A college campus is its own sustainable self-perpetuating institution. Or at least has been for much of the past century in the US (and elsewhere) as 1) an increasingly technological world has increased the need for an educated populace and 2) funding for college education has been readily available.
You've also got a town structure which is based on a single identifiable economic centre, which doesn't generally rely on heavy industry or ag within that centre (information, knowledge, and people, as well as the support strucutures for them), and so your principle transportation problem is how to move a fair-to-middlin' mostly younger and healthier population around. Bikes and walking fit this mode well, the small population of elderly and disabled can be accomodated as edge cases.
Keep in mind that in many small college towns, there's still a sizable commuter population. Some of that are students priced out of local housing, though the workforce is a much larger component, and may have commute patterns comparable to that of a large city (driving in from an hour or more away). The centralised nature of employment makes even rural mass transit or commuter shuttles viable.
You've also got a town structure which is based on a single identifiable economic centre, which doesn't generally rely on heavy industry or ag within that centre (information, knowledge, and people, as well as the support strucutures for them), and so your principle transportation problem is how to move a fair-to-middlin' mostly younger and healthier population around. Bikes and walking fit this mode well, the small population of elderly and disabled can be accomodated as edge cases.
Keep in mind that in many small college towns, there's still a sizable commuter population. Some of that are students priced out of local housing, though the workforce is a much larger component, and may have commute patterns comparable to that of a large city (driving in from an hour or more away). The centralised nature of employment makes even rural mass transit or commuter shuttles viable.