Over the next few weeks, many of us are returning to work on campus, but also having a bit of a shock when we go to fill our petrol tanks! The daily commute has certainly jumped in cost, but fortunately Unitec’s sustainability team was thinking ahead and for the past two years they have been developing the Uniwaka carsharing app.
This is now going through its pilot study and to date we have 50 people trialling it, but we are keen to for more people to take part in the virtual trial.
It’s super easy. Once you sign-up at www.uniwaka.co.nz you can download the app, set up a profile and load a hypothetical schedule to test the app and see how it works. Once we are sure it is running well, then users can start making actual trips before the official launch.
Read more about Uniwaka’s development. Initial concepts for the app were created by design students and further developed in cross-department collaborations with the School of Community Studies and Computing and Information Technology.
Uniwaka is just one of a number initiatives you can take to help make your Unitec commute cheaper and easier
Other Sustainability Projects
Bachelor of Business students, studying Applied Operations, are working on two travel plan projects:
- Working out a shuttle route from south of Auckland to Mt Albert campus to complement most local (south Auckland) bus and train routes. This is a thought experiment at this point to see if an additional shuttle service, at least during the winter months, is feasible
- Using 2020 travel survey data students are working out the carbon footprint of our staff commuting to campus
Further reading
Other Nest articles for more suggestions on a smarter commute
Interested in sustainability? – read Te Pukenga’s Sustainability Strategy
Such an awesome Unitec-led initiative, can’t wait for uniwaka to become official. It is definitely designed to solve many of our transporting and carparking problems. Great work by all involved.