Students are now paying for education outside the classroom. Parking and Transportation Services is using funds from parking permit sales to teach students how to check their tire pressure.
PATS has pitched a Tire Pressure Tent on parking lots near campus where students who commute can have their tires checked and filled to the appropriate pressure level.
Cynthia Martin, program planning manager for PATS, said in an e-mail that the department set aside funds for projects like this in accordance with President David Schmidly's focus on sustainability.
Brian Kilburn, public information representative for PATS, said tires that are over- or under-inflated may strain a vehicle and cause it to run less efficiently and use more gasoline. To avoid this, students should check their tire pressure regularly, he said.
"It's a simple thing to do, and it will save you money," he said. "Of course, it's also good for the environment if your tires are at the correct pressure."
Kilburn said many students have no idea how important it is to check their tires and were lucky PATS did it for them.
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"There have been a couple of extreme examples where the tire pressure was so low that it didn't register (on the tire pressure gauge), and we had a couple on the other extreme where the tire pressure is so high that it's probably dangerous," Kilburn said. "It's a good thing that we caught those in time."
Junior Samuel Martinez said he knows it is important to check tire pressure, but he's often too busy.
"I try to, but there are times when you just forget, so I think that's pretty awesome that they'll do it," he said. "It's going to help your gas efficiency, and if your tires are too flat and too bald, they're going to wear out faster, so that's going to help both gas-wise, and you're not going to have to buy tires as much."
Martinez said he has been parking in South Lot for two years and is glad to see PATS offering students a new service.
"I think that's awesome that we're putting in money and they're giving it back to us," he said. "We put a lot of money into school, and it's nice to see it come back."
Kilburn said the Tire Pressure Tents could become a regular fixture in UNM parking lots, depending on student feedback this week.
"Last week we did 150 vehicles in total, and we gave out free tire pressure gauges," he said. "It seemed to be very well-received. In fact, the biggest problem that we had was it was so popular that it created a mini traffic jam for a while, but we seemed to have ironed that out now."
Funds for PATS are raised through sales of parking permits and citations, and Martin said the costs for the project were minimal. PATS is employing four students part-time to run the tent, and compressed air is inexpensive, she said.
Martin and Clovis Acosta, director of PATS, invited students to view the video they created and posted on YouTube, which describes three things students can do to improve their gas mileage. The video can be found on YouTube.
The Tire Pressure Tent will be open today at South Lot from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
