METRO Helps UH Go Green

Ten METRO staffers joined the University of Houston in its Commuter Green Fair, signing up hundreds of students on the main campus for a METRO Q® Fare Card.

"Here at the university, we have challenges, and we struggle with accessibility, as far as parking," said Emily Messa, assistant vice president for university services. "We wanted to reach out to our students - 36,000 and counting - and help them find out the bus routes from their home to campus. And if they live on campus and don't have a car, help them get to the grocery store on METRO or Wal-Mart."

Messa, known as "The Green Commuter Doctor" sat down with students and handed out "prescriptions" that showed them exactly how to get from Point A to Point B, using METRO.

"We'd plot the route out for them on Google Transit and give that to them - and say, ‘Here's your prescription.' I had a cure for people. They wanted to know their options. Were they flexible? Where do they live? Is mass transit a solution? Car pool?"

While the doctor helped students solve their commuting problems, METRO staffers - from revenue and from Community Outreach - helped students get new Q cards and renew old ones.

"It went very well. It was very well-organized," said Joe Garcia, community outreach rep. "We're helping UH go green."

Messa said the commute to UH from students, faculty and staff makes up 51 percent of the university's carbon footprint. "Just think what a difference we could make to the community if we could get our students, faculty and staff to be green commuters," said Messa.

To give students an incentive, UH said it is putting $5 on each new Q Card. "We want them to try it. Once they have the money, they almost feel it's an obligation," said Messa.

METRO gave free back-to-school backpacks to students who signed up. The Q Cards will be processed here and then delivered to campus. When students pick up their Q Card, they'll also get a free flash drive.

"I was stopped today by several students who thanked METRO for coming out. At the fair, fulltime students could get their Q Card. We were helping students renew their Q Card. That was a big time savings. Previously, they had to go to the RideStore. They were very appreciative of that," said Messa.

More campus parking lots are being used to construct buildings, giving more impetus to the university's drive to go green.

Messa says students who use METRO can ride in air-conditioned comfort and use the time to study for a test or catch up on homework.

Going green, she says, is the right thing to do. "It's working on mitigating congestion on our streets and on our parking lots. It's helping people get here in a less stressed-out way," said Messa.