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Burning Question: How can I have a more sustainable commute to campus?


An Auraria Campus student asked, "how can I have a more sustainable commute to campus?"


Walking and biking are the most sustainable options for commuting to school and work, in addition to having health and societal benefits. Using a bike instead of a car for short distances would reduce emissions by 75% (3). There are several opportunities to walk and bike to campus, including the Cherry Creek Trail which can keep you safer off the road.  

 

Active transport is also not a viable option for everyone. Denver has many other opportunities to ditch the one-person car and move to less carbon-intensive alternatives.  

 

E-bikes and e-scooters are great options for getting to school. Owning an e-bike can be a less accessible option due to the cost, especially for students, but Denver has an e-bike rebate program to help bridge the gap (1). Governments can provide similar incentives and better infrastructure to make e-bikes more accessible, affordable, and safer, which can have major payoffs. E-bikes have the potential to take 8 million cars off the road (2).  

 

If micro-mobility is not an option for students, public transportation is one of the most sustainable ways to commute. Public transportation in the US saves 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. It also saves the US 11 million gallons of gasoline per day (6). Taking a train instead of a car for medium-length distances would reduce emissions by 80% (3). Switching a 20-mile solo commute by car to public transportation can reduce a person’s annual CO2 emissions by 48,000 pounds a year (6). The more people on the bus, the more sustainable the trip (4).  

 

RTD provides both bus and train options for commuting in Denver. Projects to keep an eye out for locally include the East Colfax Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). This project is making the busiest bus route in Denver faster and more reliable so that people can commute more efficiently than before (8). BRT is slated to be done by 2027 and could cut down commute times by 15 to 30 minutes (8).  

 

Electric cars, while more expensive, are another more sustainable option. Even factoring in the process of creating batteries, electric cars still produce less CO2 than gas-powered cars (5). However, lithium-ion batteries are more material-intensive than traditional combustion engines. Much of the energy used to mine lithium comes from CO2-emitting fossil fuels (5). 77% of lithium-ion batteries are manufactured in China, where coal is the primary energy source (5). All of these factors should be considered when deciding on a vehicle.  

 

At the end of their life cycle, lithium-ion batteries are considered hazardous waste because they can catch fire if they are not disposed of properly (7). When there is only a small issue with a battery like a bad module, they can be collected, repaired, or reused (7). The recycling process is also energy- and heat-intensive. However, the batteries contain critical minerals needed for new batteries, and this process could help meet the demand without requiring additional mining (7). 

 

If students and other commuters cannot use the above alternatives, carpooling can be a great way to reduce the number of cars on the road and reduce carbon emissions. As an alternative to individual car ownership, Colorado Carshare is a non-profit car-sharing organization that serves the Denver-Boulder metro area (9). For more information about what options are closest or most accessible to you, check out the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) Way to Go page (10) or the RTD website or app (11).  


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