Tram Service Trial This Week

Associated Students is going to be providing a tram from the Mission Beach Roller Coaster to Campus the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd of December.  This tram will be a trial-run to see if we would be able to support this type of commuter transportation on a regular basis.

In the past, interest in a tram from Mission Beach has been expressed, but it has yet to be sufficiently put into place.  We have many USD students living in Mission Beach commuting to school every day and feel that a tram service for these students would be a great improvement.  By instituting a tram, we can help  reduce our carbon footprint in an effort to “Be Blue Go Green.”  Students will be lowering the number of vehicles used in commuting to school and therefore will greatly lower daily carbon-emissions.  The tram that will be used even runs on clean fuel, furthering the enviornmental benefits of this service.  In addition, the tram will reduce the amount of money that students are spending on gas and will help with the increasingly difficult parking situation on campus.  Saving money and time is something all college students are looking to do so we believe that this service is something that would greatly benefit the student body.

The Director of Transportation, Kelsey Chase, and the Director of Sustainability, Peter Larr, have been working very hard on this trial and we hope to get a lot of participation from the student body.  We will be monitoring the number of students riding the tram throughout the three days in order to make a decision on whether or not this is something that students will utilize on a regular basis if it were to be implemented this upcoming spring semester.   Hopefully, participation will be high and this commuter service will become a part of the regular USD tram service.

In conclusion, this is a very great opportunity for USD students to reduce their carbon emissions, save money, and avoid troubles with the parking situation on campus.  The tram will be running from 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 and 2:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.  picking up at the Mission Beach Roller Coaster, stopping at the UTA’s to pick up students living there, and finally ending at the tram stop outside of Copley Library on December 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd.  We hope you and the rest of the student body will join us in this effort and support the Mission Beach tram service!

Sincerely,

Lilly Stitt

Director of University Relations

Associated Students