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Getting College Students on Board. George Mason University Office of Parking & Transportation VTA 2008 Annual Conference May 20, 2008. 30,000 students 5,000+ faculty/staff Over 2 million visitors per year Fairfax ~5,000 resident students Patriot Center Concert Hall Arlington
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Getting College Students on Board George Mason University Office of Parking & Transportation VTA 2008 Annual Conference May 20, 2008
30,000 students 5,000+ faculty/staff Over 2 million visitors per year Fairfax ~5,000 resident students Patriot Center Concert Hall Arlington Prince William 11,000 parking spaces Parking permit costs $200 annually ($400 in parking deck) George Mason University
City of Fairfax CUE Bus • 4 routes serving : • Mason’s Fairfax campus • Vienna Metro Station • Free to Mason students and employees with valid ID card • 75 cents without ID • Mason pays subsidy to City
Town/Gown Partnership • Mason and the City of Fairfax have had a partnership for over two decades with CUE bus service to campus from Vienna Metro • Mason pays subsidy of $370,000 annually to the City • CUE bus stop right on campus
Targeted Audiences at Mason • Those who use Metro to Vienna Metro station • Employees commuting to work • Students commuting to class • Employees and students taking Metro to the Arlington campus • Virginia Sq Metro is 2 blocks from Arlington campus • Employees and students living in City of Fairfax • Many international students without vehicles and low-wage employees • Many students live within 20 minutes of campus • Resident students • Recreational • Travel within City • Travel to Metro for access to DC
CUE Bus Successful at Mason • # of trips taken annually by Mason students and employees consistently increasing • 2005: 250,000 trips • 2006: 319,000 trips • 2007: 368,000 trips • Only recent decrease in ridership was one year when Mason riders had to pay 25 cents
Reason for Success of CUE Bus • Frequent bus service • 4 routes provide 8 departures per hour from campus or Vienna Metro • 2 of 4 routes (Gold 1 and Gold 2) have fewer stops • On CUE restaurant guide • Publication put together by CUE and Mason student newspaper highlighting restaurants accessible by CUE bus • In Fall Mason’s Transportation Office sponsored CUE bus treasure hunt • Local restaurants in guide provided free food and discounts to students who took CUE bus to restaurant
Over-Success of CUE Bus at Mason • Ridership at Mason actually grew so much that Mason riders overcrowded the bus • City and Mason worked on solution • City seeking additional funding for added service to campus • Mason provided its own direct shuttle service to Vienna Metro (Mason to Metro Shuttle)
Mason to Metro Shuttle • Mason’s own direct shuttle to Vienna Metro • Ridership has tripled since its inception in January 2007 • Ridership over 12,000 trips in April 2008 • Service every 30 minutes at campus and at Metro • CUE bus ridership has continued to grow • Those continuing to use CUE use for travel around City or as an alternate to Mason to Metro shuttle
Other Efforts to Get Students on Board • Mason’s Transportation Office promotes transit among other modes of alternative transportation • Hosts transportation fairs where local transit agencies participate and provide information about service to Mason campuses • CUE • Fairfax Connector • Metro • PRTC-Omnilink • Loudoun County • Office provides trip planning advice to students • Websites: • http://transportation.gmu.edu • http://shuttle.gmu.edu
Next Steps • Transportation Office working with graduate research assistants to conduct detailed transportation studies focused on identifying obstacles to more people using alternative transportation • Possible Metro college discount being discussed by Consortium of DC Universities • Continued promoting alternative transit to resident students • Convince students that having vehicle on campus not necessary • Continued involvement with Fairfax County • Possible shuttle from Burke VRE station to Mason
Questions? • Contact: • Josh Cantor Director of Parking & Transportation • jcantor1@gmu.edu • (703) 993-1239 • transportation@gmu.edu • shuttle@gmu.edu