Why Eco-Friendly Transportation Matters

Transportation is a leading cause of climate change, accounting for 29% of all US greenhouse gas emissions. Because of this, reducing your personal carbon footprint through transportation could go a long way. 

Public Transportation Options in Middlebury 

One way to cut down on carbon emissions is by using public transportation. Using a personal vehicle releases 0.96 pounds of CO2 per passenger per mile, while commuting on a bus could reduce your carbon emissions significantly, releasing only 0.64 pounds of CO2 per passenger per mile. 

In Middlebury, you can make use of Tri-Valley Transit, the local bus system. All bus fares are suspended until June 2022, so you can ride for free! Here is a map of their bus lines, centering on Addison county: https://www.trivalleytransit.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/map_system.svg. 

You can take the bus around Middlebury on the Middlebury shuttle line. It includes five loops around town, and here is a link to the schedule and list of stops: https://www.trivalleytransit.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MSB-effective-7.9.21.pdf. 

If you want to get to Burlington, take the Burlington link! Here is the bus line’s schedule and list of stops: https://www.trivalleytransit.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/LINK-effective-8.26.21.pdf 

To get to another Vermont town, you can use one of their many of their other bus lines, and you can visit their webpage for more information: https://www.trivalleytransit.org/ 

If you want to go farther than the Tri-Valley Transit can take you, you can use Vermont Translines (https://www.vttranslines.com/), Dartmouth Coach (​​http://www.dartmouthcoach.com/), Greyhound Lines (https://www.greyhound.com/), or Megabus (http://www.megabus.com/). 

Biking

Another way to reduce your transportation carbon footprint is to bike around town instead of driving or taking the bus. Biking doesn’t release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere! The Middlebury Bike Sale just happened on September 19th, so if you got a bike there, ride it around! If not, check out the frog hollow bike shop in town if you’re considering purchasing a bike or fixing up an old one. Visit their website here: https://froghollowbikes.com/

Reduce Unnecessary Driving

If you have a car on campus, it is totally okay to drive it from place to place, but if you want to reduce your footprint, try to limit unnecessary trips. For example, walk to the Athletic Center or into town instead of driving. 

Sources

Public Transportation’s Role in Responding to Climate Change. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, Jan. 2010, https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/PublicTransportationsRoleInRespondingToClimateChange2010.pdf.

Stagecoach Transportation | Serving Orange & Windsor Counties | Vermont. (n.d.). Tri-Valley Transit. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.trivalleytransit.org/

Transportation Options | Middlebury Offices and Services. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.middlebury.edu/office/franklin-environmental-center/sustainability-action/living-sustainably-campus/transportation