Faculty/Staff Perceptions Regarding Carpooling
Virtually the same survey that was given to NDSU students was also given to NDSU faculty and staff. The specific parking lot preference question differed as faculty and staff had different parking lot choices compared to students. Among faculty and staff, approximately 15 percent said they would not consider carpooling, whereas almost 65 percent were in favor of carpooling (Figure 8). NDSU faculty and staff are less willing than students to carpool, probably due in part to financial reasons and time constraints, among others.
Figure 8. Faculty/Staff in favor of carpooling (n=278)
Thirty-one percent of faculty/staff respondents said if better parking spots were guaranteed, as compared to traditional lot parking, they would consider carpooling. This result was much lower than the nearly 70 percent of student respondents who would consider carpooling if better parking options were offered. This may be due to the lots faculty and staff presently park in, which tend to be closer to their office building.
Figure 9. Faculty/Staff willingness to carpool if guaranteed better parking (n=278)
A discounted parking permit would motivate 42 percent of faculty/staff survey respondents to carpool (Figure 10). Once again, this was much a much lower percentage than the student survey indicated, probably due to similar reasons as the better parking incentive. The size of the discount did not give as much incentive to faculty/staff carpooling when compared to students either with less than 40 percent of respondents who would consider carpooling with a 10 to 20 percent discount on a carpooling permits compared to traditional parking permits. However, if a discount of 0 to 10 percent on carpooling permits was offered, only 15 percent of faculty/staff respondents would consider carpooling (Figure 11) showing a need for a large discount to encourage participation.
Figure 10. Faculty/Staff willing to carpool given discounted parking permits (n=278)
Figure 11. Faculty/Staff willingness to carpool at discounted rates (n=278)
Nearly 30 percent of faculty/staff respondents would consider carpooling if shuttle service was offered near there respective carpool lot (Figure 12). Presently, very few faculty and staff ride the shuttle to and from their campus destination. Results indicate that almost half of faculty/staff respondents would not consider using the campus shuttle as almost 50 percent of respondents were not in favor of shuttle service.
Figure 12. Faculty/Staff willingness to carpool if shuttle service was provided (n=278)
NDSU faculty/staff and student survey results were very similar when considering the negative effect on carpooling when parking further from their respective destination. Less than 13 percent of faculty/staff respondents indicated that parking further from campus would not discourage them from carpooling. The location of parking lots in relation to destinations is once again a prominent factor to consider when discussing carpooling alternatives.
Figure 13. Agreement that parking further from campus would discourage carpooling (n=278)
The faculty/staff survey concluded similar to the student version by asking respondents to indicate which parking lots they would consider for carpooling. Faculty/staff respondents disagreed with most lot options but listed lots C, T1, T2, and AD as their primary carpooling lots (Figure 14). Similar to student respondents, all of the previous four lots are in close proximity to central campus locations. Greater than 50 percent of respondents indicated that lots AE, F, and ST would not be good choices for carpooling stalls.
Figure 14. Possible faculty/staff parking lots for carpooling (n=278)