Advocacy Project: Tackling Transportation!

Federal Transit Authority
Tackling Transportation:
The purpose of this activity is to get students to map out alternative routes of transportation they could use in their everyday life.



BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

According to George Mason University, 77% of Americans commute to work by driving alone. When commuters drive alone, car emissions, including carbon dioxide, are released into the atmosphere and thus decreasing the quality of health for individuals and the environment. According to the American Public Transportation Association, a person who takes public transportation saves 126 million pounds of hydrocarbons from being released into the atmosphere. Hydrocarbons have been contributed to causing respiratory illness and smog, therefore by taking public transportation a person is being environmentally friendly. According to Nutra Health Environmental Research Inc. driving a car is the most air polluting action the average person does each day. A lot of this pollution can be avoided if individuals found alternatives ways to get around. Such ways could be walking, biking, or taking mass transit, which include buses and subways.

According to the American Public Transportation Association, public transportation reduces energy consumption and increases air quality. According to APTA, a person who takes the bus everyday to work in place of driving saves 1,888 gallons of gasoline each year. Taking public transportation keeps individual active member of communities and decreases traffic congestion.93% of welfare recipients rely on public transportation to get to work and to other destinations. According to the American Public Transportation Association, 40% of Americans believe traffic congestion is a serious problem. This has a harmful effect on the environment. By using alternative sources of transportation a person can help save money, save time and save the environment by reducing noise and air pollution and reducing car emissions.

The H.R 3271 Green Routes to Work Act is a bill proposed to congress to give tax credits to businesses who supply their employees with transit passes in the hopes to promote their employees to take public transportation instead of driving alone to work. At UMD students can ride the bus for free. Therefore, in order to promote taking an alternative route to school and other destinations we will planning routes to locations you frequently go to. If you already take the bus, see if there is a convenient walking or biking route to your destination.

Activity Instructions:

Answer the following questions:

1. Pick three locations that you go to often. (It can be school, work, home, the mall etc.)
2. How do you typically commute to these locations?
   
3. Access Google Transit
4. Map your transit route by plugging in the addresses of each location and which times you would usually leave to go to these places. Choose if you would like to walk, bus, or bike to these locations. (do not choose driving)
   
5. Report the most convenient route to your 3 locations and the modes of transportation.
6. How does this route differ from your typical commute?
7. Are these commutes a realistic change you could put in your schedule? why or why not?
8. Do you plan to try incorporating this routes into your routine?
   

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: My Smart Goal

My goal for this past week was to take the bus to and from the UMD campus 5 times per week
I did not meet my goal this week. I have to say I am not to surprised. I do have busy schedule and that is what did me in. I only took the bus 3 times this past week. I ended up driving because I had other commitments right after class so I did not have the time to take the bus. I had been doing good about not scheduling so tightly so I am kind of disappointed in myself for giving in and taking and driving.

When I did take the bus I felt the same things I have been feeling previously. While I was waiting outside in the cold (and this week seemed really really cold!) I would think of how I could be in my nice warm car. I continued to wake up 10 minutes early so I could easily make the bus and I would not have to rush. It seems over the past few weeks I have gotten into a routine and it really helps me succeed in taking the bus.

I look to continue to strive to take the bus at least 3 times per week to and from campus.
Review of SMART Goal Process:

My SMART goal started off taking the bus 3 times per week and then progressed to taking the bus 5 times per week to and from campus. The amount of times I took the bus gradually increased as I would achieve my goal.

I did not meet my goal the first week because I did not change any of my behaviors. I expected I could just wake up and get on the bus instead of driving. This was not successful. I ended up either rushing and missing the bus or finding out I could not take the bus because I had commitments right after school. Therefore, I started waking up 10 minutes earlier and I started planning other things later in the day so I could have time to take the bus home. This helped my achieving my goals week to week. The weather also helped me be successful. I tend to be afraid of driving in snowy or icy weather. So I had extra incentive on stormy days to take the bus.

I benefited because I am now in a routine that I continue even after the SMART goal project is done. I feel that this is a sustainable action. I also saved a lot of money on gas. I noticed I did not have to fill up my gas tank nearly has often as I did before. It is great!

I learned that taking the bus is not difficult at all. I learned it is also very convenient and it takes about the same amount of time by car and it does by bus. I also learned how to take the bus and how to read a bus schedule. Seems silly but I did not know how to read a bus schedule before. I learned about myself that once I get into a routine it is really easy. The hardest part for me was breaking my old routine, once I got past that it was really easy to change my behavior.

My behavior change benefited the environment because as a result of me taking the bus there was one less car on the road. That is one less car contributing to air and noise pollution. Others benefited from my actions because since I was not driving there was less traffic on the road. If a lot more people took the bus there would be a lot less traffic on the roads.

I do plan on continuing this behavior. I have found it to not be that difficult now that I am in a routine. My recommendation for those seeking a behavior change is to stick with it even if it is difficult at first. The hardest part, in my opinion, is starting the behavior change because it is so different from what you are used to. My advice is to stick with it past that first week. Once you make that initial behavior change, it is all down hill from there!

Blogged for AmyintheRain