Green Gown Awards 2018 - University of Southampton - Finalist

Through the Uni-link bus contract, the University and Go South Coast push to reduce the environmental impact of our buses by improving vehicle performance, committing to future changes and supporting monitoring and measurement of real-life emissions. By providing an open an honest discourse with academics at the University we offer research opportunities using our fleet as a practical source of mileage and emissions data and take forward research findings to influence the future of our bus provision.

This approach places us at the forefront of air quality management in Southampton and aligns with the emerging objectives of the Southampton Air Quality Network, a group charged with the challenge of responding to air quality issues in the city and delivering a meaningful reduction against current levels. We support the City Council’s objectives, to improve air quality and reduce the health implications for local residents, whilst providing a sustainable transport option open to public use and reducing car dependency.

Top 3 learnings:

• Working in partnership and widening engagement can bring varied and unexpected benefits.
• There is value to linking operations and research, even when some ideas work better than others.
• Preconceptions (‘dirty, smoky buses…’) can be damaging and need to be challenged.

Videos

• Green Gown Awards 2018 – Befitting Society – University of Southampton – Finalist (click to hide)