Columbia Hosts First Ever Fleet Show on College Walk

In honor of Campus Sustainability Month and Columbia’s climate and sustainability commitments in the transportation sector, the University hosted its first ever fleet show on October 16. The fleet show was an opportunity to educate the community about Columbia’s sustainability plan, Plan 2030, and its initiatives to reduce emissions from our campus fleet.  

On display was a range of electric vehicles used for University operations, from shuttle buses to Public Safety patrol cars. Dan Allalemdjian, Director for Sustainability and Transportation, kicked off the event with an explanation of the transportation sector's environmental impact.  

"The transportation sector is responsible for about 28% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.," said Allalemdjian. "Although transportation at Columbia is a smaller percentage of our overall emissions than at the national level, we have a commitment to reduce emissions from our campus fleet to net zero by 2037."

Representatives from Columbia Transportation were also on hand to give attendees a tour of the vehicles and explain the specs. Mike Pagan, Assistant Vice President for Administrative Services, which includes Columbia Transportation in addition to other Campus Services departments, expressed pride in Columbia's progress in electric vehicle adoption.

"Our electric shuttle buses are some of the first to operate in New York City, and Columbia's leadership in that area really moved the needle for the electric bus industry," said Pagan.

This past year, the decision was made to centralize the management of Facilities and Operations' 65+ vehicle fleet under Columbia Transportation's management. The goal was to standardize operational practices like fueling, safe driving, procurement, replacement, and maintenance. It also allows the team to focus on greening the fleet and implementing a standardized charging infrastructure that will expedite achieving the goals laid out in Plan 2030. 

To read more about Columbia's Plan 2030 goals around transportation, visit this page. Follow Sustainable Columbia on Instagram to learn about more events like this one.