Alternative transportation saves time, money, space

By: Christian Beltran /Contributing Writer

On any school day, I see at least one student riding across the Modesto Maidique Campus on a longboard, bike, scooter or any other form of an easy-to-access vehicle. There are many benefits to using these different modes of transportation.

One primary benefit for all students is that they can venture across any campus at a faster pace, which is especially helpful since both the MMC and the Biscayne Bay Campus, as I have experienced, have a vast walking distance between buildings, and one can get extremely hot when walking outside.

Because this form of transportation stimulates healthy activity, this can help students find time to exercise, stay awake and relax while eliminating traffic and helping cut back on pollution.

Another benefit, when used responsibly, is that they are fully supported by the police department.

As advised by Lieutenant Rick Torres, head of security at the University, “We encourage the students to be safe. Any vehicle – scooters, bicycles, skateboards, longboards – can be ridden, it’s legal here after all. Just have good common sense. Be cautious of others. Look out for other riders and cars. Have courtesy.”

They can also improve the efficiency of arriving to campus, especially to those that live close to campus or that are part of the 3,000 students that live on campus.

After all, with only six garages supporting a body of 46,000 students, it is understandable as to why there is usually trouble in finding a parking spot in time for a class.

Furthermore, the problem may only grow with the innovation of GreenRide, the University’s carpool program, and the expanding body of students and faculty, as more and more parking spaces will be used and harder to conceive.

Alternatives to getting to school, such as carpooling or public transportation, have their own flaws as well, including the unreliable variation of arrival and departure times, having to rely on someone else and the cost factors.

These different modes of transportation, especially bicycles, can eliminate these flaws, including the parking dilemma, because skateboards, longboards and scooters can be carried, and bikes can be parked at any of the 400 bike racks that are located across campus.

Also, any cost factors in maintaining these vehicles concern only minimal repairs, like pumping air into bike tires.

In some cases, these vehicles can even help students reach campus earlier and arrive to their next destination faster, primarily those students that live in the dorms or apartments that neighbor the area.

With the rising costs associated with reaching campus with a car or bus, buying a bike or longboard is a considerable investment that  will serve students well, even after they graduate.

These unique vehicles can not only help students cross the campus efficiently but can also promote a broader sense of diversity, a mission of the University.