VII. 6% decrease in single-occupancy commuting rate per campus by 2028

Transportation Services will work with our partners in regional transit organizations to expand transportation options and availability in off-peak hours to and from campus, allowing students, staff and faculty greater ability to utilize transit throughout the day, especially in earlier and later hours which may not currently be well-served.

In addition, Transportation Services will increase promotion and support of area Vanpool programs. These programs are offered by most of the surrounding counties and are covered by the fully subsidized U-PASS program, making them a viable option for many commuters. Vanpools may offer staff a more convenient option in the times when public transit is limited.

Transportation Services and Campus Architecture & Planning are working to complete a Bicycle Parking Plan, which is expected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2023. The Bicycle Parking Plan will provide operational recommendations to reduce parking waitlists and provide more secure parking in needed areas, with the overall goal of increasing the number of bicycle commutes to campus.

The Bike Parking Plan will address safe, secure and convenient parking by creating criteria for identifying sites and the types of parking to be added; and increasing and optimizing the locations of long-term secure parking (such as bicycle houses and lockers) as well as short-term racks. The Plan will also provide recommendations for replacing existing outdated racks with higher-quality bike racks and prioritizing specific places with high demand, and develop a process to integrate bicycle parking with future development projects being planned on campus.

The University of Washington Project Delivery Group is examining possible improvements to the Burke-Gilman Trail through campus. Two sections have been identified where there trail will be widened and lane separation added for cyclists and pedestrians, similar to existing sections along NE Pacific St. Upgrades for these sections are both currently in the design process. 

Steps we will take in FY 2023

• Advocate for increased transit service levels
• Implement free transit fares for 18 and under

The fully-subsidized U-PASS for all employees was approved in the Spring and was effective July 1, 2022. This expansion covers an additional 22,000 employees across all campuses and medical centers, giving them subsidized access to most public transit options in our region.
Transportation Services will continue to advocate for increased transit service levels from regional partners to provide commuting options for all employees and students.

This fall, Transportation Services will also work to implement free transit fares for students and staff 18 years old and under, in accordance with new state policy.

Steps we will take in FY 2023

1. Complete a long-term bicycle parking plan for the Seattle campus
2. Launch scooter share

Transportation Services will complete a long-term bicycle parking plan for the Seattle campus. This study includes an evaluation of the current bike locker program to determine technology improvements to improve utilization and customer experience. They will expand bike parking options by opening three new bike houses on the Seattle campus, providing expanded capacity for 150 bicyclists. They are also evaluating the parking infrastructure at the Bothell campus.

Transportation Services expects to launch scooter share vendor operations on the Seattle campus, with contracts similar to existing bikeshare agreements. 

Steps we will take in FY 2023

1. Develop and implement a marketing plan for UW Shuttle services to UW Medical Center employees and patients.
2. Develop and implement a marketing plan for U-CAR service at all three campuses.

Transportation Services will develop and implement a marketing plan for U-CAR service on all three campuses, and develop and implement a marketing plan encouraging use of UW Shuttle services to UW Medical Center employees and patients.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the travel behavior of our campus communities. Since the pandemic, the majority of students, staff and faculty have been learning or working from home. For those coming to campus, the availability and safety of shared transportation options (transit, carpooling, etc.) has compelled many to drive alone to campus.

With this disruption to the typical commute, there is an opportunity to change people’s travel behavior to more sustainable modes as they begin to return to campus.

Steps we will take in FY 2022

1. Track research on transit recovery and COVID-19 transmission on transit, sharing findings with the campus community.
2. Develop an outreach and education campaign promoting active and shared transportation options.
3. Provide resources to encourage continued telework arrangements for employees that are able to work remotely.
4. Advocate for increased transit service levels.

Responsible party

UW Transportation Services departments at Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma

Statuses and linkages

Target I: Double Student, Staff and Faculty Sustainability Engagement by 2024

UW Transportation Services meets with UW Sustainability at least quarterly to discuss promotion of sustainable transportation options and programming.

Target III: Double Sustainability Oriented Research Projects by 2025

Transportation Services participated in two Sustainability Studio projects each year to help research opportunities to increase sustainable transportation usage on campus. Transportations Services is partnering with PacTrans on research of commuting by essential workers during COVID-19.

Target V: 5% Lower Emissions from Professional Travel by 2025

Both targets are looking at opportunities to increase remote work and conferencing options to decrease carbon emissions from travel.

Financing

• Programs to support reducing single-occupancy vehicle commuting are already funded through a combination of parking revenue, student and employee fees, and institutional funding.

Metrics

• The Seattle campus conducts an annual transportation survey of staff, faculty and students to learn about their commuting behavior. Progress toward this Action will be tracked through the continued administration of the annual transportation survey.
• Each year the Bothell campus does an intercept survey to find the mode split, although the 2020 survey was suspended due to minimal traffic caused by the pandemic.
• The Bothell and Tacoma campuses both conduct biennial transportation surveys of staff and faculty through the Washington State Commute Trip Reduction program.

Providing daily parking options to students, staff and faculty allows them to save money every time they do not drive to campus. This can encourage commuters to use sustainable transportation options on the days that they do not need to drive to campus.

Steps we will take in FY 2022

1. 1. Expand Pay-Per-Use Parking (PPUP) to the S1 garage on the Seattle campus.
2. Evaluate daily parking permit options at the Tacoma campus.
3. Adjust demand for daily parking by focusing on reducing quarterly permit sales volume at the Bothell campus.

Responsible party

UW Transportation Services departments at Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma

Statuses and linkages

Daily parking options are currently available to employees on the UW Seattle campus through Pay-Per-Use Parking (PPUP) at gated facilities and daily parking permits available for purchase online for non-gated facilities. Daily and hourly visitor parking options are available at all three campuses.

Financing

• Parking operations are funded through the sale of parking permits and products at each campus.

Metrics

Progress toward completion of the Action will be measured by:

• Number and type of parking permits sold.
• Utilization of parking facilities.

The Transportation Services Shuttles service provides a vital connection for faculty and staff between campus and medical facilities across the city. The U-CAR program provides a critical function to allow campus community access to a vehicle for business-related trips. Both of these services allows staff, faculty and students to use commute options other than driving alone and still be able to complete the work they need to without having to bring their personal vehicle to campus, helping to reduce carbon emissions related to transportation.

Steps we will take in FY 2022

Develop and implement a marketing plan for UW Shuttle services to UW Medical Center employees and patients. 2. Develop and implement a marketing plan for U-CAR service at all three campuses.

Responsible party

UW Transportation Services at Seattle

Statuses and linkages

Target X: 45% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

Exploring opportunities to transition UW Fleet to electric vehicles and capacity for parking to house solar canopies.

Financing

• UW Shuttles are funded through partnerships with UW Medical Center, Harborview, School of Medicine, Fred Hutchinson, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. The program is also funded through parking revenue and institutional funding.

Metrics

Progress toward completion of the Action will be measured by:

• Ridership numbers on shuttle services.
• U-CAR rentals, mileage and utilization.

The University of Washington is committed to managing the environmental impacts of transportation. This commitment has resulted in one of the lowest single occupancy vehicle (drive-alone) rates for universities nation-wide.

In the 1970s, the University implemented programs such as the Health Sciences Express, developed computerized ride-matching software, began subsidizing transit passes, and provided incentives to encourage students to carpool. Since then, UW has incrementally built upon these successes and leads nationally in transportation demand management.

Started in 1983, the University committed to managing its transportation impacts and formalized its Transportation Management Plan intended to expand commuting options for University students, staff, and faculty, and to shift travel habits away from single occupancy vehicles.

Since the 2003 Campus Master Plan, the University has continued its commitment to sustainably address transportation choices, while meeting demands for campus growth and adjusting to changing transportation options serving the campus. With the 2019 Campus Master Plan, the goal is to reduce carbon emissions from single-occupancy vehicles less than 12% by 2028.

Steps we will take in FY 2021

1. Complete a Transportation Needs Assessment of the campus community to develop specific transportation mode targets and strategies.

2. ContinuetopromotetheU-PASSprogramtostudents,staffand faculty. Provide a fully-subsidized U-PASS to additional staff.

3. Construct 2 new bike houses on campus to provide secure bicycle parking.

Responsible party

Transportation Services

Statuses and linkages

The University of Washington provides a comprehensive Commute Options program to help staff, faculty and students choose sustainable transportation modes to commute to campus:

• Discounted or fully-subsidized U-PASS transit pass program
• Secure bicycle parking facilities located throughout campus
• Free helmet program
• Free parking for vanpools, discounted parking for carpools
• Partnerships and discounts for bikeshare and carshare

Transportation Services also provides outreach and education to our campus community to provide personalized trip planning sevices:

• Personalized commute planning
• New Employee Orientation participation
• Dawg Daze participation
• Earth Day Fair participation
• Bicycle encouragement campaigns twice a year (Ride in the Rain, Bike Everywhere Month)

The University also advocates for and supports increased transit service and bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure in the U-District and regionally to support more sustainable transportation options.

Financing

Programs to support reducing SOV programming to support the reduction of single-occupancy vehicle commuting is funded through a combination of parking revenue, student and employee fees, and institutional funding. The FY21 budget for Commute Options programming, including the U-PASS, is $20,590,000.

Metrics

The University conducts an annual transportation survey of staff, faculty and students to learn about their commuting behavior. Based on the 2019 Annual Transportation Survey, the current SOV rate is 18.2%. Progress toward this Action will be tracked through the continued administration of the annual transportation survey.

This action may induce an indirect points gain in STARS credit OP-16 Commute Modal Split where UW shows a point gap of 0.84.

The Transportation Services Shuttles service provides a vital connection for faculty and staff between campus and medical facilities across the city. The U-CAR program provides a critical function to allow campus community access to a vehicle for business-related trips. Both of these services allows staff, faculty and students to use commute options other than driving alone and still be able to complete the work they need to without having to bring their personal vehicle to campus, helping to reduce carbon emissions related to transportation.

Steps we will take in FY 2021

1. UW Shuttles exploring Shuttle Routes to support Intra-Campus Mobility

2. Review impacts of COVID-19 on shuttle and U-Car services.

Responsible party

Transportation Services

Statuses and linkages

UW Shuttles carries over 601,400 riders annually. This service transports students, faculty, staff and medical commodities to UW Medical Center Montlake, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Medicine in South Lake Union, UW Medicine on Roosevelt Way and Seattle Children’s Hospital. On top of these medical shuttles, the team operates a nighttime shuttle and an accessibility-assistance shuttle for students, staff, and faculty. These services are provided to the community at no-cost to the rider.

In 2020, there are 110 U-Cars that support business-related carsharing on all UW campuses. There are also 12 Zipcars on the UW Seattle campus to support personal carsharing trips for staff and students.

Financing

UW Shuttles are funded through partnerships with UW Medical Center, Harborview, School of Medicine, Fred Hutchinson, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. The program is also funded through parking revenue and institutional funding.

Metrics

• We track the ridership numbers on all shuttle services (HSE, SCCA, SLU, Dial-A-Ride, and Night ride) on a weekly basis when services are operating. We track the number of unique car share rentals, UCAR mileage, and their utilization on a monthly basis. We do not have the ability to determine if a car share is used to move multiple individuals in a trip.

This action may induce an indirect points gain in STARS credit OP-16 Commute Modal Split where UW shows a point gap of 0.84.