by Caroline Ward
Since the start of the 2023-24 academic year, The College of Wooster campus has seen a concentrated shift toward greater eco-consciousness and the implementation of new sustainability initiatives, including the appointment of Brian Webb as Wooster’s inaugural Director of Sustainability in August.
In a mass email sent to campus on Sep. 28, Angila Tracey, secretary of the College and director of administration, introduced the College’s newest sustainability initiative. In the email, Tracey announced ScotShare, a new electric car program for staff, students and faculty at the College. ScotShare, as explained by Webb, is “app-based, hourly car rental service,” available 24/7 by reserving a vehicle through the partner app.
“The initiative was driven by the Facilities Department, which has been a strong champion of campus sustainability,” said Webb. “The project was basically completed before I ever got to campus, though I’m doing a lot now to help promote it.”
Tracey, who served as operations manager in the College’s Facilities Department for eight years prior to her appointment as secretary of the College, explained that the program was inspired by an earlier car share program between the College and Enterprise Rental Car that ended at the start of the pandemic. “When the company pulled them from our fleet, the impact was great across campus,” she explained. “For some time, I waited for them to come back, but eventually I began to look at other alternatives for our campus.”
Mid-2022 she discovered the College’s current partner, Sway Mobility, a carshare service offering electric vehicles. The company had just begun a partnership with Oberlin, so Tracey reached out to students about their own experience with the service; after positive feedback from the Oberlin campus, Sway Mobility CEO Michael Peters met with the President’s Cabinet to discuss details of a Wooster-specific partnership.
Before anything else, the program is a service for Wooster students, who’ve expressed a need for local transportation options post-COVID. Webb said,“Historically there has been a lot of demand for an on-campus car rental option, particularly with so many international students here. Unlike traditional rental car companies, a carshare service allows you to rent by the hour, which makes it far more affordable for Wooster students,” he explained.
Beyond this, it reflects a shift towards sustainability in campus transportation. “Our society is rapidly shifting toward electric vehicles, which is a huge win for the climate and the environment,” Webb reflected. He emphasized that the environmental benefits of these vehicles cannot be understated. “Electric cars are far more sustainable to use than conventional gas-powered vehicles because they switch transportation from petroleum to electricity, which is a cleaner and far more affordable form of transportation.”
Echoing these sentiments, Tracey noted that within the last year, the campus has also purchased two electric vans, saying not only has it “been amazing for our staff to upgrade, but [these vehicles] also save campus budgets on fuel costs.” Both Tracey and Webb point to the promising statistics on electronic vehicles (EVs) in the environment: not only does driving an EV in Ohio reduce an individual’s greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by approximately 65 percent, but it’s more than four times cheaper than driving a gas-powered vehicle.
ScotShare can be used by anyone, for personal or business use. Students, staff and faculty who are interested in using this service can sign up online at www.woosterscotshare.com. To create an account, individuals will need a United States driver’s license, and those under the age of 22 must have a clean driving record and two years of driving experience in order to get approved as a driver.