Parking & Transportation Services
eUpdate
June 2014 edition

Vice Provost for Graduate Education Patricia Gumport announced on June 11 that Provost John Etchemendy approved two Go Pass pilot programs: one for off-campus graduate students and one for off-campus postdoctoral scholars. Passes will be available for purchase for both programs beginning at the end of August or early September.

“The pilot programs are made possible by the very generous support of the Provost,” Gumport said, “along with essential co-funding from the Dean of the School of Medicine for the Go Pass Postdoc Pilot Program, and from the Graduate Student Council for the Go Pass Grad Student Pilot Program.”

Go Passes are valid for the calendar year and allow unlimited travel on Caltrain between all zones.  The prorated cost for the 2014 pass, valid for eligible graduate students and postdocs from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, will be $55 per pass. The cost for the 2015 annual pass, valid from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, will be $180. The Go Pass will continue to be available at no cost to eligible university and hospital employees.

Those eligible for the Caltrain Go Pass also could receive up to $300 per year in Clean Air Cash by joining the Stanford Commute Club, which would more than offset the out-of-pocket expense for many students and postdocs. Go Passes offer a substantial savings compared with purchasing daily or monthly fares.

Eligibility for the graduate student or postdoc Go Pass will align with the university’s employee Go Pass program, including the requirements that participants reside off-campus (in eligible zip codes) and be full-time equivalent. Graduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of six units or TGR/TMR status. More details about the program, including eligibility and purchasing details, will be available in July on the Parking & Transportation Services website.

“We hope that graduate students and postdocs will consider the Go Pass as they make housing decisions for the new academic year, so they can take full advantage of the savings and convenience the Caltrain Go Pass offers,” Gumport said.  “We believe the availability of the Go Pass for both graduate students and postdocs comes at an ideal time in Stanford’s history and will align well with important values and needs of our university community.”

The pilot programs for graduate students and postdocs have been approved from September 2014 through December 2016. When the pilot programs end, their success will be evaluated and ongoing funding would need to be identified for each program to continue.

For questions about the Go Pass pilot programs, send an email to commuteclub@stanford.edu. 

Beginning Thursday, June 19, Marguerite shuttle service will make the following service changes at the medical center.

• A new Line HD will begin service. It will travel on a loop between Hoover Pavilion and the medical center shuttle stops on Roth Way and Quarry Road Extension, via Palo Road, Palm Drive, Roth Way and Quarry Road. Refer to the Line HD route map (PDF) and schedule for details.
   
• Line H will serve the Hospital Fountain stop and return to Quarry Road via Welch Road, instead of Sand Hill Road. Refer to the Line H route map (PDF) and schedule for details.
   
• Line X and Line X-Limited a.m. will travel from the Palo Alto Caltrain station to Quarry Road via Palo Road, instead of Arboretum Road. This will allow service at the Quarry Road at Pear Lane shuttle stop near the Stanford Shopping Center parking garage. Refer to the updated Line X and X-L a.m. route map (PDF) for details.
   
• Line MCD will be discontinued, and there will no longer be direct shuttle service between Parking Structure 5 (PS-5) and the medical center. Alternatively, commuters can park at PS-9, the Hoover Pavilion garage, and use Marguerite Lines H, HD, MC, X and X-Limited a.m. to access the medical center. Note that Lines X and X-L a.m. supplement inbound Line HD service and may not be used to return to PS-9. Line C and Line V will continue to serve PS-5.

Beginning Monday, June 23, the Stanford portion of the AC Transit Line U Express and Marguerite Ardenwood Express (AE) routes will reverse direction. For both morning westbound and afternoon/evening eastbound runs, the buses will stop at the Stanford Oval before serving stops on Roth Way and Quarry Road. Afternoon departures on the Marguerite Line AE will still originate at PS-5 before continuing on to the Stanford Oval.

Refer to the June 23 Line U/AE route map (PDF) and Line AE schedule for details.

For maps and schedules for these and other changes, please visit the Marguerite maps and schedules page.

If you need assistance, please contact marguerite@stanford.edu or 650.724.9339.

With the expansion of the Stanford arts district this fall and the anticipated increase in visitors to campus, approximately 200 commuter ‘A’ parking spaces will be converted to visitor parking in Parking Structure 1 (PS-1) by September. To accommodate displaced PS-1 commuters, ‘A’ permit parking remains available in the Lot-17 Stock Farm lot (corner of Oak Road and Welch Road) and in Parking Structure 5 (PS-5).

Attendant-assisted parking services also will be reduced at PS-5 and at the Quarry Road lots (L-2 and L-3) by August, further reducing commuter parking capacity near the medical center.

Commuters currently parking in PS-1, PS-5, and the Quarry Road lots are encouraged to consider alternatives, including alternative transportation options, which offer commute incentives, and alternative parking locations, such as Parking Structure 9 (PS-9), the Hoover Pavilion garage (refer to the Parking & Circulation Map (PDF) for locations).

Parking availability will be further reduced beginning Monday, June 23, when construction at the Old Chemistry Building displaces all parking on Lomita Drive south of Roth Way and the Keck Science building. All parking spaces will remain displaced except a limited number that will be restored with the opening of the Science Teaching and Learning Center in 2016. Recommended parking alternatives include Roth Way, Museum Way, and Lasuen Street.

Plan ahead to avoid wasting time and gas looking for a parking space in September. PS-9 at the corner of Quarry Road and Palo Road offers ample ‘C’ parking for ‘A’ and ‘C’ permit holders. To facilitate parking at PS-9, several Marguerite routes will serve the Quarry Road at Palo Road shuttle stop directly across from PS-9.

The following Marguerite Lines will serve PS-9:

• Line HD (PDF) will serve the medical center at Quarry Extension with service every 5 to 10 minutes excluding mid-day service.
• Line H (PDF) will serve the Hospital Fountain via Welch Road with service every 15 minutes during typical commute hours.
• Line X and X-L a.m. (PDF) will serve the medical center at Quarry Extension stop. Service will be every 5 to 20 minutes. Note that Lines X and X-L a.m. supplement inbound Line HD service and may not be used to return to PS-9.

Refer to the Marguerite page for complete maps and schedules.

This summer and fall could be a great time for commuters to consider alternative transportation, and we can help! Request a free transit and/or bicycle commute plan with our free do-it-yourself or custom commute planning service. You also could find a Stanford affiliate with whom to carpool or vanpool through our free ridematching service.

Have questions? For parking questions, send an email to parkingoperations@stanford.edu. For Marguerite shuttle questions, send an email to marguerite@stanford.edu.  For alternative transportation information, send an email to commuteclub@stanford.edu. 

Parking & Transportation Services (P&TS) is pleased to announce the winners in the 2014 Bike to Work Day prize drawings. P&TS selected the winners in a random drawing on June 9.

Stanford affiliates who took Stanford’s bike safety pledge or renewed an existing pledge during May, National Bike Month, were entered into a drawing to win a free bicycle. Additional prizes were available for those who walked to work on Bike to Work Day, as well as participants in the Bike to Work Day Department Breakfast Challenge

Bike Safety Pledge Winner. Vanessa Sochat, Graduate Student in the School of Medicine, was the lucky winner of a Breezer Downtown EX bicycle donated by the Campus Bike Shop. Her name was drawn from among 805 bicyclists who took the Bike Safety Pledge during National Bike Month.

Walk Commute Winners. Each of the following commuters won a $100 gift certificate to The Walking Company for walking to work on Bike to Work Day.

• Valerie Ojha, Clinical Research Nurse, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Stanford University School of Medicine
• Ted Kamins, Consulting Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, Stanford University

Bike to Work Ride Department Breakfast Winners. The Department Breakfast Challenge encouraged departments to saddle up and ride on Bike to Work Day and during National Bike Month in May.

• “Team Student Housing” won the Stanford University Department Breakfast. The team’s ride on Bike to Work Day included Laura J. McKaughan, Christopher Evans, Christina Taylor, Peter Young, Nicole Greenspan, Vince Barrese, Antonio Mora, Myles Coulter, and Susie Claxton, who collectively rode 85 miles for the day.
• “Team Rehab” won the Stanford Hospital & Clinics Department Breakfast. Kris Tolbert, Occupational Therapist and Clinical Specialist in Rehabilitation Services, rallied her 14 department colleagues to ride. The team’s ride on Bike to Work Day included Kris Tolbert, Jesse Felton, Kristin Seaburg, Mandy Kusumoto, Shohei Takatani, Kota Reichart, Milena Matzinger, Vick Hayes, Kathy Overstreet, Pam Triano, Judy Leydig, Angela Tam, Mikah Matusek, Darci Hebenstreit, and Nicholas Karayannis.

Thanks to all who participated in the 2014 Bike to Work Day drawings.

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 an email to bike-information@stanford.edu.

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