SDG 11.4.2 Promote sustainable commuting

To reduce the use of private vehicles, improve access to public transport and build a low-carbon commuting environment, NCUE continues to pursue a range of sustainable commuting measures. By improving campus transport services, strengthening connections to public transport, promoting green vehicles and taking part in regional transport planning, the University encourages students, staff and visitors to travel in safer, more convenient and more environmentally sound ways. The specific measures are set out below.

1. Parking management and concessions that make commuting easier

(1) Faculty and staff may rent parking spaces at a discounted monthly rate, lowering commuting costs and encouraging parking in designated areas to improve parking management efficiency.

(2) Local residents, including those in the Fuxing neighborhood, may apply for discounted parking in the Jinde Campus underground car park, promoting the sharing of campus resources with the community.

(3) A 45% discount on temporary parking is available to faculty, staff and students without a parking permit, part-time teachers, teachers from partner schools, alumni, and visitors attending events, workshops and continuing education courses. This balances campus traffic management with public service needs.

2. Shuttle bus service between the two campuses

NCUE runs a shuttle bus between its two campuses every semester. Demand is surveyed two to three times a semester, before the semester starts and at the beginning of term, and the timetable is adjusted to fit students’ class schedules. Buses run to a fixed daily timetable (Figure 2). The shuttle bus announcement is shown in Figure 3.

3. Connecting to the public transport network

NCUE secured approval under the “Bus into Campus” programme of the Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Changhua Bus Route 2 was extended into the Jinde Campus and now runs from Changhua Railway Station to the Shida Campus, giving students a direct public transport link between the station and both campuses (Figure 4). The timetable is shown in Figure 5.

4. Campus taxi-sharing scheme

The Transportation Department of the Changhua County Government is developing improvement measures and a travel-demand survey to address the difficulty NCUE students and staff face in travelling between the campuses and the railway and high-speed rail stations. Current shortcomings include infrequent services, limited routes and road safety risks. The Department is assessing a campus taxi-sharing scheme to be run jointly by the County Government, Motor Vehicles Office under the Highway Bureau and licensed operators, which would make commuting more flexible and reduce fares. NCUE has also run an anonymous survey of its students (Figure 6) on demand, routes and times to inform the next stage of the scheme.

5. Demonstrating green vehicles

Professor Liang-Rui Chen leads the Ministry of Science and Technology project “Field Research and Demonstration of Multiple Microgrids in a High-Penetration Photovoltaic Environment.” To support the project, an electric bus was procured for NCUE in 2022 through open tender, supplied by Creative Tech Consultants, Inc. The bus will be used in green energy field trials (Figure 7).

6. Supporting the extension of the Taichung Metro Green Line to Changhua and improving the regional sustainable transport network

(1) Extending the Taichung Metro Green Line into Changhua City will benefit regional transport and low-carbon commuting. The Changhua City section is about 4 km long, and the number of stations has been increased from three to four. The new G22 station (formerly G20a), in front of the main gate of the Taiwan Fertilizer Company factory (Figure 8), is about 1 km from NCUE’s Jinde Campus and will make public transport considerably more accessible for the University’s students, staff, parents and visitors.

(2) G22 (formerly G20a) could connect with the planned Changhua light rail system, strengthening transfers between transport modes and improving the regional network. The extension is expected to encourage campus members to use low-carbon transport, reducing reliance on private vehicles, traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and supporting more sustainable commuting.

(3) NCUE also supports the concept of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) by participating in local public hearings and coordinating campus planning efforts. By integrating the campus environment with the urban transportation system, NCUE aims to jointly advance people-centered, sustainable mobility solutions that balance environmental and community development. These initiatives demonstrate NCUE's commitment to actively engaging in regional public transportation planning and sustainable urban development.

(4) The webpage providing the latest project updates is shown in Figure 9. The relevant URLs are listed below:

(a) https://tcrt.taichung.gov.tw/content/index?Parser=1,6,100

(b) https://www.chcg.gov.tw/DTO/traffic/07other/other01_con.aspx?topsn=6527&cate_id=6532&data_id=24511