[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/ACT-MIEH.jpg” caption=”ACT Coordinators (L-R) Jennifer Dawson, Daryl Bender, students Andrea Lourenco and Joe Donofrio and MIEH Director Bruce Newbold. Photo credit: Anita Toth.”]The past year has been a busy one for Joe Donofrio and Andrea Lourenco, two fourth year honours students in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences. Not only have they been engaged in their regular course work and busily preparing for life after graduation, but they have been working with the McMaster Institute of Environment & Health (MIEH) and the ACT Office (Alternative Commuting & Transportation) to evaluate faculty and staff transportation choices and barriers to using alternative transportation for campus trips. “Projects such as these offer our students the opportunity to engage in research that is important for the campus community on a day-to-day basis”, said Bruce Newbold, Director of MIEH. The opportunity also fits with the Experiential Education program. The students, working under the supervision of Newbold, used data collected in 2004 that was stripped of all confidential information.

The primary purpose of the survey was to understand the commuting patterns of McMaster staff and faculty, with the results indicating that 59% of employee trips are “drive alone”. Transit accounted for 12% of trips. In addition, the survey showed that staff and faculty were engaged in complicated commuting patterns, often times with stops on the way to or from campus relating to shopping, daycare, socialization, or meetings. Other survey respondents made multiple trips to and from campus over a single day. Still, staff and faculty live close to the University and may be able to make the shift from single occupant vehicle commuting to taking public transit, walking or biking to campus. “We're very happy with the partnership between MIEH and the ACT Office”, said ACT coordinator Jennifer Dawson. “Creating linkages with students and faculty to analyze real data is a great advantage of working on a university campus. We're looking forward to reading and reflecting on Andrea and Joe's final reports”.

The results are timed well for the newest staff and faculty transportation survey, which should be rolled out later in 2006. A similar survey aimed at students will be completed in the fall of this year.