CARSON, Calif. (April 30, 2024) – California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) and Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) right now launched a multipronged program targeted on transportation fairness for the college and its surrounding communities based mostly on the concept of “Mobility for All.”

“Knowledge is a catalyst for progress, and collaboration with industry partners is essential for advancing academic research and innovation at our university,” stated CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham. “We are incredibly grateful for Toyota’s longstanding support and investment in of our educational mission and look forward to our continued partnership in building a better, more sustainable, and equitable future.” 

The preliminary part of this system will set up the Center for Resilient, Equitable, and Sustainable Transportation (CREST) at CSUDH, made attainable by a $1.2 million grant from Toyota. Housed inside CSUDH’s Center for Innovation in STEM Education, CREST will have interaction school and college students in analysis, curricula, and paid internships to seek out options to the myriad of mobility challenges confronted by members of the college and wider neighborhood.

“Toyota believes that when people are free to move, anything is possible,” stated Tom Stricker, group vice chairman, Toyota Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs. “CREST aligns perfectly with Toyota’s ‘Mobility for All’ vision, which aims to leave ‘no one behind’ by providing people with accessible, low, and zero emission mobility solutions to meet their diverse needs.”

CSUDH college students, lots of whom are low-income, minority, or first-generation, face quite a few obstacles to schooling—one in all which is insufficient transportation. More than 95 p.c of CSUDH college students commute to campus, and a wants evaluation performed in communities across the college revealed transportation disparities and restricted public transit choices. CREST will function an data hub, providing assets for accessible and inexpensive transportation choices for CSUDH college students, school, and workers. CREST will develop its attain to the City of Carson and different goal geographic areas over the course of 5 years.

“CREST will offer students and local residents mobility options that are flexible, affordable, reliable, and accessible,” stated Kamal Hamdan, govt director for the CSUDH Center for Innovation in STEM Education. “This is a transformational project focused on improving quality of life and creating lasting change in the communities we serve.”

Providing college students with sustainable and accessible transportation is one other key aspect of this system. KINTO, Toyota’s carsharing program, will provide CSUDH with 20 hybrid and/or battery electrical autos beginning in Fall 2024 to extend college students’ entry to handy automobile renting at a extremely discounted fee. With improved transportation choices, college students may have extra time to raised deal with their tutorial objectives, have simpler entry to job alternatives, and be capable to take full benefit of residing in Greater Los Angeles. To accommodate the brand new automobile fleet and supply improved charging capabilities on campus, CSUDH can also be partnering with Southern California Edison to put in Level 2 electrical charging stations on campus within the close to future.

“KINTO mobility solution is designed to increase mobility through the EV-based ridesharing program,” stated Kevin McKeever, basic supervisor, KINTO & Fleet Management. “With 34 locations already across California, we’re excited to open the newest KINTO location on the CSUDH campus for students, faculty, and staff. To make the program even more accessible, for the first year, we are offering a special discounted hourly rate to the CSUDH community.”

Additionally, CSUDH is within the early phases of reconfiguring the area alongside Victoria Parkway right into a Metro Transit Hub. This joint venture with the City of Carson could be funded by $3.5 million allotted to the campus by LA Metro. The final imaginative and prescient of “Mobility for All” is to create a campus Mobility Hub to assist reduce commuters’ carbon footprint with upgraded public transit and transportation inter-modalities.

“Just as the university upgraded its infrastructure to support the 1984 Olympics and host events, CSUDH aims to ready the campus to better serve attendees of the 2028 Summer Olympics, for which we are hosting several events,” stated Vice President for University Advancement Eva Sevcikova.

“Whether it’s higher education, the government, or the private industry, every partner at the table is driven by a collective focus on the socio-economic mobility of our students—helping them attain a college degree and join the region’s workforce,” she stated. “These initiatives promise to create ripples throughout the South Bay, benefitting communities and better connecting us all.”

• Add to Cart
• Print
• Convert to PDF