| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.34 |
| Liaison | Elida Erickson |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of California, Santa Cruz
OP-18: Support for Sustainable Transportation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Teresa
Buika Senior Transportation Planner TAPS |
Does the institution provide secure bicycle storage (not including office space), shower facilities, and lockers for bicycle commuters?:
A brief description of the facilities for bicycle commuters:
UCSC has contracted with Bikelink.org to provide 40 secure bike lockers in seven on-campus locations. Capacity has increased 65% since 2014-15 with the installation of more Bikelink.org lockers at new locations at UCSC facilities.
While several campus buildings offer shower facilities (Kerr Hall, Baskin Engineering, Communications, Barn G, McHenry Library), a Bike Commuter Shower Program is also available at the East Field House at no cost for commuting staff and faculty. Secure interior parking is available to staff at McHenry Library. The campus also features "Bike Fixit Stations" in five on-campus locations. Additionally, a 19-passenger Bike Shuttle operates between an off-campus location and the upper area of the Main Campus throughout the regular year, making 26 trips a day during the regular academic period to transport bike commuters 700' vertical feet. This provided 28,700 rides in 17-18. The 2,000 acre campus includes 5.9 miles of Class I and Class II bike routes.
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)?:
A brief description of the bicycle parking and storage facilities:
More than 260 bike racks provide parking capacity for over 3,300 bikes. The majority of these racks are Lighting Bolt racks (the currently-preferred standard) and inverted-U racks. A total of 40 bike locker spaces operated through BikeLink.org are now installed at campus locations.
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?:
A brief description of the bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy:
A Campus Bicycle Plan was adopted in 2008, while a Pedestrian Plan has been in development since 2013. While the 2,000 acre campus is crossed by four roadways and the central campus includes numerous service roads and pedestrian pathways, designated Class I and II bike routes existing primarily between the two campus entrances and the campus core. One of these, the Great Meadow Bike Path, is a Class I path constructed in the 1970s that spans 1.6 miles and climbs approximately 400 feet in elevation—offering beautiful views through the campus grasslands and across Monterey Bay. One critical portion of this bike path was reconstructed in 2016 for safety improvements, with Phase 2 reconstruction on the remaining portions expected in 2020.
Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:
The UCSC Bike Library is a student-run program providing students free access to multi-gear mountain bikes on a quarterly basis. 28 bikes are currently available, with participation levels averaging between 70-80%. In addition, JUMP bikeshare has been available to UCSC affiliates in the City of Santa Cruz (and can be used on campus) since Spring 2018, with negotiations to bring JUMP formally to campus underway with a Spring 2019 launch expected.
Does the institution offer free or reduced price transit passes and/or operate a free campus shuttle for commuters?:
A brief description of the mass transit programs:
UCSC TAPS Campus Transit provides Day & Night Shuttles and Disability Van Service on-campus without any fare to the passenger.
UCSC established a service contract with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD) in 1972, providing every registered student “fare-free” transit access throughout Santa Cruz County. This “fare-free” arrangement was extended to UCSC employees in July 1989. As of 2018-19, the quarterly cost of the Student Transit Fee was $111 and the Faculty/Staff monthly Bus Pass was $16 — compared with the SCMTD’s Monthly Adult Bus Pass cost of $65. Additionally, Faculty/Staff Bus Passes qualify for pre-tax options when paid for through payroll deduction. SCMTD operates eight transit routes to the UCSC campus from 6:25am until 12:40am weekdays, and from 7:00am until 11:40pm weekends. Headways range from every 15-minutes to every 5-minutes. Average daily weekday ridership during 2017-18 was 11,634 students and 438 faculty/staff; annual UCSC ridership on SCMTD totaled more than 2.5 million passengers.
UCSC’s Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) department operates a variety of other transit services geared toward the student community. These include: Day and Night Shuttles to accommodate intra-campus travel, a weekday Bike Shuttle, and the Disability Van Service providing paratransit service on-campus. The school-term service schedule spans weekdays from 7:25am until 1:15am, and operates weekends from 6:00pm until 2:45am. Campus Transit ridership exceeded 2.13 million passengers during 2017-18.
Does the institution offer a guaranteed return trip program to regular users of alternative modes of transportation?:
A brief description of the guaranteed return trip program:
The Emergency Ride Home (ERH) is available to all campus commuters participating in the Commuter Vanpool Program or holding a UCSC Carpool parking permit.
Does the institution participate in a car/vanpool or ride sharing program and/or offer reduced parking fees or preferential parking for car/vanpoolers?:
A brief description of the carpool/vanpool program:
UCSC TAPS provides all three: ride-sharing services through Zimride, discounted Carpool parking fees, and subsidized Commuter Vanpools owned and operated by UCSC. 14 Commuter Vanpool routes operating from locations within Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Monterey counties transport more than 140 UCSC commuters each day. The Zimride ride-matching program, has served approximately 1,200 students and 58 employees in the 17-18 year.
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?:
A brief description of the car sharing program:
Now in its 12th year, UCSC's contractual arrangement with Zipcar provides 23 on-campus and nine off-campus car-share vehicles available to campus affiliates and the local community. More than 9,400 members have joined since 2006, while school-term utilization consistently exceeds 38%.
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:
17 Level 2 EV charging station portals managed by ChargePoint are available to campus commuters and visitors parking at the Core West Parking Structure and Coastal Science Campus. Overall utilization has been growing significantly since their activation in Fall 2013. Six additional Level 2 charger portals and 42 Level 1 charging portals are scheduled for installation by December, 2019.
Does the institution offer a telecommuting program for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
A brief description of the telecommuting program:
Telecommuting arrangements are made between staff and their supervisors; no statistics have been kept or collected regarding the number of official telecommuting employees. However, many UCSC staff and faculty conduct a portion of their regular workday or augment their workday with telecommuting work outside their normal work schedule.
Does the institution offer a condensed work week option that reduces employee commuting (as a matter of policy or standard practice)?:
A brief description of the condensed work week option:
Depending on the nature of their work and other issues, an employee may request to work four 10-hour days each week instead of five 8-hour days.
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:
239 on-campus/near-campus units (188 for-sale and 51 rental) are available under the Employee Housing Program. An additional 7 College Provosts and 23 Coordinators of Residential Education (CREs) reside in on-campus units.
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)?:
A brief description of other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting:
Nearly half of UCSC's 18,765 students reside on-campus.
Since 1999 a Bike Shuttle (a cutaway bus towing a trailer) holds up to 19 bicyclists per trip and provides a ride up the steep 700-foot hill from Santa Cruz to the UCSC campus. UCSC TAPS conducts Bike Safety classes several times each academic quarter, as well as Bike Light and Bike Helmet Giveaway events and weekly Bike Maintenance workshops.
UCSC has partnered with various vehicle manufacturers (ie. Nissan, Ford, Honda, BMW) to offer campus affiliates significant discounts for the purchase or lease of electric vehicles to further reduce GHGs from commute and personal use.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.