Transportation - Commuting
The University of Washington Seattle Campus uses a combination of strategies to make it easier for people to choose less impactful modes of transportation including our UPass transit pass program, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly policies, and commuting events such as 'Ride in the Rain', a winter bicycling competition that attracts over 1,100 participants.
We use 'mode split' - the percentage of trips made using each transportation option, as a measurment of progress in the area. The following image shows our mode split graphically:
We’re seeing slow, but positive trends over time. Walking and transit have increased while driving alone has decreased. We’re currently at 21% driving alone. We’re working to get below 20%.
What you can do
Take advantage of resources that make it easier to use less impactful commuting modes:
One Bus Away is an online service that tells you where your bus is in real time from your phone or computer allowing you to minimize waiting.
ASUW bike shop: The Associated Students of UW Bike Shop is a full service bicycle repair facility that operates Monday through Friday (Condon Hall room 145 until the HUB reopens). The goal of the ASUW Bike Shop is to provide the most affordable and fastest bicycle repair service in the area and their focus is not on turning a profit but rather on providing a service to the UW community.
Telecommuting
Consider a no-commute option. The UW has telework policies for Professional and Classified Staff:
UW IT Connect supports teleworking by providing VoIP Phones which allow UW faculty and staff to connect to the UW phone system from home:
Academics:
The UW has a new laboratory to study transportation: The TransNow TransLab is a "facility that encourages multi-disciplinary interaction and collaboration of researchers in our three transportation theme areas: Traffic, Freight and Infrastructure":
Read about the laboratory in UWeek:
Resources
Past commuting reports are available online:
Fleet
The fleet includes all vehicles owned by the campus such as cars, trucks, and carts. It does not include lawnmowers or other off-road vehicles.
Number of vehicles in fleet:
634 Seattle
2 Bothell
7 Tacoma
643 Total
Number of vehicles
X
100 percent electric
4
□
Diesel-electric hybrid
X
Fueled with B20 or higher biofuel for more than 6 months of the year
46
□
Fueled with E85 or higher ethanol for more than 6 months of the year
X
Gasoline-electric hybrid
59
□
Hydrogen fueled
X
Plug-in hybrid
3
NOTE: the sustainability brochure talks about all the cool ways Fleet services tries to protect the environment, but there is no sense of that from this web page.
Professional travel
Delivery vehicles
Facilities & Custodial Services are working to consolidate deliveries