Carpool to UM and reduce your carbon footprint

Transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions at UM. 

In addition to the work being done at UM to electrify our fleet vehicles, there are things each one of us can do to help reduce our commuting footprint. If you are not ready to take the bus or ride a bike to campus, carpooling can help you reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Gaby Bergen carpools to university with a friend she met in high school. They both live about an hour south of the city. Bergen, a student and sustainability ambassador, says carpooling helps save on gas and car maintenance. Neither she nor her friend have a parking pass on campus, so they park and ride and take Winnipeg Transit once they are inside the city. 

“Carpooling is a fantastic way to make a positive impact on both the environment and your daily life. By sharing rides, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint, helping to combat climate change and improve air quality,” says Bergen.  
 
“Beyond the environmental and financial benefits, carpooling offers a unique opportunity to connect with fellow students,” she adds.  “It’s a chance to make new friends, share ideas, and even collaborate on projects during the commute. Plus, it can make the journey to and from campus much more enjoyable and less stressful.”

You don’t have to carpool every day for it to have a benefit. 

Betty Cinq-Mars is a project assistant in Architectural and Engineering Services (AES), and she regularly takes the bus to work. She also carpools with colleagues in her office several times a week. 

“Through conversations with colleagues we discovered that we live fairly close to each other and they went right by my house when driving to work,” says Cinq-Mars. “This led to me travelling with them when it worked for us, and by using the bus when it didn’t.”

All three of them say that there are social benefits to carpooling, in addition to helping reduce emissions. 

“For us, it’s mostly about the good company,” says Andrew Lovatt, project manager in AES, who carpools with Cinq-Mars about once a week. “If we carpooled more often, there would be more benefits such as sharing the cost of gas/parking pass.” 

“It’s been a great way to build stronger relationships with colleagues,” says Anish Gaur, another project manager in AES. “Betty and I have gotten to know each other better and we often chat about our day or weekend plans. It’s refreshing to talk about things beyond work.” 

“Even if members of the UM community can’t carpool all the time, doing it occasionally or as a trial can dispel people’s potentially negative preconceptions about carpooling,” says Lovatt. 

Cinq-Mars agrees. “I think we can all get stuck in “all or nothing” thinking,” she says. “I think small changes where we can is probably the best way for most of us to contribute to change.  Don’t get hung up on perfection,” says Cinq-Mars. 

Find a carpool partner 

 If you are looking for a carpool partner at UM, GoManitoba can help you find one. The free platform connects you with others who are commuting to UM. You can search for other drivers or potential passengers based on your schedule and home address. 

There are also specific carpool stalls available in U, Q or B lots, and if you carpool you can share your parking permit between two cars.

UM Today Staff