West Virginia University
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

WVU used data gathered from three major spokes of our transportation system and our course scheduling data to discern commuting behavior: ridership of the PRT, ridership of campus and city (subsidized by WVU) buses, and parking space occupancy. In FY19, 2,577 students were exclusively enrolled in distance education and so we have excluded this population from our calculation. 4,510 students obtained a daily parking pass for use during the 2018-2019 school year. We have 10 short term parking lots (a total of 1,368 parking spots) on campus that are approximately 90% full on a daily basis. We estimate 50% of who utilizes short term parking are repeat users. So we calculate 616 students out of the total student population regularly use short term parking spaces. We also provide approximately 1,200 free daily parking spots at the Coliseum. We estimate 60% of who utilizes the Coliseum parking lot are regular users. So we calculate 720 students use this parking lot daily. The remaining 20,279 students of the student population utilize alternative transportation modes to get around campus on a daily basis. This population is made up of students living on campus, students living in apartment complexes that provide shuttle service, those who live close to campus that use the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), public bus service, walk and bike to school. Below are alternative transportation services that are available to all students.

Zipcar - WVU offers a short-term rental car sharing program called Zipcar. Zipcar is available 24/7 to provide students, faculty, and staff with a great method of alternative transportation. As part of our WE GO! campaign to promote alternative transportation, Zipcar vehicles are conveniently located on both the Evansdale and Downtown Campuses.

Mountain Line - A free bus service for faculty, staff and students with a valid WVU ID. The Mountain Line offers WVU specific routes, city/county routes and to Pittsburgh, PA.

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) - A one-of-a-kind personal rapid transit system was designed and developed for WVU by Boeing in the early 1970's and is still operational to this day. The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of WVU and the city's downtown area. The PRT consists of a fleet of 69 electronically powered, rubber-tired vehicles operating on 8.7 miles of dedicated guideway. students, faculty, and staff may ride the PRT for free with valid WVU ID.

Class Scheduling (modifications that encourage walking to class) -
The Morgantown campus of WVU is actually broken into three separate campuses, Downtown, Evansdale, and Health Sciences Center. See below for attached map. General Education Course sections have traditionally been in Downtown Campus classrooms. However during the 2018-2019 school year, 289 of those classes moved to the Evansdale Campus. The Provost’s Office wanted to incorporate more GEC/GEF classes that were traditionally scheduled Downtown to the Evansdale campus for many reasons. They wanted to simplify student schedules so that a student living on the Evansdale Campus or majoring in an Evansdale based major can take all classes on one campus. Another goal was to reduce traffic by car, the PRT, and the bus system. They also wanted to reduce the classroom load on the Downtown Campus, which is traditionally utilized at around 90% during peak hours. Moving some sections to the Evansdale campus helped accomplish all of these goals.

WVU used data gathered from three areas of our employee transportation programs which include full-time parking permits, occasional parker program, and carpooling program. 3,071 employees obtained a daily parking pass in FY19. Approximately 160 people work evening shift and park on campus without the need of a parking pass. We estimate that 25% of the remaining 2,578 employees utilize sustainable transportation. Using the data we know and the total we estimate, 645 employees out of the total employee population use sustainable transportation. Below are alternative transportation services that are available to employees.

Occasional Parker Program - Employees can opt not to get a full-time parking pass, but can enroll in the OPP to receive 18 free scratch off permits per year. In FY19 there were 107 employees enrolled in the program.

WVU Carpool Program - In FY19 there were 30 employees enrolled in the program.

Zipcar - WVU offers a short-term rental car sharing program called Zipcar. Zipcar is available 24/7 to provide students, faculty, and staff with a great method of alternative transportation. As part of our WE GO! campaign to promote alternative transportation, Zipcar vehicles are conveniently located on both the Evansdale and Downtown Campuses.

Mountain Line - A free bus service for faculty, staff and students with a valid WVU ID. The Mountain Line offers WVU specific routes, city/county routes and to Pittsburgh, PA.

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) - A one-of-a-kind personal rapid transit system was designed and developed for WVU by Boeing in the early 1970's and is still operational to this day. The system connects the three Morgantown campuses of WVU and the city's downtown area. The PRT consists of a fleet of 69 electronically powered, rubber-tired vehicles operating on 8.7 miles of dedicated guideway. students, faculty, and staff may ride the PRT for free with valid WVU ID.