The Environmental Advisory Council and the Office of Sustainability would like to know how faculty, students and staff travel to campus, and they’re asking the university community to take an online survey to share information on commute habits.
Surveys were emailed this week to every student and employee of the university. Follow the link from that email to access the questions.
Survey data will be used to calculate Elon’s greenhouse gas inventory, or “carbon footprint.” The carbon footprint process tracks progress toward carbon neutrality, which is the overarching goal of Elon’s Sustainability Master Plan.
The last survey conducted found that 69 percent of students commute by car at least once a week, 35 percent carpool about 2 days a week, 20 percent commute by bus at least once a week and 71 percent bike or walk to campus several times a week.
Faculty and staff commuted approximately 7.8 million miles in fiscal year 2009 with 96 percent of faculty and 95 percent of staff commuting by car several times a week. Fourteen percent of faculty and 10 percent of staff carpool to campus about three days a week.
The results of the current survey being conducted will indicate whether commuting patterns have changed since the last survey was conducted in 2008. It is important to receive as many responses as possible to get an accurate representation of commuting habits.
– Information provided by Elaine Durr, Elon’s sustainability coordinator