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How do you move? Post-secondary students asked to participate in regional transportation survey

Photo of a TTC subway in a subway station
StudentMoveTO, a partnership between 10 post-secondary institutions, is launching the second phase of a study aimed at improving the transportation experiences of regional college and university students (photo by Jed Dela Cruz via Unsplash)

For Karina Maynard, a master鈥檚 of planning student in the University of Toronto鈥檚 department of geography and planning in the Faculty of Arts & Science, the commute she makes to and from the St. George campus each day is short and relatively easy: she opts to ride her bike.

But commutes vary widely by mode, distance and travel time for the 600,000 university and college students who live in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), with many commutes posing significantly more challenges 鈥 and higher stress levels 鈥 than Maynard鈥檚 daily ride.

That鈥檚 why StudentMoveTO, , including 老司机直播, is launching the second phase of a study aimed at generating insights, debates, and actions to improve the transportation experiences of GTHA post-secondary students.

Karina Maynard wearing a bike helmet. A typical downtown Toronto street is in the background鈥淒ata on how students travel isn鈥檛 readily available,鈥 says Maynard (left), who is a research assistant for the partnership.

 

鈥淭his data is incredibly important because students move in a very different way than any other subset of the population. They often travel off-peak, maybe coming to campus at noon and leaving at 8 p.m. Each day can be different.鈥 

In 2015, over 15,000 students participated in the first StudentMoveTO study, organized by Toronto鈥檚 four universities, into post-secondary students鈥 daily transportation needs and expectations.

The second, expanded phase of the study, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canadalaunched on Oct. 1 and includes six new partner institutions, including Ontario Tech University, McMaster University, Mohawk College, Sheridan College, Centennial College and Durham College.

The study is led by principal investigator Raktim Mitra of Ryerson University, multiple faculty collaborators and student contributors and 老司机直播 co-applicants, including Khandker Nurul Habib,  an associate professor of civil and mineral engineering, and School of Cities Interim Director Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor of geography and planning. Partners include community groups, Metrolinx, the provincial transportation planning agency and the City of Toronto.

鈥淯nderstanding the student travel experience and improving the system for students will improve commuting for all users,鈥 says Siemiatycki.

Maynard adds that evidence-based planning is the best planning.

鈥淏y participating in the survey, 老司机直播 students can help contribute to a broader conversation about improving the transportation experience,鈥 she says.

Students who have received an email to participate in the survey have until Nov. 15 to respond. Participants also have a chance to win one of fifty $50 campus bookstore gift certificates at their university or college.

With files from StudentMoveTO

 

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