Transportation

It seems that everyone is talking about the higher gas prices across the nation.  At the college, we're talking about solutions to avoiding the use of single occupancy vehicles and looking into alternative fuel sources for the campus vehicle fleet.

FREE CCTA Commuter Pass to all Students, Staff and Faculty of Saint Michael's College
Saint Michael's College is a proud member of CCTA's Unlimited Access Program.  All students and Saint Michael's employees can ride CCTA for free!  The program is funded by the college as a benefit of enrollment and employment.  With convenient routes all over the Burlington area, why use your own car!  For route information, visit CCTA's website.

Ride the college's Biodiesel Shuttle!!!
Saint Michael's college shuttle bus has been converted to B5 biodiesel (a renewable fuel made from vegetable oils).  The vegetable oil is provided by local S.B. Collins in St. Albans, Vermont.  The bus transports students between North and Main Campus and runs on biodiesel.

Successful Spring 2008 Incentive program
The Commuter's Choice Incentive Program, organized and implemented soley by student Dillon Klepetar '08, ran from April 7 to May 9 this past Spring.  The incentive program encouraged faculty and staff to commit to commuting to work every day using alternative modes of transportation.  Participants earned points for prizes when using the program:

 

Point Allocation:
   -walk to or from work = 3 pts each way
   -bike to or from work = 3 pts each way
   -carpool to or from work = 2 pts each way
   -CCTA bus to or from work = 2 pts each way
   -use any of these transportation methods on a lunch break = .5 pts

Rewards:
     -5 pts = free coffee or tea from Cafe Cheray
     -10 pts = reusable cloth City Market bag
     -15 pts = $5 Knight Stand gift certificate
     -30 pts = Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner
     -45 pts = Merrill's Roxy Theater movie pass
     -60 pts = $10 Intervale Nursery gift certificate
     -65+ pts = $15 American Flatbread gift certificate

Participants that earned at least 35 points were also eligible for the raffle for the grand prize: a mountain bike!

Employees kept track of their traveling methods on a chart created by Dillon, who then, at the end of the program, went through all the travel logs to determine prize allocation.

Smugglers' Notch Ski and Ride Program
Saint Michael's College provides all undergraduate students in good academic standing with a season pass to Smugglers' Notch for just a minimal procesing fee.  To get to Smugglers' Notch, students have access to weekend bus transportation (FREE) from campus to Smuggs through the winter months (be sure to sign up for the bus with the Wilderness Program).

Public Safety Bicycle Patrol Unit
Established in 1994, the Public Safety Bike Patrol not only increases the visibility and accessibility of officers in the campus community, but also helps to decrease the campus carbon footprint by not consuming extra fossil fuel!

 

TWO New Hybrid Cars join the College's Campus Vehicle Fleet
Two brand new Honda Civic '08 Hybrids join the campus fleet of vehicles.  These car gets approximately 40/48 (city/highway) mph and uses synthetic oil. 

Of other exciting hybrid vehicle news (or old news), President Neuhauser's car is a hybrid as well (camry hybrid).

New North Campus - Main Campus Connector Road with Bike Lane
Plans are in the works for construction of a connector road between North and Main Campus that will include a bike lane.  This road will allow for safer, more pedestrian/bike friendly transportation, as opposed to traveling along Route 15 to get between North and Main Campus.  Project completion date is expected to be in Spring 2009.