Transportation Resources

We use various types of transportation every day to get from place to place. Whether we walk, bike, drive, take a bus or a train, transportation is a very important part of our lives. The transportation choices we make however can also have a great effect on the environment and our health. Vehicles such as cars, SUVs, trucks and buses release harmful gases into the environment, which can cause both air pollution and health problems. This section will help you identify the transportation choices people in your school are making and help you identify healthy and green alternatives.

Action and Implementation

Schools qualifying to be a Green & Healthy School must meet the following Green & Healthy School requirements:

• transportation is included in the curriculum,
• school develops a policy that addresses idling of school buses,
• and students research transportation options and the environmental cost associated with each and initiate events that promote walking, biking, busing, or carpooling.

The resources below can provide you with ideas on how to meet these requirements.

Reaching Higher

If you choose to go further after your school becomes a Green & Healthy School, the following resources can also be used to help you meet the Reaching Higher requirements.

Teaching

Students should be aware of the different transportation options and how their transportation choices have financial and environmental impacts. The following Web sites contain transportation-related lessons and curriculum connections.

• Easy Breathers: The Classroom [exit DNR]
• NHTSA Classroom Activities [exit DNR]
• NESEA Educational Materials - Transportation [exit DNR]
• Project Learning Tree Energy and Society [exit DNR]
• Smart Moves [exit DNR]

School Bus Idling Policy

Idling of school buses creates fumes that are not only harmful to the environment, but also to humans. A school bus idling policy can help reduce bus idling, especially in areas where students and staff gather. Use the following Web sites to help implement a school bus idling policy at your school.

• EPA Anti-Idling [exit DNR]

Transportation Events

After learning about how your transportation choices affect the environment, initiate some transportation events at your school to promote walking, biking, busing, or carpooling. The following resources will give you some ideas.

• Bike and Walk across America [PDF exit DNR]
• Frequent Riders Contest [WORD .DOC exit DNR]
• Kids Walk to School [PDF 624KB exit DNR]
• Walk to School Day [exit DNR]

Alternative Transportation Plan

Now that you have some ideas on how to promote walking, biking, busing, or carpooling to and from school, develop and implement a plan to encourage long term changes.

• Implementing Safe Routes to School in Low-Income Schools and Communities [exit DNR]
• Kids Walk to School [exit DNR]
• National Center for Safe Routes to School [exit DNR]
• Wisconsin Safe Routes to School [exit DNR]

Vehicle Use Plan

Vehicles should be used only when necessary and the proper vehicle should be matched to the task. This can be accomplished through the development of a vehicle use plan. As part of your vehicle use plan, indicate what types of vehicles are available, how many passengers each will hold, and the primary use of the vehicle (hauling equipment, people transport, etc.). School personnel should then be encouraged to check out vehicles that best match the intended use. Use the following website to compare fuel economy of various vehicles and consider fuel economy in your decision to select the most efficient vehicle for the task at hand.

• Fuel Economy [exit DNR]