Sustainable Transportation: Is the Time Right for More Investment?

February 2, 2022

by Mark Hairr, Director of Parking and Transit Services, University of Tennessee at Knoxville 

One of the major challenges many communities and universities face is determining how much time and energy to focus on sustainable transportation. This type of transportation can range from transit, to bicycling, scooters, walking, and more so now, telecommuting.  

The world still revolves around single occupancy vehicle (SOV) commuting and mobility, so that is where most efforts are concentrated as “alternative” forms of transportation often get secondary treatment. This is oftentimes not necessarily a sinister or purposeful sleight, but limited staffing and financial resources cause most of us to spend the overwhelming majority of our time addressing SOV parking and related issues.  

Perhaps now the time is ripe to reevaluate the amount of effort we spend on sustainable transportation as our younger generation is less reliant on SOVs and more open to various forms of mobility as evidenced by the explosion of scooter use in many communities. Further, gains in these forms of transportation may not only address climate and environment issues, but may ultimately allow us to reduce our financial investment in all things cars and make a real dent in congestion and improved safety.  

Many past efforts in sustainable transportation have been funded through grant programs, but there is more movement toward green/environmental fees and tapping other funding sources to equip cities and universities with more resources to elevate the use of sustainable and alternative forms of transportation. Where does your organization sit today on this issue and where might you be in a few years? It will be interesting to see where all this goes in the future…