I have to be honest, before I was asked to write this reflection, I never spent too much time thinking about riding public transportation as a sustainable practice, it is just something I do. For both my sophomore and junior years I have been riding on public transportation to and from our campus and South San Jose about 3-4 times a week, depending on my schedule for the quarter. On a good day, the journey to campus on either the light rail and a bus coming from my home or two buses coming from where I work takes about 40 minutes. There are definitely some days when riding the bus feels inconvenient, but most days I am happy to do it, especially when I think about how I am being sustainable. When I started thinking about this reflection, I looked up the environmental benefits of riding public transportation. According to the American Public Transportation Association, “If an individual switches from driving a 20-mile roundtrip commute to using public transportation, his or her annual CO2 emissions will decrease by 4,800 pounds per year”. My commute is about 20 miles round trip, so I was excited to see approximately how much of a difference I was personally making! This makes me so proud to be a public transportation rider, as it is something I do on a regular basis, and it helps reduce my carbon footprint.

     Okay at this point you’re probably thinking “Oh hey that’s great for you Maria, but the rest of us live on campus so this does not affect us”, to which I would say “Not so my friends”! This week’s sustainability challenge is for anyone at our school, off or on campus. So often I hear people telling me they got a Zipcar to go somewhere, but there are buses you can take from the Caltrain Station, such as the 522/22 that goes downtown, and the (FREE) 10 goes right next to In n Out, Chipotle, and MOD pizza!  If you’re thinking about taking a day trip to San Francisco, take Caltrain and BART! Even if you have a car, taking public transportation makes getting around the city easier because you won’t have to worry about parking. If getting a tan in Santa Cruz is on your mind, it’s just a two bus trip! As an added perk, using public transportation in the Bay Area is typically WAY cheaper than taking an Uber, and the environment will thank you for it.  Use the time on the bus or train to be productive on assignments as I often do, or just relax reading a great book or even catching up on your latest Netflix series since many bus and light rail lines have free Wi-Fi! Valley Transportation Association, or VTA, has a great, easy to use website that can give you information about all the bus, light rail, and shuttle lines in the area.

     Carpooling is also an environmentally friendly choice you can make! Maybe it’s dark and you don’t want to take that bus downtown, but you still want to go to CREAM. Find someone to go with you who also was planning on driving there! Not only will you lessen your CO2 emissions, but you will also save money on gas by splitting it with your friend! If you’re going on a trip to the beach or camping, try to fit everyone in one or two cars if possible instead of having everyone drive there. Carpooling is a fun option in addition to being environmentally friendly, as you won’t be all alone in your car and you’ll have more time to spend with your friends! Carpooling is a great sustainable choice that is a win-win for everyone, especially if you get to use the carpool lane. If you currently commute to school, I encourage you to find someone who takes a similar route at similar times and try to organize a carpool with them at least a couple times a week.

     Since we are on break right now, I challenge you all to take public transportation to at least one location instead of driving. Even Pope Francis gave up having a private chauffeur and used public transportation in Argentina before he became our pope! I know not every place that students are going to this week are as urban as the Bay Area, but I bet if you did some research you might have at least one bus that can take you where you need to go. If you need an easy suggestion, the 10 goes to and from campus and the airport, so there’s one great way to consciously reduce your carbon footprint before this spring break ends! I hope you all have a safe and fun spring break, and if you celebrate it, a Happy Easter!