UNM
community encouraged to use alternative transportation
University
could become 'intermodal transportation hub'
By Dan
Ware
When Big
I construction began three years ago, the City of Albuquerque
partnered with UNM and many other businesses and organizations
to promote alternative modes of transportation to employees.
The Big
I is finished, but the problem of air pollution caused by traffic
congestion remains.
The Citys
Alternative Commute Transportation (ACT) Now program encourages
UNM faculty, staff and students to explore alternative transportation
to and from campus. This includes walking, riding bicycles,
car-pooling and riding the bus. ACT Now officials say riding
the bus is a great way to clean the air and save money.
UNM staff
and faculty who purchase a monthly bus pass will receive an
$8 discount off the regular $28 price. All UNM students pay
$12 for a monthly pass. Passes can be purchased at the UNM Bookstore.
Seeking
better transportation methods is important to students, too,
according to civil engineering graduate student Kamesh Tangirala,
who works as a project assistant in the UNM Transportation Information
Office.
I
believe the citys ACT Now program is beneficial to the
faculty, staff and students at UNM, Tangirala said. Alternate
modes of transportation would mean reduced traffic congestion,
delays and pollution, a reduction of stress and a significant
reduction in the costs incurred such as parking and gas. Also,
alternative modes like cycling and walking improves health.
Transportation
Information Office Project Facilitator Sabra Basler says UNM
could become an intermodal transportation hub, linking city
bus lines with the campus shuttle and even a light-rail system
that has been proposed by the city.
Were
very interested in studying the possibility of an intermodal
center on campus to promote commuting choices, Basler
said. Not just for the air shed, but to reduce the need
for vanishing proximate parking.
While use
of mass transit blossomed during the Big I project, use dropped
sharply once the exchange was completed, according to Valerie
Santillanes with the Citys ACT Now program.
A
lot of people just dont know whats available to
them, Santillanes said. UNM students, faculty and
staff can catch a bus at the university every 10 minutes on
Central from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Santillanes
adds that its not just about riding the bus. ACT Now encourages
residents to walk and ride bicycles when they can. The city
has set up a new program to focus on cycling to work.
The ACT
Now Bike Mentor program has teamed up with local, non-profit
Bike Albuquerque to encourage casual bicycle riders to use them
more often.
Program
participants will be provided with a bike route from home to
the office specifically designed for them. Program staff can
ride with participants until they are comfortable riding the
route themselves. Bike Albuquerque will even loan participants
a bicycle and helmet so they can decide if the program is right
for them.
In an effort
to further encourage Albuquerque residents to leave cars home
at least three days a week, the city has created the Guaranteed
Ride Home (GRH) program, which provides free rides home up to
five times a year for those who register.
The GRH
program was created to alleviate the apprehension some people
may have that if they carpool or use another form of alternative
transportation, theyll be stranded at the office or school
in case they have to work late or an emergency happens.
People
are willing and capable of making changes if you give them a
good reason, Santillanes said. We want to convince
people that clean air is reason enough to use alternative transportation.
For more
information about the citys ACT Now program, call (505)
243-RIDE or log onto www.cabq.gov/transit.