Alternative Transportation: Carpooling at Niagara College Presented by Michael Bazyluk Hello fellow colleagues, staff and all other. Thank you for joining Sustainability at Niagara College and I today for our Alternative Transportation Planning session. Today’s session is extremely important as it is the first time that the College is undergoing an investigation of transportation alternatives. In light of this, I would like to inform you that your participation today will help our efforts moving forward in the investigation; your thoughts, comments and recommendations are key pieces that will be integrated into our studies and future decisions. I therefore encourage everyone to participate today because all of your voices will be heard! *Have the survey ready for tallying (give it to the whole class for circulation); another page can be circulated to allow students to add their thoughts and other opinions.*

Today’s Agenda Introduction TDMS Carpooling Wrap-up As mentioned earlier, today’s facilitation session will be about Alternative transportation at Niagara College. We will discuss alternatives and have an in-depth conversation on carpooling as a viable option at our campuses.

Introduction Michael Bazyluk HBA from University of Toronto: Mississauga Campus Environmental Management and Geography Current Post-Graduate Student at Niagara College: NOTL campus Environmental Management and Assessment (EMA) Intern: Alternative Transportation I am Michael Bazyluk, a post-graduate student at Niagara College currently in the EMA program. Last year I graduated from UTM, where I studied environmental management and geography. The program offered many courses related to planning, including transportation and city planning. My current work, and future internship at Niagara College is involved in developing and implementing a transportation demand management strategy for the College.

YOU’RE NOT STUCK IN TRAFFIC, YOU ARE THE TRAFFIC Transportation Facts Transportation accounts for 27% of Canada’s total GHG emissions (Environment Canada) Average yearly cost to operate a car: (CAA) $9,000 or $25 per day! Average motor-vehicle commuter loses 34 hours, annually, due to congestion (Forbes) According to Environment Canada, overall transportation represents the largest single source of Canada’s GHG emissions. Other sources show it to be 30%. YOU’RE NOT STUCK IN TRAFFIC, YOU ARE THE TRAFFIC

TDMS at Niagara College Transportation Demand Management Strategy Strategies and policies to reduce travel demand or, Redistribute demand in space/time Why develop a TDMS for Niagara College? Cost-effective alternative for increasing capacity Improved public health Better environmental outcomes Builds a stronger NC community Contributes to the development of sustainable cities As mentioned earlier, my primary task is to develop a TDMS for the College. As a public facility, our efforts are allocated to serve the Niagara College community. Being an educational facility, we would like to provide the community with sustainable options and learning opportunities. We also want to set an example for our community and surrounding areas. Goal: To reduce the travel demand of single-occupancy vehicles (SOV)

Discussion Question 1 What are your opinions on the modes of transportation currently offered at Niagara College? What can be improved? What would you like to see more of? What do you think should be added/removed? I would like to get your opinions on the current transportation system provided for the Niagara College community. Here are a couple of questions that we can start our discussion on transportation with.

Transportation Alternatives Active transportation Walking, biking, skateboarding etc. Transit Regional (public) Local (public) Shuttle buses Carpool Car sharing How many of you use active transportation to get to school/work? Transit? Carpool? Car sharing? Car sharing allows individuals to rent a vehicle by the hour, or for the day. It is a good alternative for people who do not have a vehicle of their own to use at their liberty, especially for business related travel. It is less expensive than leasing, renting or insuring a vehicle and is flexible and convenient.

Any carpooling experiences? Car travel with more than one passengers Any carpooling experiences? Carpooling is straight forward. What are you experiences with carpooling? Please share your experiences with us. They can be positive or negative.

Discussion Question 2: SWOT Analysis of Carpooling Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats For our second discussion question, please take 5 minutes to join a group of 3-4 people and brainstorm as many ideas as you can that identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a carpooling program at Niagara College.

Strengths: Benefits of Carpooling Saves money Fuel costs Good for the environment Reduces carbon emissions via traffic congestion Don’t have to drive Social reasons Meet new people Have someone to talk to when in transit Let’s start with benefits of a carpooling program at NC. These are the main benefits that I came up with. What are other benefits that haven’t been mentioned above?

Weaknesses: Potential Barriers to Carpooling Safety (Dis)comfort of giving out personal information to strangers Matching students/faculty/staff together Time Tied to a fixed departure time Risk of not being picked up Agreement on time with ride mate(s) Program effectiveness Participation rate Little chance of finding matches Uncertainty about fees Determining fares for the driver What do you think are other barriers to carpooling?

SWOT Analysis Continued… Opportunities Threats Reduce carbon footprint Follow through with sustainability initiatives Community engagement and participation Partnerships Organizations Businesses Public/Private Funding Safety risks Legal implications Accidents Insurance What about opportunities and threats?

Carpool Program Assurance Financial incentives Reduced parking pass costs Reserved Parking Ride back home (Emergency ride services) Ride mate(s) matching application Recognition programs Monthly prizes (Eg. Gas cards) Contests If a carpool program is implemented at NC, we would like it to operate in a way that serves its users. Therefore it is critical to assure our community that carpooling the best transportation alternative by providing incentives for users. Here are some of the incentives that I thought would be applicable to members in the NC community. What incentives would you like to get out of this program?

Frequently Asked Questions How do I find a carpool partner? Are participants Screened? Who does the driving? Where/When do we meet? What if I don’t have a car? How much will I save by carpooling? Do I have to carpool everyday? How much should carpool passengers pay? What happens if I oversleep or am late? What if I don’t find any compatible matches? What if I have an appointment or errands to run before, after or during work/school? In my research, I have come across some FAQ. Are there any other questions that you may have that should be addressed in the context of carpooling? $0.40-$0.80 per kilometre can be saved according to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). For your information, we have been looking into a software program that provides a ride-match service for all users. If the software program is adopted into our program, many of these questions can be answered through it.

Survey College-wide survey Inclusive Students (Full-time/Part-time) Staff Administrators Employees Please take some time to fill out our Transportation Survey! Tell others to participate in the survey! We are officially launching a college-wide transportation survey today for everyone at NC to fill out. It is important to hear as many voices as we can in order to serve the College community the best we can.

Help ‘Drive’ Change on Campus! Support us! Sign-up for our email list Get involved! Car Count opportunity Additional workshops Spread the news! Contact me! mbazyluk1@ncstudents.niagaracollege.ca To have a bigger impact in the project, please support us and get involved. Gina has some great opportunities for you! If anyone has any questions or concerns regarding the topics discussed today, feel free to contact me via email or in the hallways at any time. Thank you for our patience and participation.