It’s relatively quiet now, but come fall, mornings at the University of Hawaii campus will be busy with cars jockeying for precious parking.

The Manoa campus has long had the reputation of being a commuter college, with 30,000 motorists vying for about 5,700 parking spaces on the school’s upper and lower levels. Parking comes at such a premium that it spills over to the surrounding and already crowded Manoa neighborhood.

According to a campus transportation survey last year, 33 percent of respondents drove alone to the campus, 25 percent walked and 17 percent used either TheBus or Handi-Van.

But the university is trying to change the attitudes of students, faculty and staff with a new advertising campaign from the Commuter Services office. Just the change in the office’s title, formerly known as Parking Services, shows how the campus is trying to develop better traffic management strategies aligned with its sustainability mission.

Bicycles are certainly part of being sustainable, and parking for the self-propelled two-wheelers is free, with 52 racks across the campus.

Several of those who regularly cycle, walk, carpool or take public transit have been recognized by the campaign as "alternative transportation heroes" and featured on posters and videos.

One of them is 61-year-old Dr. H.C. "Skip" Bittenbender, who works at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

"I’ve been riding a bicycle to work all my life," he said. "This includes Michigan winters when I went to college and Nepal monsoons and Nigerian harmatans (dry and dusty winds) when I did post-graduate work overseas. Now I routinely navigate the streets of the St. Louis Heights area — since 1986, I ride daily about 600 feet up and down Waahila Ridge."

With a big wire basket secured on the back of his bike, Bittenbender said it’s still "fun going down the street at a pretty good speed of 25 miles per hour or more" a little after 8 in the morning, "watching out for potholes, manhole covers and cars pulling out of driveways."

His best time getting to work at St. John Hall is around eight minutes, but when he pedals back home around dusk, if he arrives in just under a half-hour’s time, that’s a good ride.

"I noticed recently that a lot of people — students as well as faculty — have come around to biking. In fact, I have friends who ride further distances than I do," he said.

Sheela Sharma and Alex Kelly regularly carpooled from Palolo with fellow student Jane Dornemann, who just moved back to New York. Sharma, a graduate student in education and business, said their arrangement was informal, based on "what works for everyone each semester."

"Besides being a conscientious choice of transportation, environmental concerns are certainly factored in, in terms of the best use of time, resources and energy," she said.

Both Vanessa Works, a School of Architecture staffer, and communications graduate student Joanne Romero live relatively close to the campus and prefer walking as their mode of transportation.

Works used to help coach UH women’s soccer, "so I enjoy being active and get the endorphins going. I usually walk, and it’s a good way to clear the mind and get the day started. If I’m running late, I either bike or use my Razor scooter."

Romero said she either walks or uses the school’s Rainbow Shuttle along Dole Street. "I could drive, but it’s more convenient to commute this way. It’s more affordable and not as stressful looking for parking."