Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.15
Liaison Kelly Wellman
Submission Date Dec. 19, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Texas A&M University
OP-18: Support for Sustainable Transportation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.80 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution provide secure bicycle storage (not including office space), shower facilities, and lockers for bicycle commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the facilities for bicycle commuters:

Several building have secure bicycle storage located near the loading dock areas. We are also looking at bike lockers to broaden the user base of secure bicycle parking. Some buildings have shower facilities. The recreation center is also available for a larger number of commuters.


Does the institution provide short-term bicycle parking for all occupied buildings and makes long-term bicycle storage available for students who live on-site (if applicable)?:
No

A brief description of the bicycle parking and storage facilities:

We only have regular bike racks at the residence halls. We do, however, have over 14,000 short term bike parking spaces on campus.


Does the institution have a bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy (or adhere to a local community plan/policy) that sets standards and practices for campus streets to enable safe access for all users?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy:

We have a bicycle district plan in our campus master plan. Additionally, mobility to include pedestrian is included in the master plan as well.


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:

Borrow A Bike is a free program for those that need the use of a bike for a short period of time. If you borrow a bike today, it is due back by 10:00 a.m. the next morning. If you borrow a bike on Friday, it's not due until the following Monday. Customers may borrow a bike 12 times per semester.

The program is free to anyone employed by or currently enrolled at Texas A&M University.

We also have bike lease program allowing participants to lease a bike shop quality bicycle for low fee per semester.

We also have the largest university bike share program in the nation. We have over 2500 shared bikes on campus.


Does the institution offer free or reduced price transit passes and/or operate a free campus shuttle for commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the mass transit programs:

We currently have an expansive no fare shuttle service that takes passengers to and around campus and into the surrounding community. It is funded by request and allocation from the student success fee, but it is free for all to ride.

Additionally, any TAMU ID holder is able to ride the local transit system buses.


Does the institution offer a guaranteed return trip program to regular users of alternative modes of transportation?:
No

A brief description of the guaranteed return trip program:
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Does the institution participate in a car/vanpool or ride sharing program and/or offer reduced parking fees or preferential parking for car/vanpoolers?:
Yes

A brief description of the carpool/vanpool program:

We provide a ride share program online to help faculty staff and students find carpools.

Texas A&M has partnered with Zimride to create a rideshare network on campus. Zimride provides a new form of efficient transportation that integrates social networking into a customized, private A&M network to help users establish trust, maintain their social profiles and allow individuals to split costs by sharing seats in their car with friends, classmates and co-workers. Zimride's program promotes alternative transportation options that can be integrated into the rideshare program to allow users various options of transportation (for commutes or one-time trips).


Does the institution participate in a car sharing program, such as a commercial car-sharing program, one administered by the institution, or one administered by a regional organization?:
Yes

A brief description of the car sharing program:

We have implemented a contract with Zipcar. They are now on campus with 10 vehicles.


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

A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:

We have 14 Level 2 charging stations on campus.


Does the institution offer a telecommuting program for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
Yes

A brief description of the telecommuting program:

The University has an Alternate Work Location program that allows for approval of requests for individual employees to work at an alternate location. This program makes it feasible for an employee to work from another location, if approved in accordance with the established procedure, and therefore minimize use of a personal vehicle or other means of transportation to travel to campus.


Does the institution offer a condensed work week option that reduces employee commuting (as a matter of policy or standard practice)?:
Yes

A brief description of the condensed work week option:

The University has a Flexible Work Schedule option that allows for approval of requests for individual employees to have a work schedule other than 8-5 or another standard shift. This program makes it feasible for an individual employee to obtain approval to work a condensed work week, if approved in accordance with the established procedure.


Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
No

A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:

This would be extremely inefficient and unproductive as housing near campus for staff is quite expensive. If the economics of the situation develop accordingly, individuals will make that decision for themselves.


Does the institution employ other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting (e.g. preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles, cash-out of parking programs)?:
No

A brief description of other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.