Indiana University Bloomington
OP-18: Support for Sustainable Transportation

The Union Street Center residence hall provides outdoor covered bicycle lockers, as does Briscoe Quadrangle, and a number of other student residence centers. In addition, bike parking is allowed in residence hall rooms. The Union Street Center also has secure bicycle storage lockers, for a fee. Shower facilities are located in the School of Public Health locker rooms and in the Student Recreational Sports Center (SRSC) locker rooms. There are bicycle racks at these locations. The Cyberinfrastructure Building (CIB) has a secure bicycle storage room and adjacent shower facilities.

There are bicycle racks outside all academic buildings on campus, and available at all residence halls. A map of all bicycle racks on campus can be found at: http://apps3.indiana.edu/PARK_Warehouse_V1_ParkingMaps/lnkBikeRacks.aspx

In 2009, the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMCMPO) formally adopted a Complete Streets Policy, of which Indiana University Bloomington is a participant, that states, in part: "The Complete Streets Policy shall apply to all of the following: 1) New construction and reconstruction (excluding resurfacing activities that do not alter the current/existing geometric designs of a roadway) of local roadways that will use Federal funds through the BMCMPO for any phase of project implementation including planning, design, right-of-way acquisition, construction, or construction engineering. 2) Local roadway projects included in the TIP after the adoption of the Complete Streets Policy AND are not past the Preliminary Field Check Phase or more than 30% complete with design at the time this policy is adopted. 3) Local roadway projects where the BMCMPO has the programming authority to allocate Federal funding. Requirements 1) Roadway projects shall accommodate all users of the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, users of mass transit, people with disabilities, the elderly, motorists, freight providers, emergency responders, and adjacent land users. 2) Roadway projects shall make use of the latest and best design standards, policies, and guidelines. The Local Public Agency (LPA) shall also retain the justification and design decision authority over its projects. 3) Complete Streets solutions shall be developed to fit within the context(s) of the community and those solutions shall be flexible so that the needs of the corridor can be met. 4) Roadway projects shall utilize performance standards with measurable outcomes. 5) Roadway projects shall identify anticipated phases and key milestones of project development. 6) The LPA shall identify a public participation process including benchmark goals to attain as part of their public participation process. 7) The LPA shall maintain open lines of communication with key party/agency/interest groups and shall identify and maintain a key stakeholder list." For more information: http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/cs/policy/cs-in-bmcmpo-policy.pdf

Crimson Cruisers is a bike library pilot program created to make bicycling accessible to the students, faculty, and staff of Indiana University. Crimson Cruisers works like checking out a book at your local library; all you'll need is an IUB ID to take home a bike along with a helmet, lights, lock, and bell to meet local and state laws. We're currently in our pilot stage ironing out operational details and gauging campus interest; 12 individuals are selected each semester as Crimson Cruiser ambassadors.

A strong, collaborative relationship exists between IU and Bloomington Transit. This relationship allows for universal bus access for all students, faculty, and staff for both the IU Campus Bus as well as Bloomington Transit. Bloomington Transit offers a number of routes to and from IU’s campus. By showing school ID, students, faculty, and staff can ride for free. Anyone can ride IU Campus Buses for free, no ID required.

1.) IU offers an Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program. When unpredictable circumstances arise, the program allows for a free taxi service home for all IU employees enrolled in the Carpool or Vanpool Program. An individual may use this service three times per semester (up to six times per academic year). The ERH program is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. 2.) Safety Escort is a service available to all IU Bloomington students and staff as an alternative to walking alone at night. Safety Escort is funded through IU Parking Services so there is no cost to receive a ride. The service runs seven days a week from 8 p.m.–1:45 a.m. Safety Escort is available when IU is in session and is generally not available during IU breaks and major holidays.

Full time employees may enroll a carpool of two of more members into the Carpool Program. Each member of the carpool must register with Parking Operations in order to enjoy the privileges of a Carpool parking permit. Members will be assigned one Carpool permit to share. Employees find their own carpool partners and fill out the Carpool Registration Form. For individuals seeking carpool partners, IU recommends the University Zimride landing page at www.zimride.com/iub. Each Carpool member receives ten one-day parking permits per year for those occasions when it is necessary to drive to work. While Carpool groups are assigned one shared permit, individual participants will also be issued an Evening permit, valid from 5 p.m. - 7 a.m. Each carpool member is eligible for the Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program for unplanned or emergency situations. Finally, carpool members in a pool of three or more members may select a convenient parking lot or parking garage, and Parking Operations will assign a specific reserved parking space for the exclusive use of the Carpool members.

Since 2010, the Zipcar program has offers Hoosiers convenient, cost-effective alternative to owning a car or bringing one to campus. The service helps the university manage the increasing demand for parking and associated congestion while offering students a convenient, economical and environmentally friendly alternative to owning a car. Hybrid, fuel-efficient Zipcars are available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The number of vehicles available for carshare, as well as the number of campus locations, has increased steadily over time as the service has proven successful. The Indiana University Student Association also launched a Zimride program. The Zimride platform connects IU community members through an easy to use private network that will reduce campus traffic, parking difficulties, and provide substantial cost-savings for the community. Starting April 20, 2010, all IU Bloomington students, faculty and staff can access the IU Zimride system for free at http://www.zimride.com/iub. This program now has over 2000 subscribers.

The City of Bloomington has installed car charging stations around town that are available for use by students or faculty, but the University itself does not have any charging stations at this time.

University polices allow for alternative work arrangements in which Staff employees work full time, but in different configurations of hours. Such arrangements are not only acceptable, but a potentially positive way to meet the childcare, family care, and other personal needs of employees while still permitting departments to operate in an efficient manner. In addition, departments that experience limitations of physical space or equipment may find this type of scheduling to their advantage.

University polices allow for alternative work arrangements in which Staff employees work full time, but in different configurations of hours. Such arrangements are not only acceptable, but a potentially positive way to meet the childcare, family care, and other personal needs of employees while still permitting departments to operate in an efficient manner. In addition, departments that experience limitations of physical space or equipment may find this type of scheduling to their advantage. Alternate work schedule- Employees work hours different from the standard scheduled hours of the operating unit such as a condensed work week (e.g., four, ten-hour days) on a fixed, regular basis.

In the IU Transportation Demand Management report, we developed a number of plans to increase alternative transportation use, such as the promotion of the Hoosier Commuter Club, which incentivizes staff and faculty to forego a parking pass, a plan to raise the cost of parking prices 5% per year for 10 years, and a number of other initiatives.

Also see http://parking.indiana.edu/parking_operations/alt_transportation.aspx.