Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 80.73
Liaison Austin Eriksson
Submission Date Oct. 3, 2024

STARS v2.2

California State University, Northridge
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.69 / 5.00 Aspen Coty
Zero Waste and Sustainability Coordinator
Energy and Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total full-time equivalent student enrollment:
29,866

Full-time equivalent of employees:
3,106

Part 1. Student commute modal split

Has the institution gathered data about student commuting behavior?:
Yes

Total percentage of students that use more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation:
33.40

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about student commuting:

Each February, CSUN distributes a commuting survey to all students via email, social media, and QR code. This survey is intended to enable more accurate greenhouse gas reporting for scope 3 emissions. The survey askes students about their mode of transit, commute frequency, distance, whether or not they use an electric vehicle, and more. This data is used to calculate the modal split and vehicle miles from student commuting. The survey respondents make up  portion of the student population so the percentage was extrapolated from this portion. 


Part 2. Employee commute modal split

Has the institution gathered data about employee commuting behavior?:
Yes

Total percentage of employees that use more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation:
37.15

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about employee commuting:

Employee commuting data is collected through an annual commuting survey which is distributed to all employees as required by the South Coast Air Quality Monitoring District. This survey requests data on commute distance and mode across one week, and is used to determine the modal split of employees, and the vehicle miles associated with employee commuting.


Optional Fields 

Percentage of students and employees that use the following as their primary mode of transportation:
Percentage of students (0-100) Percentage of employees (0-100)
Single-occupancy vehicle 45.85 48.90
Zero-emissions vehicle 1.10 4
Walk, cycle, or other non-motorized mode 6.67 4.90
Vanpool or carpool 2.31 4.15
Public transport or campus shuttle 19.01 2
Motorcycle, motorized scooter/bike, or moped 0.27 0.05
Distance education / telecommute 0 35

Website URL where information about student or employee commuting is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The small difference between FTE for the (performance year) and the FTE in PRE-5 is because these numbers refer to different years. 2019 was selected as the performance because it was the most recent calendar year representative of normal operations (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Figures in PRE-5 reflect the 2020 year, and include the population change.


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.