Humber is becoming a greener campus and everyone is participating! Humber Sustainability Highlights features people and departments around the College that are working to integrate sustainable practices. This month’s focus are the carpool groups at North campus.
Finding parking is a nightmare for a commuter school like Humber. While many joke that if you were to line all of the lots together there would be enough room to land a Boeing 747, the reality is there just aren’t enough spaces for the 80,000 faculty, staff, students, contractors and visitors traveling to campus regularly.
That’s what attracted Clay MacDougall, Deputy Registrar of Academic Services to the carpool parking permit.
“I wanted that designated spot right next to the front doors,” joked MacDougall.
In 2014, the Office of Sustainability partnered with Public Safety to create the carpool parking permit in an effort to reduce the demand for parking and traffic congestion and improve local air quality. The carpool permit differs from regular permits, consisting of a minimum of two Humber parking permit holders who surrender their individual passes to Public Safety. Carpool permit holders will receive reserved parking spaces adjacent to the main doors and the cost of one pass is split between the carpoolers.
For trips where walking, biking, or public transportation isn’t an option, carpooling is a great way to cut down on miles driven. At Humber’s North campus, Clay MacDougall and Sara Laux, Manager of Public Relations and Communications have taken up the challenge, creating their own carpool groups.
“It just made sense,” says MacDougall, describing how his carpool came together. “All of us come from the same area and are heading in the same direction. Our schedules work together.”
Laux whole-heartedly agreed.
“It’s convenient. It saves money, wear and tear on your vehicle, has priority parking locations across campus, and gives us access to the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes, saving us over an hour a day in travel time.”
With close to 24, 000,000 cars on the road in Canada, carpooling has become a popular option. Cities have installed High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on highways to encourage more people to carpool and reduce traffic and gridlock.
“When you follow the same car home every day from the office, that’s when you know it is time to make a change,” says MacDougall. “There are just too many cars on the road so if the opportunity is there for a carpool, I would recommend it.”
The carpooling program with Public Safety takes away many concerns of giving up your own car with added benefits:
- Complimentary Parking Vouchers: Each registered carpool member is entitled to 12 complimentary, one-day parking passes per year.
- Reserved Parking Spots: Conveniently located steps away from the main entrances.
- Guaranteed Emergency Ride Home: If you have an unforeseen emergency, you can request reimbursement of up to $75 for your transportation costs through Smart Commute’s Emergency Ride Home program.
- Save Money: Split the cost of a carpool parking permit, plus share the cost of travel expenses.
