Transportation survey begins

By Steve Hill
University Week

Work has begun on the University’s regular biennial transportation survey.

The survey - a legal requirement since 1992 - allows UW officials to gauge the commuting tendencies of people on campus and to monitor the effectiveness of the U-PASS program. For the fourth time in the last eight years, Gilmore Research Group is conducting the survey for the University. The first calls were placed on Monday, Oct. 16, and Gilmore hopes to complete the effort by early December.

Peter Dewey, manager of the UW Transportation Office, says the survey is both a requirement of the state’s Commute Trip Reduction Law and a useful way to evaluate transportation services.

“This is the time we learn about people’s commuting behavior,” Dewey said. “That’s an important piece of information that helps us plan transportation services for students, staff and faculty.”

The crucial component of those services is the U-PASS. The U-PASS program allows faculty and staff to use King County Metro, Community Transit and Sound Transit Regional Express bus service anytime and anywhere. The cost is $44.22 per quarter ($32 for students). But the program also allows participants to park at discounted rates, park as a car pool for free and much more.

Dewey says the survey allows the transportation office to look at where the U-PASS program and the larger Transportation Management Plan could be improved or fine-tuned.

“We do this survey because it tells us the effectiveness of the overall Transportation Management Plan,” he said. “That’s one of the benefits of the survey. When we find that people’s behaviors have changed in some way, we try to change our programs in response.”

About 1,400 people - 600 students, 400 faculty and 400 staff - were randomly selected for the survey. The average survey takes about 11 minutes to complete and, because a high response rate is crucial to the study’s validity, Dewey asks that participants reschedule if the researcher calls at an inconvenient time.

“This is critical information for the University,” he said. “It’s the basis for our transportation planning, the single biggest source of data we have that guides our ability to provide services for students, staff and faculty.”

Questions and concerns about the survey can be e-mailed to lquinn@u.washington.edu.

All events are free, except as noted.