In fall 2002, President Joseph Chapman sent an e-mail message to NDSU faculty and staff requesting they complete a campus transit survey developed by SURTC. The objective of the survey was to identify transportation needs of campus employees in order to better meet needs as employees travel to and from campus as well as around campus. There were approximately 695 faculty and 1,052 staff who received the e-mail notice.1 There were 319 faculty and staff who responded to the on-line survey, providing an 18 percent survey response rate. Of these responses, approximately 40 percent indicated they are classified as faculty and 60 percent indicated their classification as staff.
The results for the faculty and staff are presented in five main sections. These sections include: 1) location questions such as distance faculty and staff live from campus; 2) current mobility issues such as access to motor vehicles; 3) campus Circulator; 4) utilization of MAT; and 5) campus accommodations for transit.
Location Results
There were six questions asked of faculty and staff categorized as "location type" questions. The questions include 1) how far they live from campus; 2) locations the respondents travel from when going to campus; 3) time periods spent on campus; 4) the number of one-way trips taken to campus each day; 5) how they most often travel to campus; and 6) how they decide on the travel mode taken.
Distance from Campus
The survey results revealed that 66 percent of the respondents live less than five miles from campus (Figure 1). A high percentage, (38 percent) live between two and five miles while nearly 34 percent of respondents live more than five miles from campus. In general, given the size of the Fargo-Moorhead area, residents who live within a five-mile radius of the NDSU campus should have access to the Metropolitan Area Transit (MAT) routes. However, residents may choose not to take transit, which was investigated in this study.
Figure 1. Distance Faculty & Staff Live from Campus
Locations Traveling From
The majority of faculty and staff indicated they travel from home before arriving on campus (94.04 percent). There were 3.76 percent who reported they travel from childcare locations. Since NDSU has a childcare facility on campus, it is possible that a portion of the 94.04 respondents reporting they travel from home, may drop children at the childcare facility on campus. Given the one-stop destination of home to campus, public transportation has the potential to play an important role in mode choice of faculty and staff. Certainly, faculty and staff may want to make stops after work to the supermarket, etc., which makes using public transportation more challenging. However, with proper planning, faculty and staff could reduce the number of "drive days" they take their automobile to campus and take advantage of public transportation serving NDSU. It would be beneficial for NDSU to work more closely with the Metropolitan Area Transit (MAT) to be certain that faculty and staff (along with students) have direct access to campus. SURTC attempted to gather the addresses of NDSU faculty and staff from Payroll and Human Resources, but they indicated this information was not available. We wanted to map the addresses to compare where faculty and staff live to the current MAT routes to ensure proper coverage. In addition to analyzing MAT routes, we could use the information to develop car pools for those commuting to campus. Car pools could work wonderfully for those faculty and staff who may live near one another and spend similar hours on campus. We did ask faculty and staff about the hours they spend on campus, which is presented next.
Hours Spent on Campus
There are 47 percent of faculty and staff who reported being on campus before 8:00 a.m. (Figure 2). Some workers regularly arrive as early as 4:00 a.m. to take care of the university grounds and buildings. More than 90 percent of the faculty and staff indicated they are on campus between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and 80 percent reported still being on-campus between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Approximately 10 percent of the faculty and staff are on campus until 10:00 p.m. The faculty and staff who are on campus between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. would have access to MAT, which serves the NDSU campus between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Further, the similar time patterns also indicate a possibility of successful car pools.
Figure 2. Times When Faculty are On Campus
Travel Mode to Campus
We asked three questions relevant to travel mode to campus. First, we asked faculty and staff how they most frequently travel to campus. Second, we asked if their travel mode changed during the winter. Third, we asked what factors influenced their travel mode choice.
It was evident faculty and staff value their independence since 91 percent reported they travel to campus by automobile (Figure 3). This number is equivalent to the number of respondents who reported they have access to a motor vehicle, so it is evident that a large number of employees use their autos to commute to campus. However, 10 percent of respondents indicated they ride their bicycle to campus and nearly 12 percent indicated they walk to campus. Given 14 percent of respondents live fewer than two miles from campus, several of them may choose to walk or ride bicycle. About 2 percent reported they ride MAT to campus (Figure 3), which is surprisingly low.
Figure 3. Travel Mode to Campus
Nearly 16 percent of respondents indicate they chose a different mode of travel during the winter (Figure 4). Therefore, some of those who ride bicycles during the spring, summer and fall may opt to ride MAT or drive their automobile during the winter months. There are a number of reasons that individuals chose their mode of travel.
Figure 4. Change Mode During Winter
The faculty and staff's reasons are presented next.
Convenience, time and parking availability are the greatest factors that influence the mode choice of faculty and staff (Figure 5). The question on the survey asked faculty and staff to indicate the level of importance each of the factors had on influencing mode choice to and from campus. It is not surprising that nearly 100 percent of the respondents indicated that convenience was very important, important, or at least somewhat important. Time (97 percent) and parking availability (96 percent) were also high in influencing mode choice to and from campus. The cost of the vehicle and the cost of parking were viewed as very important and important by 51 percent and 49 percent, respectively. The high level of importance of convenience, time and parking availability exemplifies the suggestion made earlier to map the addresses of faculty and staff in order to better coordinate with the MAT routes as well as identify car pool opportunities. Of course, the number of daily trips individuals make to and from campus can play a major role in their decision to take MAT or car pool.
Figure 5. Influences on Mode of Travel
Number of Daily Trips to Campus
Only about 20 percent of faculty and staff make multiple trips to campus. Nearly 80 percent reported two one-way trips to campus, which equates to one round trip to and from campus. Using public transportation or riding in car pools would be more accommodating for those faculty and staff making one round trip to and from campus.