| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.87 |
| Liaison | Carrie Metzgar |
| Submission Date | Nov. 5, 2024 |
University of California, San Diego
IN-47: Innovation A
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Josh
Kavanagh Assistant Vice Chancellor Transportation and Activation |
Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
After decades of planning, construction of the 11-mile extension of the Blue Line trolley began in the fall of 2016. The campus celebrated the grand opening of the new trolley line, along with two UC San Diego stations, on November 21, 2021. Planning and development of the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley Stations was done in partnership with UC San Diego and the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS).
Students and employees who live throughout San Diego now have direct access to the heart of our campus, and students now have direct access to employment centers, shopping and area cultural attractions. Direct, fast and cost-effective trolley service enables everyone to take advantage of the educational, cultural, employment and health care opportunities offered by UC San Diego.
Leveraging the campus transit pass programs, including the student U-Pass and the employee FaSt Pass, there were nearly 600,000 Trolley passenger campus arrivals in the first full calendar year of operation of the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley. Ridership counts are for the two on-campus stations (Central Campus and UCSD Health La Jolla Station). U-Pass is included within student fees, and the FaSt Pass provides reduced-cost savings for campus employees.
Also, per the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) provided data, total ridership, to and from campus at the two stations exceeded 1.2 million rides during calendar year 2022.
In the second full calendar year of Trolley service to campus, 2023, total ridership to and from the two campus stations increased to nearly 2 million rides, indicating nearly 60% increase year over year. For the calendar year 2024, to date, the monthly ridership numbers continue to increase by year-to-date counts by nearly 16% above the previous year counts.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) provided data for ridership
Additional links and information:
-
MTS Blue Line Trolley Extension: https://www.sdmts.com/uc-san-diego-blue-line-trolley-extension
-
Triton U-Pass for Students: https://transportation.ucsd.edu/commute/transit/u-pass.html
-
FaSt Pass for Faculty and Staff: https://transportation.ucsd.edu/commute/transit/ee-passes.html
Points of contact for credit information:
- Josh Kavanagh, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Transportation and Activation
- Curt Lutz, Assistant Director, Transportation and Activation
- Rachel Vensand, Communications Coordinator, Transportation Services
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.