Parking & Transportation Services
eUpdate
June 2013 edition

Did you know that sitting for prolonged periods increases your health risk and that drive-alone commuting is one of the activities cited as contributing to a sedentary lifestyle? The good news is that now you can receive additional rewards for increasing your physical activity by walking or biking for your commute.

Stanford’s Capri (Congestion and Parking Relief Incentives) program recently introduced My Beats. It’s a smartphone app for iPhone and Android that enables participants to earn credits for each direction of their bike or walk commute to and from campus. The credits can be redeemed for multiple chances to win cash prizes of $1 to $50 in an online game.

Capri continues to reward eligible permit holders for driving during off-peak times for their commute. Avoiding peak-hour trips while driving helps reduce the amount of time spent sitting in traffic and reduces emissions, while also supporting the university’s transportation goal under the General Use Permit (GUP) (PDF).

Peak times to avoid driving are main campus arrivals between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and departures between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Peak-commute time restrictions do not apply to bike, walk, and transit commuters, who support the university’s goals by not driving a vehicle to campus.

Visit stanfordcapri.org to enroll in Capri for off-peak commuting or to download the My Beats app to earn biking and walking commute credits and “Walk N Talk” meeting credits. Contact the Capri team if you have questions.

Are you tired of pouring money into your gas tank? Mark your calendar for Thursday, June 20, National Dump the Pump Day, and start saving on gas!

As an added incentive, Stanford Parking & Transportation Services will offer free breakfast treats on June 20 at the Palo Alto Caltrain station between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. (while supplies last).

The Palo Alto Transit Center is a hub for multiple transit services, including Caltrain, VTA, SamTrans, Dumbarton Express, and Stanford’s free Marguerite shuttle. Secure bike parking is available at the station through Bikestation.

Need help taking transit? To request a free transit and/or bike commute plan, visit our do-it-yourself or custom (we do it for you) commute planning request page.

Riding transit this summer could help you save even more at a time when gas prices are typically higher. It also promotes better health by reducing stress and increasing your physical activity. Why not try it on June 20, and get a free breakfast treat along the way?

If you have questions or need assistance, contact us at commuteclub@stanford.edu.

More than 1,870 bicycle commuters and 220 walkers were counted coming onto campus for the Bay Area’s 19^th annual Bike to Work Day in May. Participation increased by approximately 500 riders over last year.

Among the more than 1,870 Stanford riders, 715 commuters reported their mileage, logging a total of 3,820 miles and averaging 5.3 miles per trip. By biking instead of driving, these commuters eliminated an estimated 3,460* pounds of CO₂ emissions on Bike to Work Day.

More than just numbers, Bike to Work Day also resulted in anecdotal success. Graduate student and Commute Club member Chunhua Zheng recalled in Tell Us Your Story how a previous Bike to Work Day changed her commute and her life for the better. “Without Bike-to-Work Day,” she wrote, “I may never have discovered the joys of biking to work.” Read her story.

Stanford co-hosted a dozen Energizer Stations in partnership with Stanford Hospital, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and SLAC. Riders were greeted with smiles and snacks and invited to enter prize drawings for those who logged their mileage or took the Bike Safety Pledge.

Bike Safety Pledge Winner. Owen Palmer, Stanford Hospital, was the lucky winner of a Fuji Crosstown bike donated by the Campus Bike Shop. His name was drawn from among 566 bicyclists who took the Bike Safety Pledge on Bike to Work Day.

Bike to Work Ride Department Breakfast Winner. The Freidenrich Center for Translational Research (FCTR) won the Bike to Work Ride Department Breakfast, which challenged Stanford departments to saddle up and ride on Bike to Work Day and during National Bike Month in May. The FCTR team’s ride on May 9, Bike to Work Day, included Lee Doherty, Lauren Masaki, Dan Hu, Brenda Hann, Megan Terry, and Richard Garth Rhoads.

Walk Commute Winners. Nicole Bridges (Stanford University) and Elizabeth Stark (Stanford Hospital), each won a $100 gift certificate to the Walking Company for walking to work on Bike to Work Day.

Stanford’s Bicycle Program encourages all riders to bike safely, wear a helmet for every ride, and follow the rules of the road. For bike questions and assistance, please send email to bike-information@stanford.edu.

* The per-mile emissions factor used for automobiles is 0.411 kg CO₂ per mile (or 0.906 lb. CO₂ per mile). This is based upon an average passenger vehicle fuel economy of 21.4 mpg (2011) figure from U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics).

Preliminary results from this year’s Commute Survey indicate that Stanford’s drive-alone commuters are on the road longer for their commutes, with commutes taking 30 minutes or more for approximately 52 percent of Stanford drive-alone commuters in 2013 compared to 46 percent in 2012.

The initial finding is consistent with a recent INRIX Traffic Scorecard report indicating the Bay Area is among the most congested metro areas in North America, with San Francisco coming in third and San Jose ninth.

Stanford’s sustainable transportation users indicate cost savings, stress reduction or health improvements, and financial incentives as the top three reasons they choose to commute by bus, train, walking, carpooling, or vanpooling instead of driving alone. They also continue to rank the free Caltrain Go Pass and VTA Eco Pass for eligible commuters among the top reasons for choosing sustainable transportation, increasing from 37 percent of respondents in 2012 to 41 percent in 2013.

P&TS thanks the more than 13,715 Stanford affiliates who responded to Stanford’s annual Commute Survey. We are pleased to announce the winners in the 2013 Commute Survey prize drawings:

For chances to win other prizes, be sure to respond to the P&TS Commute Survey next year and participate in the upcoming Commute Club Fall Promotion.

If you would like help creating a better commute, contact us at commuteclub@stanford.edu or 650.736.9923. For questions or comments about the P&TS Commute Survey, send an email to commutesurvey@stanford.edu.

New airport Zipcars. Zipcar announced new airport Zipcars. You’ll find them at airports in Los Angeles, San Jose, New York, and Phoenix, among other locations nationally and internationally. Airport Zipcars work the same way as other Zipcars: Reserve the car and scan in for a fast and easy airport exit and return.

Free department Zipcar accounts. Airport Zipcars make free department memberships even more useful. Departments at Stanford can create a free department account and charge reservations for department business directly to a Stanford PCard. There’s no fee to sign up and no limit on the number of members a department may add to the account. Employees who have both a department and an individual Zipcar account are prompted to choose which account will be billed when making Zipcar reservations.

Zipcar $50 summer promotion. To help you get around this summer (and beyond), Zipcar is offering $50 in driving credit to Stanford affiliates who join Zipcar through July 29. As a member, you’ll be able to reserve a Zipcar by the hour or day to visit friends, run errands, or take a day trip. Rates start at $7.50 an hour, and gas and insurance are always included. Get $50 in driving credit by joining today for $25 and using the promotion code solstice at zipcar.com/stanford.

Zipcar overnight for $36. Zipcars are not just for day trips. Sometimes you need a Zipcar overnight. Stanford is among a handful of universities whose members enjoy overnight weeknight discounts. Reserve a Zipcar from 6 p.m. to 8:30 a.m., Monday through Thursday, and it’ll cost you $36 for the entire 14-hour period (normally, more than $100).

What is Zipcar? Zipcar at Stanford is a self-service, on-demand car sharing program for university and hospital employees and for Stanford students ages 18 and over. Zipcars can be accessed 24/7 with a membership card; reservations are made online or by phone; and rates start at $7.50 per hour, including gas and insurance.