Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.23
Liaison Josh Lasky
Submission Date March 5, 2020

STARS v2.2

George Washington University
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.19 / 5.00 Meghan Chapple
Director & Senior Advisor
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total full-time equivalent student enrollment:
22,123

Full-time equivalent of employees:
5,902

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:
87.93

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

GW conducted a commuting survey in September 2019. The survey was designed to help learn more about commuting behavior and patterns of the GW community. Random samples of students and of employees (faculty and staff) were selected to participate. Employees included in the sample were from Foggy Bottom Campus, Mount Vernon Campus, and Virginia Science Technology Campus. The survey closed after six weeks of distribution, near the beginning of November, although the last reminder email was sent October 3rd. The survey was distributed electronically to 1,263 employees and 1,284 students. A total of 725 faculty and staff responded, while 346 students responded, which provided response rates of 57% and 27%, respectively.

Primary transportation was considered the mode of transportation that was used to travel the greatest distance (mileage) to and from campus. For employees, telecommuting 50% or more was determined using a formula. If an employee had a benefit category of Full Time Regular Employee and commuted 2 days or less, then they were considered a teleworker who telecommuted for 50% or more of their regular work hours. If an employee had a benefit category of Part Time Regular Employee, Affordable Care Act, or Not Eligible for Benefits and commuted 1 day or less, then they were considered a teleworker who telecommuted for 50% or more of their regular work hours.

The commuting data do not include student travel to/from campus at the beginning/end of each semester. STARS data are based on this 2019 survey. Numbers extrapolated were determined to the best of our understanding of the data being requested.


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:
68.40

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

GW conducted a commuting survey in September 2019. The survey was designed to help learn more about commuting behavior and patterns of the GW community. Random samples of students and of employees (faculty and staff) were selected to participate. Employees included in the sample were from Foggy Bottom Campus, Mount Vernon Campus, and Virginia Science Technology Campus. The survey closed after six weeks of distribution, near the beginning of November, although the last reminder email was sent October 3rd. The survey was distributed electronically to 1,263 employees and 1,284 students. A total of 725 faculty and staff responded, while 346 students responded, which provided response rates of 57% and 27%, respectively.

Primary transportation was considered the mode of transportation that was used to travel the greatest distance (mileage) to and from campus. For employees, telecommuting 50% or more was determined using a formula. If an employee had a benefit category of Full Time Regular Employee and commuted 2 days or less, then they were considered a teleworker who telecommuted for 50% or more of their regular work hours. If an employee had a benefit category of Part Time Regular Employee, Affordable Care Act, or Not Eligible for Benefits and commuted 1 day or less, then they were considered a teleworker who telecommuted for 50% or more of their regular work hours.

The commuting data do not include student travel to/from campus at the beginning/end of each semester. STARS data are based on this 2019 survey. Numbers extrapolated were determined to the best of our understanding of the data being requested.


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 12.07 30.98
Zero-emissions vehicle 1.29 2.76
Walk, cycle, or other non-motorized mode 34.05 11.81
Vanpool or carpool 1.72 5.83
Public transport or campus shuttle 49.57 47.55
Motorcycle, motorized scooter/bike, or moped 1.29 0.46
Distance education / telecommute 9 5.72

Website URL where information about student or employee commuting is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

To facilitate transportation between GW's three campuses (Foggy Bottom, Mount Vernon, and Virginia), GW operates the Vern Express which runs between the Mount Vernon Campus and the Foggy Bottom Campus, the Virginia Shuttle which transports people between the Virginia Science and Technology Campus (VSTC) to the Foggy Bottom Campus, and offers a free shuttle (the Wiehle Express) to and from the Wiehle Metro station to GW's VSTC. These shuttle and bus services for students, faculty, and staff help reduce vehicle miles traveled per capita by reducing reliance on single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) as a primary mode of transit. Portions of this service are open to members of GW's community neighbors as well.

"More sustainable commuting options" interpreted as all means of transportation other than commuting to campus via single occupancy vehicle.


To facilitate transportation between GW's three campuses (Foggy Bottom, Mount Vernon, and Virginia), GW operates the Vern Express which runs between the Mount Vernon Campus and the Foggy Bottom Campus, the Virginia Shuttle which transports people between the Virginia Science and Technology Campus (VSTC) to the Foggy Bottom Campus, and offers a free shuttle (the Wiehle Express) to and from the Wiehle Metro station to GW's VSTC. These shuttle and bus services for students, faculty, and staff help reduce vehicle miles traveled per capita by reducing reliance on single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) as a primary mode of transit. Portions of this service are open to members of GW's community neighbors as well.

"More sustainable commuting options" interpreted as all means of transportation other than commuting to campus via single occupancy vehicle.

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.