Carpool spaces for Staff will be located in Parking Lot C, outside the Printshop.

Students and staff at Thompson Rivers University have an opportunity to save money and the environment by becoming registered carpoolers starting January 1, 2010.

TRU is one of the first employers in the city to commit to reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) by designating parking spaces. A total of 10, five for staff and five for students, will be available for those who commit to carpool to the university. By registering with the university’s parking services department commuters will save 50 per cent per semester on parking fees.

Student carpool spaces will be located in Parking Lot C, between IB and Old Main.

“Not only are these prime parking spaces, clustering them will expedite monitoring and give more presence to the initiative,” said Warren Asuchak, Associate Director, Facilities Services. “If we have more people apply than we have spaces, we will designate the spaces by a lottery system.” Carpools will be a minimum of two persons arriving together at the same time.

The five staff spaces are in Lot C and the five student spaces are in Lot A between the Old Main and the International Building.

Based on recommendations by the campus’s sustainability committee, the program is one of the first formal carpool parking initiatives in Kamloops. “We are happy to recognize the efforts of the Sustainability Committee and endorse their efforts to reduce the number of cars travelling to campus, if this initial offering goes well we will be expanding the program,” said Debbie Blackwell chair of the university’s Parking Advisory and Appeals Committee (PAAC). And expand it might just have to. According to carpool.ca, as of the end of November 2009, 350 Kamloops residents were registered to carpool, 79 list TRU as their designation.