posted on behalf of Derek Mazzeo
Occidental should look into taxing some of the negative environmental
practices of its students, faculty, and staff. Not only does a small
fee deter the use of environmentally unfriendly practices, it can
raise substantial amounts of money towards promoting sustainability.
Although these type of taxes on negative externalities are often
unpopular, many states and localities have used congestion pricing,
tobacco, and alcohol taxes to decrease dangerous or undesirable
behaviors.
I believe the easiest way to institute this type of tax is by
creating a parking fee of $50 per semester for faculty and students.
Traffic congestion is the leading cause of CO2 emissions in the state
of California, and a recent report linked living even near a freeway
as a top cause of asthma. Though reducing Occidental's car use would
make only a small difference, the amount of money raised could be
substantial. If only a quarter of students paid the fee and remained
car dependent, Oxy would generate over $21,000 per-semester on student
fees alone. To make up for the loss of transportation options, the
school could purchase TAP passes (new reusable prepaid bus/subway
passes) for every student encouraging mass transit use and community
engagement. The remainder of the money would be well used in the
sustainability fund but could even go towards financial aid or into
the school's general fund.
Though it may not be the most popular type of policy, it is among the
most effective. If anyone as any suggestions about how get this type
of proposal going please let us know!
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I think you touched on a great idea of giving every student a TAP Card, which would enable students to access the entire LA transit system easier. Once you have a TAP card it is very easy to reload, to see how go to reload a TAP card go to http://www.metro.net/around/fares/load-tap-card/. TAP Cards have an initial cost of $2, and from then on out you just have to pay for which ever pass that you want. One problem is that TAP cards are not sold blank, if the school were to buy TAP cards for students they would also have to buy some kind of pass to initially put on it (day passes of $5 are the cheapest). However, the TAP website says that many educational institutions and large employers in LA already offer discounted TAP cards to their students and staff. Oxy should look into buying TAP cards or offering them at a subsidized price to students and employees as a way to promote public transit use by students and staff.
ReplyDeleteFor more general information on TAP Passes look under the TAP tab on http://www.metro.net/around/fares/.
President Vietch is now interested in parking fees for students. Hopefully that will build momentum. the obstacle would be arguments that students would park in the surrounding neighborhood instead.
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