Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.88
Liaison Audrey McSain
Submission Date March 20, 2023

STARS v2.2

Lehigh University
OP-17: Support for Sustainable Transportation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Robert Bruneio
Manager, Transportation Services
Transportation Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:
Zagster was introduced in the fall of 2016. This bike sharing program allowed anyone with a Lehigh ID to share the use of one of 10 cruiser-style bikes for a $15 yearly fee. Due to the pandemic, the Zagster contract was terminated and Lehigh is perusing a new "in-house" Bike Share Program. Working with our Office of Sustainability and a local Bike Shop, our "In-House" Bike Share program is on Target to be fully implemented prior to the fall semester.

Update - 8/3/2022: We are in the process of setting up our "in-house" bike sharing program and are hoping to launch it in Spring 2023.

Does the institution participate in a car sharing program?:
No

None
A brief description of the car sharing program:
Lehigh utilized Enterprise Car Share, however, due to concerns for the safety and wellbeing of our community, the program was terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To date, Lehigh is exploring options to bring back the car share program.

Does the institution offer preferential parking or other incentives for fuel efficient vehicles?:
Yes

A brief description of the incentives for fuel efficient vehicles:
Parking spaces are provided for compact / fuel efficient cars on our main campus. Spaces are marked with signs and are available at all times.

Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:
There are EV charging stations in 4 Lehigh parking areas. We currently have EV charging stations in Farrington Square, the Alumni Memorial garage, Zoellner Arts Center garage, and in the Iacocca parking lot. Each station has 2 ports each. The Bethlehem Parking Authority also has EV Charging Stations in the New Street garage where Lehigh staff park.

Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:
Lehigh University has the "Home Buying Initiative for South Side Bethlehem". There are 3 loan plans available - a choice between 2 forgivable loan plans for the purchase of a primary residence within the programs' geographic boundaries plus 1 curb appeal" deferred payment loan for exterior home improvements. This program is available to eligible staff members working at least 75% of a full-time schedule.

Does the institution have other programs or initiatives to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and/or reduce the impact of student and employee commuting?:
Yes

A brief description of other programs or initiatives to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and/or reduce the impact of student and employee commuting:
For traveling to campus, faculty and staff can utilize the Lehigh Valley's LANTA (Lehigh and Northampton Transit Authority) public transportation service using their Lehigh ID and free of charge. Passengers present their Lehigh University ID card upon entering the LANTA bus. Fare boxes have been configured to recognize Lehigh University identification cards.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainable transportation is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
When the Zagster contract ended, the relaunch of Lehigh's bike share program was delayed due to COVID-19. Additionally, the Enterprise Car Share program was suspended due to COVID-19 and cleaning procedures.

As a result, we resubmitted data from FY 2019 for this credit, the last representative year, along with an update on our progress with setting up the new bike share program, which we are looking to try and launch by mid-August.

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.