Sustainability
Sustainability Initiatives in Trojan Transportation
- Sustainable Endowments Institute Report Card 2008.
- Green Trams – Our entire fleet (24 vehicles) of USC Trams has been converted to B20 bio-diesel fuel this year. To diversify our fleet, we are purchasing our first natural gas-fueled “cutaway” bus, which will be operational in fall 2007
- Green Cruisers – To date, we have purchased two highly rated green vehicles including our most recent purchase of a hybrid technology vehicle. Our plan is to continue the conversion (as prescribed in our vehicle replacement plan) from unleaded vehicles to hybrid technology
- Zipcar – This semester we brought Zipcar to the UPC campus. Car sharing will help alleviate the parking demand on and around campus and will also allow students the ability to store their vehicles in long term parking while using Zipcar to run errands, explore the surrounding area, etc.
- Benefits of Car-sharing to the City of Los Angeles - The positive benefits of car-sharing on air quality, transportation behavior, and urban design are well-documented in the Transit Research Board's TCRP Report 108: Car-sharing—Where and How It Succeeds. Key findings of the report include:
- Car-sharing members dramatically reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled. TCRP indicates an average VMT reduction of 40% for car-sharing members.
- 14.9 private vehicles are replaced for each shared car. As many as 70% of car-share members who were surveyed reported either selling or deferring the purchase of a vehicle after joining.
- Car-sharing reduces emissions. Car-sharing organizations reduce emissions both by reducing members' Vehicle Miles Traveled and by using newer, fuel-efficient vehicles.
- Car-sharing increases transit ridership, biking, and walking. Because every car-sharing trip has a significant cost, members drive a car only when they really need to, and they walk, take transit, and ride bikes more often.
- Car-sharing saves money. According to the Automobile Association of America, the average annual cost to own a vehicle is over $7,000. Many individuals and businesses are finding that car-sharing is less expensive than owning a car.
- Recognition – We successfully-implemented green initiatives led to the department director being awarded the Presidents Award from USG in 2007
- AQMD – We attained the state-mandated target of 1.77 average ridership for the UPC Campus
- Fuel Station – We offer B20 bio-diesel fuel to our customers at the fuel station by the Parking Center
- Transit Program – We currently subsidize 22,336 passes