Campus Commuter Challenge

Ready to take the Challenge? Click here to register or to record your participation.

Sponsored by:

Syracuse University
Office of Academic Affairs

SUNY-ESF

OCRRA

Thank you to our prize contributors!

Green Homes America

Eureka Crafts

Sugar Pearl Espresso Bar

The 120 Salon

Grindstone Organic Farm

Ready to take the Challenge? Click here to register or to record your participation.

Reducing the environmental impact of commuting to work on University Hill.

TIPS AND TOOLS FOR COMMUTING WITHOUT A CAR

	Riding a bike -- it's good for your health and for the environment. Here is a link to the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council's Bicycle Suitability Map, showing the best routes for bicyclists. Centro buses can also carry your bicycle if you want to ride in one direction only -- check Centro schedules here. PLEASE BIKE SAFELY: Wear a helmet; keep to the right and observe the rules of the road; use a light after dark
	FIND BUS ROUTES AND SCHEDULES Students can get discounted bus passes Convenient one-seat rides to campus. (Including the NEW park-n-ride buses from Wegmans in DeWitt) Centro buses can also carry your bicycle, if you want to ride in one direction only. Centro is a great choice for low-impact commuting, because they use low-emissions compressed natural gas buses and have recently added low-emission, low-noise diesel-electric hybrids to the fleet. Bus fares are cheaper than driving and parking, and you can use the time on the bus to catch up on reading or sleeping.
	SAVE on PARKING PERMITS: SU Parking and Transportation Services has new parking permit policies to promote carpooling. FIND SOMEONE TO SHARE A RIDE WITH: SU Parking and Transportation Services is also working to help employees share rides. BORROW A CAR WHEN YOU NEED ONE: The new ZipCar and CuseCar services allow members of the university community to rent cars by the hour to run errands or handle emergencies if they are on campus without a car. (Coming Soon!)
	WALK to work! It's healthy and relaxing and helps you get to know your neighborhood. Syracuse University and the university neighborhood provide benefits for owning a home near campus, including help with your down payment. Participate in Steps to Better Health and get rewards for your walking.

Learn more about the Challenge:
How does it work?
What are the prizes?

Results of the
2007 Challenge

SU-ESF University Sustainability Action Coalition
usac.syr.edu

SU-ESF Office of Environment and Society
enspire@syr.edu
enspire.syr.edu

Your suggestions about how to improve non-car commuting options are bearing fruit. See these Post-Standard articles:

-- "Centro pumps up bus service"
(including more express buses to/from SU and University Hospital)
--"Who needs a car?"
(about SMTC efforts to promote bicycle use on University Hill)

2007 Results

Overall results

And the winners are:

630 people took the survey

576 people took the Challenge and left their cars at home for at least one day during the month

An estimated 4-5 tons of CO2 was saved by those 576 people leaving the car home for one day. If they did it for a whole month, that would be nearly 100 tons of CO2 saved!

83 people left their cars home for the first time ever -- and nearly all said they would try it again

We collected many good suggestions for improving transportation options on University Hill.

	<200 employees	>200 employees
grand prize	School of Education, captain Victoria Kohl	Maxwell School, captain Jonnell Allen
runners-up	SU Public Affairs	SU Chancellor's/ Vice-Chancellor's offices
runners-up	University College	SU Student Affairs
Special prize for most employees leaving their cars home for the first time:
SU Business, Finance, and Adminstrative Services, captain Roseanne Brasher

For a spreadsheet of results, click here.