Campus Greening: University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

UCLA's 11 campus shuttle buses run on 100 percent Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), with on-campus CNG fueling in two locations, including one open to the public.

Sustainability efforts at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) encompass a broad range of activities in the areas of resource stewardship, environmental protection, and energy conservation. In recent years, there has been a particularly strong commitment to innovative transportation alternatives. For decades, UCLA has embraced and implemented a variety of sustainable transportation-related initiatives for travel both to and on campus, and it is currently developing a comprehensive Sustainable Transportation Plan.

Under the university’s Vanpool Program, more than 1,500 staff, faculty, and students  receive monthly subsidies toward the cost of  their daily commute to campus aboard one of 150 UCLA-owned commuter vanpools. Traveling from more than 80 Southern California communities, they save driving trips while UCLA’s immediate and surrounding communities benefit from improved air quality and reduced traffic congestion. Since its inception in 1984, the Vanpool Program has eliminated 324 million passenger miles of travel, reducing 107,000 tons of carbon dioxide, 3,200 tons of carbon monoxide, 345 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 212 tons of hydrocarbons.

For five-plus years, UCLA has also partnered with Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines) and Culver CityBus to provide the BruinGO transit pass program. Students, faculty, and staff use their university ID cards to ‘board, swipe, and go’ on one of 24 combined bus lines (seven coming directly to UCLA), with UCLA subsidizing two-thirds of the bus fare during the academic year. Another successful transit option is the Go Metro pass program. UCLA students and employees get 24/7 access to all 200 Metro Bus lines and four Metro Rail lines, through a quarterly pass sold on campus at a 50 percent discount. Already in fall 2006, approximately 1,000 Go Metro passes have been sold, a nearly 50 percent increase over last year. More than 23,000 UCLA staff, faculty, and students take advantage of the subsidized transit programs in a given year.

In addition, UCLA partners with the nationwide car-sharing company Flexcar to provide members with on-demand access to a fleet of seven low emission vehicles, including hybrid sedans, that are conveniently located across campus. UCLA originally partnered with Flexcar as a commuting enhancement service to encourage faculty, staff, and students over 21 to leave their cars at home, share the ride to campus, and use Flexcar for personal errands and mobility during the day. A new Flexcar for Undergrads pilot program has been implemented in fall 2006 and offers all of the benefits of car sharing to 18-20 year-olds as well.

UCLA has also sought to address the energy use and emissions of on-campus vehicles. The university’s 11 campus shuttle buses run on 100 percent Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), with on-campus CNG fueling in two locations, including one open to the public. Over one million passenger rides are annually recorded, with the buses traveling a cumulative total of 333,000 miles. Surveys indicate over 50 percent of passengers are daily users of alternative transportation. To meet departmental transportation needs, fleet services also offers CNG, hybrid, and Low Speed Vehicles. Currently, 309 (30 percent) of UCLA’s 1,043 total fleet is alternatively fuel vehicles, and the university is consistently recognized as one of the Top 100 clean-fuel fleets nationally.

Other sustainable transportation highlights include:

• UCLA’s Fleet Maintenance recently received recognition by the State of California for being a Model Pollution Prevention Auto Repair Shop, demonstrating exceptional efforts to reduce hazardous waste, water, and air emissions. Fleet Services has identified new technologies to save money for the shop and support the University's goals to minimize environmental impacts.

• UCLA recently produced its first campus Bicycle Master Plan. Acting as a blueprint for bicycle planning and accommodation at UCLA for years to come, it addresses infrastructure, rider education, and marketing bicycle commuting to more students, staff, and faculty. Bicycle ridership has increased 50 percent since plan inception.

• UCLA has increased its supply of on-campus housing substantially from approximately 4,000 residents in 1990 to over 9,000 today, resulting in approximately 450,000 trips saved annually.

• UCLA’s current employee drive-alone rate is now only 54.5 percent, down significantly (14.5 percent) from 69 percent in 1990 and 22 percent below the regional level. The University has exceeded the Air Quality Management District targeted Average Vehicle Ridership of 1.5 each year for the past five years.

Overall, UCLA’s sustainable transportation programs eliminate an estimated 1.7 million automobile trips per year.

—Submitted by Renée Fortier, Director, UCLA Transportation Services