Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.36
Liaison Elizabeth Swiman
Submission Date Jan. 30, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Florida State University
OP-21: Support for Sustainable Transportation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.88 / 2.00 Jeff Horton
Director
The Marketing Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution provide secure bicycle storage (not including office space), shower facilities, and lockers for bicycle commuters?:
No

A brief description of the facilities for bicycle commuters:

Bicycle commuters have access to showers at the Leach Center facility. Student access is covered through A&S fees, while faculty/staff must pay for membership.


Does the institution provide short-term bicycle parking (e.g. racks) within 50 ft (15 m) of all occupied, non-residential buildings and make long-term bicycle storage available within 330 ft (100 m) of all residence halls (if applicable)?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle parking and storage facilities:

A comprehensive study conducted in the fall of 2013 pinpointed the location and quantity of bicycle parking within all campus buildings. This study revealed an inventory of approximately 4000 bike parking spaces on campus.


Does the institution have a “complete streets” or bicycle accommodation policy (or adhere to a local community policy) and/or have a continuous network of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian paths and lanes?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle/pedestrian policy and/or network:

The University has provided dedicated bike/pedestrian facilities through campus along the Call Street Corridor. Other streets running through campus or connecting campus to the municipal roadway network are marked with sharrows or have bike lanes. There is no official policy regarding bicycle accommodations except for the provision of bike racks at all new buildings.


Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:

The University supports a student-run initiate called the reCycle Bike Rental Program. Through this program, students are allowed to rent bikes on either a semester or annual basis at a subsidized cost. This cost covers the bike and associated maintenance. Participants also receive a bike helmet, lock, and other safety equipment.
The program currently maintains a fleet of 57 bicycles with a 100% placement rate for the fall and spring semesters. Summer placement rates are approximately 50%.


Is the institution certified as a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists (U.S.) or under a similar third party certification covering non-motorized transportation?:
No

A brief description of the certification, including date certified and level:

n/a


Does the institution offer free or reduced price transit passes and/or operate a free campus shuttle for commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the mass transit program(s), including availability, participation levels, and specifics about discounts or subsidies offered (including pre-tax options):

The University operates a transit system called Seminole Express. This system has 8 routes, including a dedicated route the runs through the late night and early morning hours to provide a safe commuting experience for late night students and night shift employees. One route remains on campus while the remaining routes travel to off-campus destinations including: off campus student housing, local parks, grocery stores, retail shopping, and the local movie theater. Rides on the Seminole Express are free to faculty, staff, students, and visitors.

Faculty, Staff, and Students also have access to the city bus system operated by StarMetro at no cost simply by swiping their valid FSU ID upon entry. All zones and transfers are included. These routes travel to popular destinations including shopping malls, movie theaters, and off-campus entertainment venues.

Through our partners at the Public Safety department, a free campus shuttle is also available 7 days a week for transportation around campus to students.


Does the institution offer a guaranteed return trip (GRT) program to regular users of alternative modes of transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the GRT program:

The University contracts with Commuter Services of North Florida in the College of Business (Tallahassee area’s FDOT-funded regional commuter assistance program), to offer an emergency ride home program which is available to FSU faculty, students, and staff at no cost. Anyone who carpools, rides the bus, bikes, or walks to campus at least 3 days per week qualifies for this program. Participants must register with the program. At that time, they are provided with a voucher which can be exchanged for a free cab ride home in the event of an emergency.


Does the institution participate in a car/vanpool or ride sharing program and/or offer reduced parking fees or preferential parking for car/vanpoolers?:
Yes

A brief description of the carpool/vanpool program:

The University partners with Zimride to provide on-demand ride-sharing services for Faculty, Staff, and Students. Faculty and Staff who have commuting patterns that are more established and predictable, are encouraged to use the ride matching services available through Commuter Services of North Florida (www.commuterservices.org). Commuter Services provides both carpooling and vanpooling services. Students may also use this service at no charge.


Does the institution participate in a car sharing program, such as a commercial car-sharing program, one administered by the institution, or one administered by a regional organization?:
Yes

A brief description of the car sharing program:

The University partners with Zipcar to provide cars for those who do not have access to one. There is a yearly membership fee and then a small reservation fee per hour, which includes insurance and gas. This allows students to travel to destinations around Tallahassee as well as to points of interest in the surrounding area.


Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:

We have 2 electric vehicle charging stations available in our West Pensacola Street parking garage.


Does the institution offer a telecommuting program for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
Yes

A brief description of the telecommuting program:

FSU’s Employment and Recruitment Policies specifically address the availability of telecommuting per policy OP-C-7-B6 granted under Florida Statute Chapter 110.171 and 110.171(1)(c). Under this policy, employees whose job functions are compatible with telework arrangements may do so per the approval of their supervisor, Dean, Director, and/or Departmental Head.


Does the institution offer a condensed work week option for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
Yes

A brief description of the condensed work week program:

To provide the opportunity to meet departmental, personal, and family needs, alternate or flextime work schedules may be requested by A&P, USPS and Faculty employees during the summer months or any other time of year. Additionally, alternate schedules may also be authorized by a Vice President, Dean, Director or Department Head for their division, college, department or unit as a whole with their employees participating on a voluntary basis.


Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
No

A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:

n/a


Does the institution have other incentives or programs to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and reduce the impact of student and employee commuting?:
Yes

A brief description of other sustainable transportation initiatives and programs:

The University partners with local transportation companies to help our commuters and encourage less car usage in and around campus. GOTCHA (Green Operated Transportation Carrying Humanity Around) Ride provides free rides to the FSU Community in electric, street legal, low impact vehicles to popular destinations in Downtown Tallahassee and the surrounding campus area. They run mid-afternoon through the early morning hours.

We have also partnered with Yellow Cab to offer the NoleCab program, which guarantees a low, flat rate fare within our campus service area for FSU Students who swipe a valid FSUCard.

To accommodate our South Florida students, we have partnered with GMG Transport to provide a charter bus service to major cities in Central and South Florida for a reduced round trip fee. This service leaves and returns from campus every weekend during the Fall and Spring Semester.

We have also teamed up on the mobile front to help commuters use our parking and transit system to its fullest. We have developed in house a mobile application named FSUTranz, which gives the real time status of available parking spaces in each of our parking garages. This reduces commuters circling garages for long periods of time to find a space, as well as directs traffic to the outer perimeter of campus, leaving campus roads less congested for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

We also have partnered with TransLoc to provide a mobile application that shows our Seminole Express bus system in real time and allows users to see how close the bus is to their desired stop. Both applications also feature an announcement page where we can push out important changes, updates, and information regarding our transportation system that effect commuters.


The website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable transportation program(s) is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.