| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.18 |
| Liaison | Weston Dripps |
| Submission Date | Aug. 19, 2024 |
Amherst College
OP-14: Commute Modal Split
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.36 / 6.00 |
Weston
Dripps Director of Sustainability Sustainability |
14.1 Percentage of students and employees using more sustainable commuting options
Full-time equivalent student enrollment:
Full-time equivalent of employees:
Has the institution gathered data about student commuting behavior?:
Percentage of students that use more sustainable commuting options:
Description of the methodology used to gather data about student commuting:
We used results from the Campus Sustainability Survey to gather data about commuting habits for students. We assume these survey responses provide a representative sample. Our survey methodology is described in further detail in Credit EN-4.
To estimate the percentage of students that use more sustainable commuting options, we used the following pieces of information:
- A total of 371 students responded to the transportation section of the survey.
- Amherst College is a residential college that houses 98% of students on campus. The furthest dormitories are no more than a 15 minute walk to the main campus and most are less than a 5 minute walk. Moreover, the availability of student parking spots on-campus is extremely limited. For these reasons, we assume all 367 students who reported living on-campus use more sustainable commuting options.
- Of the 4 students who reported living off-campus in the survey, 3 indicated using more sustainable commuting options.*
We estimated the proportion of students that use more sustainable commuting options with the following equation:
(On-Campus Students + Off-Campus Students Commuting Sustainably) / Total Student Respondents
= (367 + 3) / 371 = 99.73%
Has the institution gathered data about employee commuting behavior?:
Percentage of employees that use more sustainable commuting options:
Description of the methodology used to gather data about employee commuting:
We used results from the Campus Sustainability Survey to gather data about employee commuting habits. Our estimate is based on the following pieces of information:
- Of the 471 employees surveyed, 8 reported living in on-campus housing.
- Of the employees who indicated living off-campus, 83 indicated using more sustainable commuting options.*
We estimated the proportion of employees that use more sustainable commuting options with the following equation:
(On-Campus Employees + Off-Campus Employees Commuting Sustainably) / Total Employee Respondents
= (83 + 6) / 471 = 18.09%
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Optional documentation
*For those who live off-campus, using more sustainable commuting options means one of the following:
- Not using a single occupancy vehicle at all
- Commuting with a zero-emissions vehicle
- Using a single occupancy vehicle for 50% or fewer of all commutes.
Additional documentation for this credit:
Student commuting data
The following 10 fields are included to provide additional context for interpreting the institution’s student modal split. Report either the percentage of students that use each option as their primary means of transportation or the percentage of trips for which students use each option (or avoided trips in the case of remote learning). The figures should total 100.
Percentage of students that commute by walking or the equivalent:
Percentage of students that commute by cycling or another micro-mobility option:
Percentage of students that commute by carpool or vanpool:
Percentage of students that commute by bus, shuttle, or ferry:
Percentage of students that commute by rail:
Percentage of students that commute by light rail or tram:
Percentage of students that commute by motorcycle or moped:
Percentage of students that commute by zero emission vehicle:
Percentage of students that avail of remote learning:
Employee commuting data
The following 10 fields are included to provide additional context for interpreting the institution’s employee modal split. Report either the percentage of employees that use each option as their primary means of transportation or the percentage of trips for which employees use each option (or avoided trips in the case of remote work). The figures should total 100.
Percentage of employees that commute by walking or the equivalent:
Percentage of employees that commute by cycling or another micro-mobility option:
Percentage of employees that commute by carpool or vanpool:
Percentage of employees that commute by bus, shuttle, or ferry:
Percentage of employees that commute by rail:
Percentage of employees that commute by light rail or tram:
Percentage of employees that commute by motorcycle or moped:
Percentage of employees that commute by zero emission vehicle:
Percentage of employees that avail of remote work:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.