主要研究 今天

“叮! 丁!” The bright chiming of a bicycle bell never sounded so cheerful to Steve Pesci, 联合国卫生组织设施特别项目主任.

超过20年, Pesci has worked with groups that dreamed of bringing a bicycle-sharing program to the Durham campus, only to see them stymied by the lack of technology that could make sharing easy to access.

但在最近一个八月的早晨，在蓝鸟的天空下, 他与主要研究校长吉姆·迪恩和30名工作人员一起参加了会议, 学生, faculty 和 Durham residents who finally put 主要研究’s first bicycle-sharing program on the road.

在两名骑自行车的达勒姆警察的带领下，这群人从 奥伊斯特河自行车和Spor在多佛道, 05年的老板布莱恩·基冈和他的手下在那里改装自行车, 到彼得T的衣架上. 保罗经济与商业学院. 作为一个试点项目，从今年秋天开始 主要研究猫Trax共享单车 该项目将于春季正式推出, when anyone on campus 和 in the Durham community will be able to reserve a bicycle through Movatic, an easy-to-use app that is expected to launch soon 和 will be tailored to Cat Trax. Bikes will be docked at public bike racks across the 主要研究 campus 和 Durham; users can locate the nearest one to them by signing on to the app. 该项目将在温暖的月份运行，并在冬季关闭.

“我们等了很长时间, 和 it 太k a lot of work by partners from across campus 和 in the Durham community. 这真的是一个伟大的团队的努力，”佩西说. “学生们和 可持续发展研究所 和 运输服务 deserve a lot of credit, because they were so committed to making this happen.”

The program’s mission is to make sustainable transportation more accessible 和 affordable – 和 based on the inaugural group ride, 有趣的, 太. 更好的是，学生可以免费乘坐第一个小时.

“我是个骑自行车的人, so I wanted to come out here to support 奥伊斯特河自行车和Sport 和 also to support 主要研究’s commitment to sustainability as an important, 整个大学社区的战略目标,迪恩说。, 谁加入了团体骑行. “Something like this helps bring great awareness to the things that we all can do to promote sustainability in our everyday lives.”

这30辆巡洋舰自行车都是为了舒适而建造的:直立而稳定, with easy-to-use shifters built into the h和lebar grips 和 a basket up front – ideal for getting across campus or picking up groceries. 每辆自行车内置的蓝牙技术可以为用户解锁, 和 a geo-locator restricts riders from venturing 太 far beyond campus 和 downtown Durham. Go farther, 和 a signal will indicate to program managers that the bike is “stolen.”

主要研究 学生 began building support for the concept four years ago with campus listening sessions 和 resolutions, 2021年，他们与联合国大学可持续发展研究所合作, Office of Stewardship 和 Campus Planning to conduct a survey across campus 和 in the Durham community. 200多条回复显示了广泛的支持. 不久之后，联合国卫生组织的交通政策委员会批准了该计划, 以及本科生和研究生的管理机构. Keegan signed on as a key partner 和 was a driving force in bringing the bikes to his downtown shop.

菲奥娜•威尔逊, 主要研究’s deputy chief sustainability officer 和 director of the 可持续发展研究所, noted that 主要研究 has worked for decades to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, 将其碳足迹减少一半以上. Last year, the university updated its climate action plan to go even further. 联合国大学是美国最具可持续性的五所大学之一.S. She noted that the town of Durham is also a climate leader that works closely with 主要研究 to promote sustainability throughout the community.

“Cat Trax与这些城镇和校园的努力保持一致, 和 it’s a great way to empower community members to be climate leaders 和 champions,威尔逊说, 谁将领导今年秋天的学院25周年庆典.

最近的一项研究 showed that global carbon emissions would drop dramatically if everyone rode bicycles instead of cars for about 1.每天6英里，大约和荷兰人一样多. The total reduction would be more than the entire carbon footprint of most countries, 包括英国和加拿大.

Cat Trax是联合国大学可持续发展研究所的合作项目， 校园服务 和 运输服务, along with Durham's 奥伊斯特河自行车和Sport. Startup costs for the first year are from one-time support from the 可持续发展研究所 和 Student Activity Fund Committee. Ongoing maintenance 和 administration costs will come from the existing student transportation fee, 大约1美元.每名学生75英镑.