Transporting Dalhousie: An Analysis of Factors Influencing Students’ Transportation Choices to and from Dalhousie’s Studley Campus

Abstract

This study analyzed and identified factors influencing student transportation choices to and from Dalhousie’s Studley Campus, addressing the knowledge gap in student transportation behavior. Our aim was to understand specific needs and influencing factors contributing to the state of sustainable behavior at Dalhousie. Our survey received 175 responses, and included 13 close-­ended multiple choice questions, providing qualitative descriptive data. We discovered that the majority of respondents live within 2 kilometers of campus, and acknowledge distance as the deciding factor in their transportation choices. The majority of students walk to campus, contributing to minimal or no influence of public transit access on decision making. The most significant findings were a lack of awareness of transportation services offered by Dalhousie, such as the Bike Centre, Halifax CarShare programs, and Dalhousie transportation sustainability guidelines, with only 13.4% of respondents being confident in their knowledge of these services. Additionally, we were surprised to discover more than half of the respondents to this survey reported environmental impacts as having no or minimal impact on their transportation choices. This study provides a solid base for future, more specific Dalhousie transportation research, and we recommend the administration use this information to move forward in better serving student transportation needs.