Georgetown University is seriously considering re-routing it's shuttle bus service from campus to Dupont circle which adds 2.6 miles more to each trip when compared to the pre-April 2007 route. 2.6 miles more might not sound like much, but the shuttle runs over 100 times each week day. Assuming the bus ran only on weekdays for half of the year (it runs weekends too and during the summer on a reduced schedule), this adds a total of 5,200 miles to the total bus trips (or a little less than twice the distance between New York and Los Angeles). Also, the busses that run these routes aren't exaclt the most hybrid-electric cars so when they are stopped in heavy Georgetown traffic (a pretty common event), their engines are still running.
The Georgetown Voice blog has written great pieces about this here and here. And they include a sample email to send to Diann Nock Smith, the Director of the University’s Office of Transportation Management (otm@georgetown.edu). The email reads (with my addition in brackets) :
Hello,
My name is YOUR NAME and I’m writing to express my displeasure over the Dupont GUTS bus route that the University began testing last weekend. The route is counter-intuitive, wastes gas [and contributes to Georgetown's carbon footprint], and I find it very troubling that Georgetown would consider implementing a change that so clearly inconveniences students and University employees who work in Dupont or travel from Dupont to their homes or other parts of the District [and works against the University's commitment to reducing its environmental impact]. The idea that the University is putting the interests of neighborhood residents before its own student body is equally disconcerting.
I strongly discourage your office from adopting these changes!
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
Even if you aren't connected to Georgetown University, please take the time to email the office asking them to refrain from change.
Thanks.
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