Sustainable practices targets (11.4.1)

Széchenyi István University has set a target for sustainable commuting in its institutional Sustainability Strategy 2022–2030. Among the key sub-goals of the Strategy’s “Partnership” objective, the University commits to increasing the share of sustainable and green transport among students and employees, with its commitments assigned to two milestones, 2035 and 2050 (p. 11). The action plan for this target (p. 13) consists of promoting a carpooling programme, adopting a sustainable business travel policy, creating a new sustainable transport hub on campus with additional bicycle storage, showers and solar-powered ports by 2050, and expanding the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, scooters and bicycles. Progress is measured through the monitoring system required by the Strategy (p. 15): the key indicators of the Strategy’s objectives are collected and analysed, reported to the University’s senior management at least once a year, and the Strategy itself is assessed every two years.

The 2025 thesis by Katalin Magyar and her supervisor (Edit Süle) provides an assessment of the commuting habits of students at Széchenyi István University. The study was based on a questionnaire survey conducted in 2025, involving 153 students. The primary objective was to analyse the travel patterns of students and to identify opportunities to support more sustainable mobility. The survey examined modes of transport used to travel to University, private car usage, local and regional public transportation, cycling habits, the use of bicycle- and scooter-sharing services, as well as demand for mobility-related improvements. The results highlighted several opportunities to enhance sustainable commuting and proposed several measurements, such as installation of additional bicycle parking facilities or expansion of bicycle-sharing infrastructure.