Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.17
Liaison Emily Vollmer
Submission Date May 16, 2024

STARS v2.2

Virginia Tech
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.18 / 5.00 Nick Quint
Transportation Network Manager
Alternative Transportation
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total full-time equivalent student enrollment:
36,207.40

Full-time equivalent of employees:
8,270.36

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:
69

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about student commuting:
The percentage of students who drive alone to campus was calculated by utilizing parking permit data from the 2022-2023 academic year. This percentage does not include on-campus students, the vast majority of which walk to class. They were excluded since they already live on campus. This data also does not take into account the students who ride motorcycles or zero-emission vehicles, but it is believed that those numbers are relatively low.

In addition to calculating the percentage of people who drive alone, Sustainable Transportation conducts a biennial survey to determine mode split. The purpose of this survey is to afford Transportation Services a more thorough understanding of how people commute to, from, and around the Blacksburg campus. The most recent survey was conducted in 2022 and involved a self-selected sample. Ultimately, 935 student survey responses were collected, accounting for 2.8% of all students. Results of this survey were used to answer some of the other questions in this section.

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:
40

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about employee commuting:
The percentage of employees who drive alone to campus was calculated by utilizing parking permit data from the 2022-2023 academic year. This data does not take into account the employees who ride motorcycles or zero-emission vehicles, but it is believed that those numbers are relatively low.

In addition to calculating the percentage of people who drive alone, Sustainable Transportation conducts a biennial survey to determine mode split. The purpose of this survey is to afford Transportation Services a more thorough understanding of how people commute to, from, and around the Blacksburg campus. The most recent survey was conducted in 2022 and involved a self-selected sample. Ultimately, 805 employee survey responses were collected, accounting for 9.4% of all employees. Results of this survey were used to answer some of the other questions in this section.

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 30.50 58.40
Zero-emissions vehicle 0.50 1
Walk, cycle, or other non-motorized mode 34 15
Vanpool or carpool 6 6
Public transport or campus shuttle 28 4
Motorcycle, motorized scooter/bike, or moped 0.70 0.60
Distance education / telecommute --- 15

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:
---

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.