Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.87
Liaison Daimon Eklund
Submission Date Dec. 23, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Washington, Seattle
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.33 / 5.00 Caryn Walline
Commute Options & Planning Manager
UW Transportation
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total full-time equivalent student enrollment:
54,277

Full-time equivalent of employees:
18,307

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:
93.40

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about student commuting:
From 1991-2014, the University of Washington has conducted a biennial study to evaluate awareness, use of, and satisfaction with the U-PASS transportation incentive program among university students, staff, and faculty. Since 2014 the study is now conducted annually. Findings from the survey are also used to develop ridership estimates for program pricing and transit ridership models as well as to meet the University’s reporting requirements under the Washington State Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Law.

In 2019, the basic survey methodology included:
- The UW provided its survey vendor, Northwest Research Group (NWRG), with a current sample of all UW faculty, staff, and students.
- NWRG drew a random sample from within each segment to achieve the desired number of completed surveys (assuming an overall response rate of 50%).
- All those sampled with an email address were sent an email from the UW inviting them to complete the survey online.
- Those with an email address that did not respond were contacted by phone.
- Phone contacts were continued until the minimum response rate (50%) was achieved.
- All those without an email address were contacted by telephone.
- Vendor completed comprehensive analysis and reporting in report.
- Additional analysis of data conducted by the UW to more accurately report figures entered above.

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:
66.60

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about employee commuting:
From 1991-2014, the University of Washington conducted a biennial study to evaluate awareness, use of, and satisfaction with the U-PASS transportation incentive program among university students, staff, and faculty. From 2015 moving forward, the study was conducted annually. Findings from the survey are also used to develop ridership estimates for program pricing and transit ridership models as well as to meet the University’s reporting requirements under the Washington State Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Law.

In 2019, the basic survey methodology included:
- The UW provided its survey vendor, Northwest Research Group (NWRG), with a current sample of all UW faculty, staff, and students.
- NWRG drew a random sample from within each segment to achieve the desired number of completed surveys (assuming an overall response rate of 50%).
- All those sampled with an email address were sent an email from the UW inviting them to complete the survey online.
- Those with an email address that did not respond were contacted by phone.
- Phone contacts were continued until the minimum response rate (50%) was achieved.
- All those without an email address were contacted by telephone.
- Vendor completed comprehensive analysis and reporting in report.
- Additional analysis of data conducted by the UW to more accurately report figures entered above.

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 6.60 33.40
Zero-emissions vehicle --- ---
Walk, cycle, or other non-motorized mode 41.50 10.90
Vanpool or carpool 1.30 4.50
Public transport or campus shuttle 43.70 41.30
Motorcycle, motorized scooter/bike, or moped 0.20 0.20
Distance education / telecommute 3.10 7.20

Website URL where information about student or employee commuting is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Consumer info: http://transportation.uw.edu/

The University of Washington Transportation Services office conducts a survey annually. The most recent survey was conducted in 2019. All reports can be found here: http://www.washington.edu/facilities/transportation/publications

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.