The Campus Environmental Audit: Transportation

Transportation at the University of Pennsylvania

Transportation Programs at Other Universities

Introduction

Everyday over 40,000 people come to the University of Pennsylvania. By train, foot, bike, or car, the mode of transportation is a function of a person's distance from campus, access to different transportation modes, and economic constraints. However, as each person travels to campus, there is also a complementary impact on the environment, primarily levels of air quality.

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Transportation at the University of Pennsylvania

Organizational Mission and Structure

Transportation at the University of Pennsylvania is organized through the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation and Parking. Located on the fourth floor of the 3401 Walnut Building, the department has three primary objectives:

manage campus parking lots and garages

manage Penn Escort and other ride sharing programs

plan transportation infrastructure

Bicycles are of primary management by Departments of Facilities Planning and Public Safety.

Transportation Infrastructure

The University of Pennsylvania is situated along many major roads and is approximately 7 blocks from the nearest highway. The University has 51 parking lots(7,062 spaces), 3 on campus Southeast Transportation Authority(SEPTA) stations, 5 off campus SEPTA stations within 3 blocks of campus, 4 buslines, and ample area to walk. Regional rail lines from the suburbs of Philadelphia arrive at 30th St. Station and University City Station. Passengers can then transfer to SEPTA or walk to campus.

Students, faculty and staff walk on many walkways and sidewalks. Areas closed off to traffic include Locust Walk(34 - 40th and Locust St.), Smith Walk(33rd to 34th and Locust St.), Hamilton Walk(34th to 38th and Pine St.), and the Shearson Quadrangle(36th - 38th St. between Spruce and Locust).

The University has no formal bike paths on campus.

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Relevant Environmental Concepts

Mobile sources such as motor vehicles are the source of approximately two thirds of carbon monoxide emissions and nearly half the smog forming emissions.(1) In addition, transportation is responsible for about one-third of the air pollutants that affect the ozone layer.(2) The extent of these effects are dependent on the mode of transportation taken, the amount driven, vehicle maintenance, and fuel usage.

Transit buses with as few as seven passengers use less fuel per passenger mile than typical cars with one driver. A fully loaded rail car is 15 times more energy efficient than an average car. Carpooling in pairs by 100 employees traveling 20 miles a day during 2 business weeks reduces emissions approximately in half, cutting 75 pounds of hydrocarbons, 30 pounds of nitrous oxides, 550 pounds of carbon monoxide, and 9,900 pounds of carbon dioxide in two weeks. Finally bicycling and walking represent a 100 percent drop in vehicle emissions.(3)

Environmental effects can also be decreased due to the avoidance of high speeds, smooth driving, and maintenance of proper tire pressure. More specifically:

speeds above 55 mph typically decrease gas mileage by approximately 2% per mile above 55 mph.

gaining speed slowly saves as much as two miles per gallon.

maintaining tires every pound per square inch below the proper level increases fuel consumption by 0.4 percent.

Efforts to promote alternative transportation and limit the demand for parking are collectively referred to as transportation demand management(TDM). These efforts aim to eliminate trips to work, shift trips from a more congested time to a less congested one, or switch transportation modes. Attracting solo drivers to carpools or mass transit, shifting work schedules, allowing for employees to work at home and managing parking supply are among the methods employed by TDM.(4)

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The Audit

To define the effects of the University of Pennsylvania purchases on the environment, the Green University Audit detailed the following transportation questions:

1. How do people get to campus every day?

2. What are the estimated percentages by each mode? (Single-occupancy vehicle, vanpool, bicycle, carpool, transit, walking.)

3. How many vehicles travel to campus daily?

4. How far do people commute on average?

5. What percentage of UPenn's campus area is devoted to roads and parking lots?

6. Does UPenn have a program to promote ride-sharing? (e.g. carpool, matching services, preferential parking, reduced parking rates, subsidized vanpools) Describe.

7. Are transit passes subsidized for students, staff, or faculty? Describe.

8. Does UPenn have enough parking to meet the demand?

9. Is it campus policy to provide parking to meet demand?

10. Are students, staff, and faculty charged for parking? How much?

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The Results

Transportation

Surveys of University of Pennsylvania employee(faculty & staff) transportation usage were conducted in 1989 and 1995. As seen by Figure 7, the percent of employees that drive has increased overall, yet there has been higher usage of carpools. Utilization of mass transit has decreased while walking and biking has increased.

According to 1995 data, statistics reveal:

44.7% vehicle usage

1.19 average passenger vehicle occupancy

Ê2.23 average passenger occupancy

The respective emissions by Penn Employees are:

212.60 tons of hydrocarbons,

84.4 tons of nitrous oxides

1783.9 tons of carbon monoxide,

Ê28026.15 tons of CO2

Penn has capacity for 7,062 parking spaces, of which approximately 5,700 are permit parking and 1,400 are transient spaces. The campus is also surrounded by metered and non metered parking. Average parking rates(Table 6) are $2.71 per day for permit parking and $6.50 and up per day for transient parking.5 It is estimated that 10-15% of Penn's campus is devoted to roads and 20-30% to parking lots.(6)

The average length of employee travel has never been calculated or surveyed.

Transportation Demand Management

Parking rates(see Table 6) on campus is based on economics rather than demand. There is presently a waiting list of 2700 for parking spaces representing people that: (1) have parking spaces and are looking for improved placement and (2) are looking for parking spaces. At the beginning of the school year, the University offered everyone on the waiting list a parking space, yet the 2700 denied the offer primarily due to their preference for their present parking space.

Table 6: University of Penn Parking Rates
Class 1 - Fac/Staff Garages	$1,038
Class 2 - Fac/Staff Core Commuter	$711
Class 3 - Fac/Staff Peripheral Commuter	$594
Class 4 - Fac/Staff Remote Commuter	$435
Class 5 - Student Commuter	$495
Class 6 - 24-Hour	$951
Class 7 - Evening: 4pm-11pm	$297

Penn promotes alternative transportation in a variety of fashions. Less than five percent of employees participate in a program that gives preferential parking to car-poolers. Six percent of the employees participate in the Compass program, receiving 10% discounts on monthly transpassses. There is a vanpool program that transports approximately 60 employees to Penn per day.(7)

During business hours, Locust Walk the primary walkway on campus, doesn't permit any bicycles. All major roads are very congested in the morning rush hours and cyclists are in particular danger at most intersections. The University maintains approximately 1500 bicycle parking slots, of varying rack design(Figure 8), that are strategically placed throughout campus.(8) Penn primarily installs the L bike racks due to their reduced cost over alternative designs.

Figure 8

The U Shaped Bike Rack

The L Shaped Bike Rack

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Transportation Programs at Other Universities

University of Wisconsin at Madison

With one highest per capita campus rates of bicycle use in the country, University of Wisconsin(UW)'s Transportation is focusing transportation demand efforts on reducing automobile dependency. Utilizing twelve years of annual survey data, the University is instituting a flex time program that replaces five eight hour days with four ten hour days in order to reduce rush hour congestion and respective air pollutants that could increase probability of non-attainment. UW is designating shared parking spaces(Figure 9), coordinating parking schedules, and offering parking passes for limited days per week.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel has designed an innovative program to encourage ride sharing. The program, run by an excel database, matches vans to carpool lists, and is coordinated by 270 coordination specialists. Representatives from all departments post announcements, provide information and talk to new employees. Rideshare participants are encouraged by the allotment of multiple licenses on a parking permit. This enables car-poolers to rotate vehicles and share permit costs. In addition, confidence is assured through an assistance program which jump starts vehicles, fixes flats and retrieves locked keys.

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Recommendations and Conclusions

Structural

Transportation management in the University is divided between three departments: Transportation, Parking, and Facilities Planning. In order to effectively manage all modes of transportation holistically, there needs to be centralization of these departments or mechanisms of communication and education. I was surprised to find the Department of Transportation knew very little about bicycles. The simplest means to accomplish a systems approach to transportation is regular meetings and open communication.

Greening

1. Problem: Air quality is most critical during rush hour(i.e., more people are driving).

Solution: The University of Pennsylvania should encourage use of compressed work schedules by revising human resource policies.

2. Opportunity: Transportation impacts and the need for future parking spaces can be reduced by encouraging carpooling and decreasing single drivers.

Solution 1: Redistributing parking spaces, giving preference to employees that participate in car and van pools. Signs should be utilized to signal parking priority. Solution 2: Allowing parking permits to have multiple users.

Solution 3: Allowing parking permits to be used on limited days per week.

Solution 4: Designing a University of Pennsylvania ride sharing program to match vans and carpool lists. Volunteer liaisons at all academic and administrative departments should be appointed to educate users and facilitate participation.

4. Problem: Mass transit, the transportation mode of minimum environmental impact for people who need to travel a considerable distance, has had decreased usage by 14% between 1989 and 1995.

Solution: The University of Pennsylvania should organize focus groups in conjunction with SEPTA to discuss the reasons for the decrease in usage of public transportation in the past six years and mechanisms to increase usage.

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1US Environmental Protection Agency, ÒAutomobiles and Carbon Monoxide,Ó Office of Mobile Sources, Fact Sheet OMS-3, January 1993, pg. 1. 2US Environmental Protection Agency, ÒAutomobiles and Ozone,Ó Office of Mobile Sources, Fact Sheet OMS-4, January 1993, pg. 1 3 US Environmental Protection Agency, ÒYour Car and the Environment,Ó Air and Radiation, Document EPA 420-k-93-001, September 1993, pg.9. 4 Genevive Giuliano , ÒTransportation Demand Management: Promise or Pancea,Ó APA Journal, Summer 1992, p. 327. 5 Employer Trip Reduction Plan, University of Pennsylvania, pg. 3. 6 Information provided by University of Facilities Planning. 7 University of Pennsylvania Transportation and Parking Departments. 8 Information provided by University of Pennsylvania Facilities Planning.