Rhys Williams/Staff Writer
The South Florida Commuter Services teamed up with the Office of Sustainability and Parking and Transportation to bring not only the Miami-Dade County Transportation Office to speak with students about different transit options as part of Transit Day on April 9, but also Miami Heat Dancers, Burnie the Mascot and former NBA guard Tim Hardaway to get students excited about their commutes.
According to Glorimar Maldonado, an Office of Sustainability intern and sophomore psychology major, 49,000 of the larger than 50,000 student population commutes to FIU.
“That is a big carbon emission that we put out every year,” Maldonado said.
Irene D. Ferradaz, a representative from Miami-Dade Transit, informed students about the college discount program, which gives 50 percent off a monthly pass.
“All buses, including the premium routes and the metro rail are included in that. It is sold at the parking authority where people buy their parking passes and stuff like that,” Ferradaz said. “We also have a corporate discount program for people who work at FIU, which offers them between 10 and 15 percent off of a monthly pass.”
Ferradaz spoke about other options, too: carpooling, public transit and finding alternative ways to campus.
“Besides the monetary savings, it is also about reducing your carbon footprint, saving money on gas and [not having] to deal with parking,” Ferradaz said.
There are clear cut, long-term goals for Miami-Dade Transit that may benefit the University.
“Right now I know that we have a route that goes into the campus,” Ferradaz said. “We are in the process of working with FIU to build a bus terminal on campus, so that would help even more students get to class via public transportation.
She said the county is also in the process of a transit development plan for the next ten years.
“There is a 10-question survey asking people about their input for transit opportunities for the next 10 years,” Ferradaz said.
SFCS has been working with FIU for two years.
“We are the ones that run the carpooling program and the transit program. Anything having to do with alternative modes [of transportation, such as] biking, walking,” said Gretchen Abi Daher, a SFCS representative. “We do special events throughout the year, one of them being FIU Transit Day, where we are just promoting Miami-Dade transit.”
SFCS was the organization that brought in the members of the Heat organization and the reason the Abi Daher gave was that it would bring in as many students as possible.
They also have incentive programs for carpooling that help out not only students, but faculty and staff as well. Right now, they have a promotion called the 826/836 Incentive Plan.
“We actually pay students, faculty and staff who carpool on those expressways,” Abi Daher said. “We have the carpool spots on campus that will be expanded [in number] and they can be used by faculty, staff and students. They have to use a hangtag to use the spots and they print it out.”
-rhys.williams@fiusm.com