Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 74.49
Liaison Brandon Trelstad
Submission Date Dec. 8, 2021

STARS v2.2

Oregon State University
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.60 / 5.00 Leticia Cavazos
Sustainability Program Specialist
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total full-time equivalent student enrollment:
26,170

Full-time equivalent of employees:
5,672

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:
76

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about student commuting:
During November 2020, OSU solicited online survey responses via email from all students and employees studying or working at the OSU Corvallis campus.

Survey respondents were asked to provide their primary mode of travel to campus for each day of one week, with the primary mode being the one that they used for the longest distance portion of their trip. For example, if someone drove alone four miles from home, then parked one mile from campus and walked the rest of the way to campus, the respondent would mark “drive alone” as the primary mode. Because survey respondents were able to select their primary mode for each day, the survey was able to account for people that use different modes throughout the week. Survey respondents also could indicate if they did not come to campus on the specified day.

The calculation of campus mode share is a multi-step process that begins with a summation of the number of trips made by each mode for the five week days (Monday through Friday) and then calculates the separate mode share for off-campus student respondents and for employee respondents. The analysis then determines the portion of the survey respondent population that travels to campus on a typical day. The mode share percentages and portion of the population traveling to campus are then applied to the total population (separately for employees and students living off-campus). Finally, a weighted average is applied to determine the overall off-campus population daily commute mode share.

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:
53

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about employee commuting:
During November 2020, OSU solicited online survey responses via email from all students and employees studying or working at the OSU Corvallis campus.

Survey respondents were asked to provide their primary mode of travel to campus for each day of one week, with the primary mode being the one that they used for the longest distance portion of their trip. For example, if someone drove alone four miles from home, then parked one mile from campus and walked the rest of the way to campus, the respondent would mark “drive alone” as the primary mode. Because survey respondents were able to select their primary mode for each day, the survey was able to account for people that use different modes throughout the week. Survey respondents also could indicate if they did not come to campus on the specified day.

The calculation of campus mode share is a multi-step process that begins with a summation of the number of trips made by each mode for the five week days (Monday through Friday) and then calculates the separate mode share for off-campus student respondents and for employee respondents. The analysis then determines the portion of the survey respondent population that travels to campus on a typical day. The mode share percentages and portion of the population traveling to campus are then applied to the total population (separately for employees and students living off-campus). Finally, a weighted average is applied to determine the overall off-campus population daily commute mode share.

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 11 26
Zero-emissions vehicle 0 0
Walk, cycle, or other non-motorized mode 15 6
Vanpool or carpool 1 1
Public transport or campus shuttle 1 0
Motorcycle, motorized scooter/bike, or moped 2 1
Distance education / telecommute 70 66

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:
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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.