There is one truth about college: buying a parking pass is a painful rite of adulthood. Every year, tens of thousands of American students shell out up around $900 per year to park their cars on strained campus lots. Now students at Ole Miss are working with local transportation authorities to reduce cars, carbon and cost on campus. Their solution? Bring on the buses!
Students Erin Parsons and Lexi Combs recently shared their busing ideas with Planet Forward. The pair hopes to increase bus ridership by making buses more accessible to non-student members of the Oxford, Mississippi community. This means slapping GPS locators on each bus so potential riders can see exactly when their ride will arrive.
By expanding bus service to traditionally overlooked portions of the community, the Oxford Planning Committee hopes to reduce reliance on automobiles and private transportation. Cutting even a few cars from the road can prevent tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, as well as saving on increasing fuel costs. Ole Miss may be boosting green in both the environment and community wallets!
Share your public transportation solutions and other climate and environmental innovations at Planet Forward.