Rice students share ideas for transportation improvement at MobilityHouston event

MobilityHouston, a program for Houston citizens to create community-sourced solutions to transportation problems, partnered with Rice University’s Center for Civic Leadership and the Rice student chapter of the Roosevelt Institute to host the MobilityHouston Policy Competition March 22.

The event provided Rice students with the opportunity to work in small teams to come up with innovative ways to tackle mobility issues (including accessibility, congestion and public transit) facing the Houston metropolitan area. The teams received feedback from Houston mobility stakeholders and a panel of judges.

Martel College students Sophia Erhard, a sophomore engineering major; Elisabeth Kalomeris, a sophomore psychology and policy studies major; David Ratnoff, a junior history major; and Matt Thibodeau, a freshman engineering major won the top prize of $1,000 for their proposed plan to expand opportunities for different types of transportation in Houston by streamlining the bike-sharing and METRO ridership. Among their suggestions was the development of a single card that could be used to pay for both bike sharing and METRO services.

Madhuri Venkateswar, a McMurtry College junior majoring in chemical engineering, received funding from the Hilda and Hershel Rich Family Endowment for Student Community Service to hold the event.

Pictured above: Students prepare for MobilityHouston Policy Competition. Pictured below: The winning team is recognized at the MobilityHouston Policy Competition. Photo credits: Jeff Fitlow and Elizabeth Vann.