About Me!

Hi All! I'm Aidan Austin, I just finished my first year of my undergrad at the University of Oregon studying Planning, Public Policy, and Management. While this major offers courses in a vast array of areas, my particular interest is in transportation-related topics. My hometown is Portland Oregon, where I work for the Portland Streetcar. In my free time, I like to travel, especially by riding long-distance Amtrak trains across the country! Outside of that, I have also enjoyed exploring the public transit systems in Europe, Japan, and in various big (and small) cities in the states.

I'm honored to be one of the youngest students in this year's bicycle transportation study-abroad class! Ever since I was deciding which school to pursue my academic career in, I had such an interest in this program. From a young age, I have enjoyed riding a bike. Growing up in Portland (a city with moderate bike infrastructure) I rode around by bike a fair amount. Due to the size of the city, however, as I got older I started to take more trips by public transportation. However, once I came to Eugene I remembered why I loved biking so much. During my freshman year, biking was the best way to get around town. While were given a bus pass to use to get around town, I actually valued my discounted PeaceHealth Rides membership much more. For those who are unaware, PeaceHealth Rides is the bike share system that operates in Eugene. Getting around town is super convenient, just unlock, ride, and drop it off. I was riding a bike about every day to get around campus, town, etc.

 I was also a part of the student group LiveMove. During the first half of 2023, my team and I collected sidewalk statistical data for the city of Eugene. You can learn more about this project here.

Over the course of this month-long class abroad, I am really hoping to take away some of the low-hanging fruit in regard to bicycle transportation that I can hopefully use back home, either academically or professionally! (I will write more about this in my 'hopes and aspirations' post to follow!)


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Pre-class assignment

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