Overall Rating Reporter - expired
Overall Score
Liaison Michelle Patterson
Submission Date March 6, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Washington University in St. Louis
OP-17: Employee Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete Reporter Clara Steyer
Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total percentage of the institution’s employees that use more sustainable commuting options as their primary method of transportation:
42.40

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about employee commuting, including the timeframe for when the analysis was conducted and how a representative sample was reached, if applicable:
The percentage indicated above is based upon the number of active parking permits assigned to WashU employees as of November 6, 2019, on the University's main campuses (Danforth, West, and North campuses). The date of November was chosen as it is the peak of parking permits distribution during the year, being far enough in the fall semester so that wait-lists have been open. As of November 6, 2019, nearly 57.6% of WashU employees had received an individual parking permit. This means that the other 42.4% likely didn't use their personal vehicle as their primary mode of transportation going to the university, and therefore we can assume that they used a sustainable mode of commute.

Optional Fields 

The percentage of the institution's employees that use each of the following modes as their primary means of transportation to and from campus::
Percentage (0-100)
Commute with only the driver in the vehicle (excluding motorcycles and scooters) 57.60
Walk, bicycle, or use other non-motorized means 17
Vanpool or carpool 4
Take a campus shuttle or public transportation 19.40
Use a motorcycle, scooter or moped 1
Telecommute for 50 percent or more of their regular work hours 1

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 percentages indicated in the optional fields below are estimations based upon the results of a Mobility Survey, a tool developed in part to assist in formulating and informing the Mobility Framework Study.The survey offers insight into the existing movement patterns of the WashU community and provides a baseline for the future development of new and improved mobility infrastructure to make a more inclusive, safe, accessible, and robust campus. The survey was distributed on-line over a 4-week period, between October 7th and November 7th, 2015. In order to represent the total community of WashU, this survey was distributed not only to students but also to faculty and staff. The representative populations were limited to those that are primarily based at the Danforth, West, North, and South campuses. In total, 1,181 people participated in the on-line survey. Additional data is available regarding: the number/percentage of public transit passes distributed to students, the number/percentage of car-share members, etc. While we have this data, we have no system in place as of yet to determine how many of these transit passes/ alternative permits are relied upon as a primary means of transport.

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.