Photograph by Robert Scheer
Steve Shunk, a pioneer of alternative transportation, stands in front of West Valley College's bus terminal.
By Tim Persyn
If driving alone to work or school ever strikes you as wasteful or simply unappealing, AlTrans, a transportation management association based at West Valley College, might have a solution.
Since 1991, AlTrans has been dedicated to reducing the number of single-occupant vehicles on South Bay roadways. To this end, it recommends ways commuters can use alternative forms of transportation, including light rail, bus, bicycles and BART, to reach their destination.
"The single-occupant vehicle has a tremendous impact on the community and environment," said Steve Shunk, public information officer for AlTrans. "Our goal is to reduce the total number of cars on the road."
Currently, AlTrans, which is fiscally administered by the West Valley/Mission Community College District, primarily serves West Valley, Mission, De Anza, Foothill, San Jose City and Evergreen community colleges and San Jose State University through on-campus sites at every school except Foothill.
Next year, the association hopes to branch out and work with businesses and the general community to offer its trip-reduction services and information about alternative transportation.
In a typical instance of a commuter using AlTrans, someone will call up and ask the association to plan a trip using alternative transportation. AlTrans will then use its knowledge of local transportation systems to map a route.
The association also does outreach activities in the community, including classroom presentations that cover the health, safety, environmental and economic impacts of the automobile and the benefits of using commute alternatives.
The AlTrans staff includes eight full-time and two part-time workers, as well as interns, volunteers and work-study students from SJSU. They are motivated by thoughts of how much better the world would be without all the traffic. Shunk explained, "Accomplishing our goal would mitigate congestion, reduce the risk of vehicle collision, conserve natural resources and energy, and improve air and water quality."
In a bit of poetic justice, Shunk said the association has received much of its funding in grant money from the Petroleum Violation Escrow Account, an account generated from fines companies pay for breaking laws having to do with petroleum emissions. For instance, AlTrans received a nice chunk of money due to the Exxon Valdez spill. In addition, the association has received grant money from the California State Office of Traffic Safety.
The association has some impressive accomplishments on its résumé. It won a 1995 special commendation from the Peninsula Conservation Center's Business Environmental Network and a 1994 Clean Air Championship from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Carol Kraus Lauffner, director of the Business Environmental Network, said AlTrans has improved Bay Area air quality by annually reducing approximately 184,500 pounds of hydrocarbon, 118,000 pounds of carbon monoxide, 11,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide and 20,000 pounds of particulate matter from the air. Shunk said AlTrans has assisted thousands of local residents since its inception.
AlTrans is currently working on an expansion plan that could bring an office to a neighborhood near you. "We are planning the development of transportation activity centers, which will be placed near congested roadways," said executive director Stephen Blaylock. AlTrans hopes to set up at least two of these centers in 1996, Blaylock said.
"They will serve as information centers and outreach headquarters for all the people who are fed up with the traffic," he said.
For more information, call 741-2683.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 28, 1996.
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