Prices for parking permits to increase; new free bus for East Bay commuters
BY MICHAEL PENA
Parking and Transportation Services has raised the price of parking permits slightly, with increases averaging 4 percent across all permit types, said P&TS Director Brodie Hamilton.
The price of a 12-month "A" permit is $486, compared with $468 last year. Twelve-month "C" permits cost $162 each, up from $156 last year. One-day A and C "scratchers" will sell for $9.75 and $3.75, respectively -- compared with last year's rates of $9 and $3.50.
The increases, spread over a year, amount to 50 cents per month for year-round C permits, Hamilton said, and $1.50 per month for a year-round A permit. Prices held steady during the 2003-04 academic year, when a salary freeze was in effect. This year's increase comes as raises are reinstituted, Hamilton said.
Current permits expire Aug. 31, and P&TS is taking orders for new ones. They can be purchased in person at 340 Bonair Siding; however, officials suggest going through http://transportation.stanford.edu to avoid long lines. Ordering online can be completed in less than two minutes, said Robin Rolls, transportation demand management coordinator.
The department also has partnered with AC Transit to offer East Bay commuters a new transit option, called East Bay Express, starting Sept. 1. AC Transit refers to the service as the U-Line, which will run between the Fremont BART station and campus, over the Dumbarton Bridge. The line will have six stops and is expected to take a little less than an hour for a one-way trip, Rolls said. University and Hospital employees can ride for free by showing a valid university ID card (no EcoPass needed).
Hamilton said the service is a two-year pilot program, with AC Transit bearing most of the costs. The East Bay stops include the Fremont BART station, the Centerville Amtrak/ACE train station and the Ardenwood park-and-ride lot. On the Peninsula, the bus will stop at the Oval, Stanford Medical Center and the University Avenue Caltrain station in Palo Alto. Weekday operation will include three scheduled trips in both directions during each morning and afternoon commute period. The general public can ride the U-Line for $3.
After reviewing Stanford employees' home zip codes, P&TS identified 2,000 potential users from the East Bay and Central Valley towns such as Tracy, Modesto and Turlock. Hamilton said surveys are being sent out to market the new service and gauge interest in the U-Line.
AC Transit secured $1.3 million in federal grant money, supplemented by $50,000 from the university for the first year, according to Jaimie Levin, the transit agency's spokesman. And while Stanford's commitment is for two years, Levin said the money AC Transit has secured may allow the agency to extend the life of the U-Line into 2007. The annual cost of the service is $413,000, Levin said.
"We hope to run it for three years," said Levin, adding that the new line's future depends on whether or not the buses are filled. "It's obviously a demonstration."
On Thursday, Aug. 26, members of the campus community will get their first look at one of these Express buses, which will be parked on the Oval from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. P&TS staff will be on hand to answer questions.
The first bus leaves Fremont BART at 6 a.m., with morning service ending at the same station at 8:16 a.m. Afternoon departures from the Oval are scheduled for 3:06, 4:06 and 5:06 p.m. Visit the P&TS website for a full timetable. The U-Line will supplement AC Transit's Dumbarton Express, which runs between the Union City BART station and the Palo Alto Caltrain station -- where it connects with the Marguerite.
The free shuttle, along with other ongoing P&TS programs, will bolster this year's effort to reduce solo-commuter trips onto campus, Hamilton said. Taking the "un-commute" is the department's marketing campaign to encourage employees to take the train, bus, bike, carpool or vanpool, and to apply for Clean-Air Cash -- a program that rewards non-solo drivers $40 cash per quarter. Rolls said applications will be accepted until Nov. 30, but the department prefers that employees not wait until the last minute. Applicants are automatically entered into a drawing, to be held in January, for a trip to Disneyland.
"We've kicked it up another notch," Hamilton said. "We're trying to throw some fun stuff out there."
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