Report praises colleges for transportation innovation

On the University of Washington campus, a student is far more likely to carry a bus pass than their car keys. A survey of transportation habits find that college campuses are leading in options and innovation.

A report from the Public Interest Research Group, PIRG, finds that young Americans these days, including college students are less likely to get a driver license and more likely to migrate to cities where they can rely less on cars.

People ages 16-34 reduced their annual driving miles by almost one-quarter between 2001 and 2009. Transit commuting to school more than doubled between 1997 and 2011. Much of that data comes from the Federal Highway Administration.

At the UW, Josh Kavanagh, director of Transportation Services said just 19 percent of students drive alone to school. He said the new survey confirms that universities are a center of transportation innovation. He said a great example of that is the U-Pass program.

“That pilot program not only became a permanent program but it became the foundation of King County Metro’s Flex Pass Program that then went on to become the ORCA Passport product. It has absolutely transformed the region in how we deliver transportation services,” he said.

At the UW, 76 percent of students have a U-Pass.

“What worked here is working elsewhere,” said Matt Hansen, Metro’s head of marketing development during a news conference on campus. “And the story Josh told about the U-Pass really transformed Metro’s business model. So now, Metro receives over 50 percent of its fare revenue directly from employers.”

It was a UW student who developed the popular “One Bus Away.”

“Which was an app developed outside of Metro,” said Hansen. “It relies on our data feed to tell the app where our buses are and when they arrive, but it’s ubiquitous in its use and it really reduced a key barrier to having people be able to use our system better.”

The PIRG survey shows college campuses are successfully promoting bicycling, walking, carpooling and ride-sharing as ways to reduce cars on campus and minimize expensive and land-grabbing parking facilities. Hansen said city leaders should pay attention.

“The populations that are on our university campuses today are the same populations that are going to be on our corporate campuses tomorrow.”

Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata considers college campuses small cities whose transportation solutions work. “They’re showing us a path and they’re showing us that if they can make it work on a small scale on a campus, we can enlarge that scale on a city-wide level.”