A greener commute

Hands up if any of these scenarios are familiar to you:

• As a Metro Transit user, you consider yourself lucky to find a seat on the bus.
• You’d like to cycle in, but an erratic schedule (including night classes) makes that difficult most days.
• As a driver, you often find yourself inching along in stop-and-go traffic and then hunting for a parking spot once you arrive on campus.

All three scenarios reflect the reality of morning commutes throughout Halifax. It can be frustrating, which is why more and more people are seeking more environmentally friendly ways to arrive on campus.

According to Dalhousie’s College of Sustainability, transportation accounts for roughly 25 per cent of Canada’s total energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. That’s high because nearly 60 per cent of faculty and staff and 13 per cent of students drive to Dalhousie, according to a transportation survey conducted by the Office of Sustainability earlier this year.

In response, Dalhousie, together with HRM, is offering some smart and eco-friendly incentives to easily travel around our growing city, including carpooling and car sharing.

“Dalhousie is doing its part by developing alternate transportation programs dedicated toward becoming a more sustainable campus,” says Rochelle Owen, director of the Office of Sustainability.

HRM has recently launched a new twist on the old idea of carpooling. It’s a web-based ride-matching service dubbed HRM Smart Trip (HRMSmartTrip.ca) that allows residents throughout the region to find travel partners based on a number of indicators, including proximity, destination, travel route, similar working hours and compatible carpooling preferences.

When commuters search for travel partners based on their criteria, a list of potential matches is returned instantly and commuters have the option to e-mail the individuals to work out details and make arrangements.

The system can also be tailored to match transit, cycling and even walking partners.

Dalhousie makes it easy to find a carpooling buddy by signing up at the HRMSmartTrip website using your Dalhousie email address. This allows the user to refine their search to other Dal students or employees only. In addition, Dalhousie also offers a reserved RideShare parking space to students or employees who carpool to campus together.

Dalhousie commuters may also want to explore CarShareHFX; it’s a program for people who occasionally need a car—perhaps for that once-a-month trip to Cosco or for weekend trips to the countryside—but don’t want the hassle or expense of ownership.

CarShareHFX is a membership-based program. Members can reserve cars in the car share fleet and pay only for what they use.

And there’s another just-in-case option for people dedicated to using sustainable transportation at least three times a week.

It’s called the Guaranteed Ride Home program, a kind of insurance policy for those days when you have to get somewhere quickly because of an emergency; perhaps the daycare is closing early and hopping on a bicycle or waiting for a bus just won’t cut it.

That’s where the Guaranteed Ride Home Program comes in. It provides a guaranteed ride home—a taxi chit—for participants when they need it. Dalhousie is a pilot site for the new program and Dalhousie staffers can participate.

“If you take sustainable transportation three times a week—that’s taking a bus, walking, cycling, carpooling—then you qualify for the Guaranteed Ride Home program in the event of an emergency,” says Ms. Owen. “This new program offers a peace of mind for all commuters who were hesitant about cycling to work.”

LINKS: HRM Smart Trip | CarShareHFX | Guaranteed Ride Home program | Dalhousie’s Office of Sustainability