Free transit passes to help discourage driving to work

BY JIA-RUI CHONG

If $160 cash back is not enough incentive to keep single drivers from taking their cars to campus, how about free rides on public transportation and prizes awarded by a roving Mystery Alternative Transportation Hero?

This fall, Parking and Transportation Services is rolling out new incentives for faculty and staff to prevent traffic from getting worse on campus. A university-wide "Eco Pass" pilot program, providing free rides on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) buses, light rail and paratransit, Caltrain, the Dumbarton Express and the Santa Cruz Express, will run from Sept. 1 through the end of December. The university then will decide whether to implement the program permanently. The program does not include BART and SamTrans.

"Commute Club," a new rewards program, educational initiative and chummy circle of like-minded people, opens Aug. 5. Stanford community members who work more than half time and do not buy a single-driver parking permit will be eligible to join and receive a mug, invitations to commuters-only parties and a pin to wear on special days when a mystery agent will be spotting members and distributing prizes. Under the Commute Club program, carpoolers and vanpoolers also can snatch up daily parking passes and reserved parking spaces.

As annual parking permit holders begin thinking about renewal, Robin E. Rolls, transportation demand management coordinator, hopes that Stanford community members will choose to help the university comply with General Use Permit limits on the number of cars that can be on campus during the peak commute hours. If the number of cars on campus from 8 to 9 a.m. and from 5 to 6 p.m. grows more than 1 percent, the university will have to pay for costly improvements to intersections such as upgrades on traffic lights or turning lanes.

"The emphasis of the program is about encouraging folks to not drive alone in their cars and to consider the alternatives," Rolls said.

But the program isn't an all or nothing proposition, she emphasized. Although people who choose to buy a parking permit cannot join Commute Club, they still will receive an Eco Pass and can take advantage of the pre-tax payroll deduction for parking permits, other transit passes and commuter checks.

"I'm not a zealot. I know people have kids they have to take to day care or school. But we're just trying to get people to use something else one or two days a week," Rolls said.

As part of the Commute Club initiative, Parking and Transportation Services also will be adding some informational resources to their website. "Most people don't know how costly it is to operate a car and drive it to Stanford every day," Rolls said. Soon, people will find an online calculator that tallies up this figure -- adding in the price of gas, maintenance, higher insurance premiums for everyday commuting and depreciation from general wear and tear.

Although Stanford already offers many incentives not to commute alone by car, such as Clean Air Cash refunds and "commuter consultants" who can help find the best bicycle route from your house to your office, Commute Club consolidates these programs under one umbrella and puts the focus on membership. Also, it gives alternative transportation a higher profile on campus. "Those who are doing it get a sense of belonging and get to go to events where they can talk about the ideas and issues of using other forms of transportation," Rolls said.

But beyond the prizes and parties is a serious commitment, said Brodie Hamilton, director of Parking and Transportation Services. "With all of our major efforts put together, we'll have one of, if not the most, comprehensive trip reduction measures on college campuses."

And there are still more projects in the works. A car share program that lets Stanford staff rent cars by the hour via an online reservation system is under review for the fall. In the spring of 2003, there may be an express bus to the East Bay.

• Parking and Transportation Services