| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 61.60 |
| Liaison | Megan Curtis-Murphy |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2023 |
Northeastern University
OP-17: Support for Sustainable Transportation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Megan
Curtis-Murphy Director of Campus Sustainability & Engagement Climate Justice & Sustainability Hub |
Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:
Northeastern partners with the City of Boston’s Blue Bikes bicycle share system to provide discounted annual memberships to all Northeastern students, faculty, and staff. There are three Blue Bikes bikeshare stations on - and adjacent - to campus, each providing 30 bicycles for shared use. The University sponsors a Blue Bikes bikeshare station and subsidizes the annual membership by 30 % for anyone in the NU community who has a "@northeastern.edu" email address." The Forsyth St station, sponsored by Northeastern, was the most used (out of 400 stations across the Boston area) in the Blue Bikes system for August/September 2022, during a month long shutdown of the MBTA's Orange line for emergency repairs.
Does the institution participate in a car sharing program?:
A brief description of the car sharing program:
The University has offered carsharing programs for over 13 years. It maintains numerous Zipcar accounts and facilitates access to multiple Zipcar spots at three strategic campus locations: Matthews Arena, Ryder Lot, and Columbus Garage, and it gives members access to vehicles 24/7 which can be reserved by the hour or by the day. Additionally, there are numerous Zipcars located adjacent to campus that are available for rental. The accounts are for departmental use by NU employees, which gives business users a discounted Zipcar rate to be paid for by the University. In addition, affiliate accounts are open to those who are age 21 and over.
https://www.northeastern.edu/commutingservices/car-share/zip-car/
Along with zipcar, NU recently partnered with Good2Go, an income-tiered electric car share company and now has 1 car located in a campus garage. The company aims to provide access to clean and affordable transportation to everyone. The Good2Go fleet includes 100% electric Chevy Bolts.
Does the institution offer preferential parking or other incentives for fuel efficient vehicles?:
A brief description of the incentives for fuel efficient vehicles:
Northeastern provides access to free charging for electric vehicles and stations are located closer to the entrance to the garage.
Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:
There are 32 electric vehicle charging stations that are operational inside Columbus, Renaissance Park, and Gainsborough garages. Charging station parking is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and comes with no additional costs.
Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:
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?:
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:
Northeastern is centrally located to the commuter rail, Amtrak, subway, light rail, buses, bike share, etc. The university is conscious of this and includes infrastructure to support alternative modes in its construction projects. For example, the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) features a pedestrian bridge over the MBTA Orange Line, commuter rail, and Amtrak tracks and facilitates increased pedestrian foot traffic from north to south across campus. Other ISEC transportation‐related attributes include: coordinating with the MBTA to aid and assist with project egress components; eliminating 460 parking spots to aid and assist the use of public transportation; 95 indoor bicycle locking stations in a new secured bicycle storage room; 20 outdoor bicycle lock stations; 5 indoor showers; and 20 bicycle lock stations.
The Commuting Services website continues expanding and providing more streamlined transportation information. Northeastern University participates in the MBTA semester pass program offered for the Fall and Spring Semesters where students receive an 11% discount on passes through their myNortheastern portal. And employees have an opportunity to enroll in a pre-tax commuter benefit program saving costs on transportation passes and parking.
Human Resources Management initiatives also include programs to incentivize alternative transportation including expansion of the “Healthy You Virgin Pulse” incentive-based walking program, increased flexibility with teleworking following COVID-19, and flexible and compressed work schedules that reduces the number of staff commuting days.
In an average year, there are approximately 40 regular shuttles used daily to reduce vehicular traffic, including: roundtrip between Boston and Burlington campuses; roundtrip between Nahant and the Wonderland Blue Line Station; and many shuttles for athletics including to Dedham, Cambridge and Brookline. There is also a RedEye service which is a free shuttle service provided to passengers traveling after dark within two miles from the Boston campus to their off-campus residences.
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:
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.