting traffic. George Mason has placed a shuttle system throughout the campus and Fairfax area, but the buses do not really make a difference. Since the buses are behind and unreliable the majority of students purchase car permits and increase the use of individual fuel emissions. Commuting alone contributes “20,927 Metric Tons of CO2 equivalent” according to the STARS data in 2017 (STARS 2017). The carbon emissions of commuters was only “15,343” according to a study done in 2016, which shows the increase in carbon emissions over only one year (Emissions FY14 to FY16, 2016). Not only are student emissions increasing, but so are the shuttle buses despite less students utilizing their services due to delays and unreliable schedules unless they need to. Overall, the bus/shuttle issues cascade down into an increased amount of students commuting on and to campus, which greatly increases carbon emissions and calls for change in the carpool realm.
Governance/User characteristics
George Mason has rented vehicles from Reston Limousine for shuttle and bus purposes to and from different points on campus or off. The implementation of the bus transportation option is beneficial to the campus environment, but the option of carpooling proves to be stronger and more sustainable. The implementation of “carpool zone[s]” allows the comfort of utilizing guaranteed transportation that tends to be more reliable, while reducing emissions. Students may even receive incentives for the use of carpool programs and rideshares. Carpooling saves students “up to 40%” rebates on permits, which is more affordable and accommodating to a large commuter school that needs reliable but sustainable transportation (Walker, J., 2022.
Social/cultural/economic/political settings or related ecosystems
Economic factors play a very large role in the emissions of the buses and commuting students as you must be a mason student to utilize these options. Mason IDs are necessary to ride the bus/shuttle, and to join the student rideshare service. As it is required to be a Mason student to ride the bus/shuttle, the demographic is set through students’ use of the transportation services on campus. Though transportation is offered in many ways, the irregular schedule and lack of punctuality decrease student use and increase pollution patterns as seen on campus. Overall, economic factors greatly control the social and environmental factors of the transportation system at Mason.
What can we do?
The university must make changes to the shuttle transportation system as the system makes few irregular stops, is not consistent in punctuality, and creates a very large amount of emissions for the amount of advertisement and lack of student use. Since carpooling is incentivized, as mentioned on the transportation website as follows, “Students and employees may qualify for a 20- to 40-percent rebate on reserved parking permits by carpooling”, advertisement is crucial and more carpool areas/spots should be available to students (Walker, J. 2022). The university also mentions that an attendant supervises spaces in particular areas, but only from “7:00 am- 11:00 am” (Carpool Programs, 2022). The university must implement constant supervisors and provide more carpool spaces for this to be a feasible sustainable shift on campus.
University Action
As mentioned above, the university has incentivized carpooling for commuting students, but with the lack of publication or advertisements, this program is not helping to reduce carbon emissions to the extent it could if more students knew about it (Walker, J. 2022). So yes, the university is doing the bare minimum, but they need to do more!
Citations
Carpool programs. Parking and Transportation. (2022, September 21). Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://transportation.gmu.edu/transportation-services/carpool-programs/
Emissions FY14 to FY16. (2016) storage.googleapis . Retrieved 2022, from https://storage.googleapis.com/stars-static/secure/319/7/650/4844/Emissions%20FY14%20to%20FY16.jpg
STARS. (2017). George Mason University OP-1: Greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse Gas Emissions | George Mason University | Scorecard | Institutions | STARS Reports. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/george-mason-university-va/report/2017-09-01/OP/air-climate/OP-1/
Walker, J. (2022), August 19). Parking and traffic advisory: Transportation updates for the Fall Semester. Parking and Transportation. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://transportation.gmu.edu/parking-and-traffic-advisory-transportation-updates-for-the-fall-semester/