Think. Learn. Succeed. Getting College Students on Board George Mason University Office of Parking & Transportation VTA 2008 Annual Conference May 20, 2008

Think. Learn. Succeed. George Mason University 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)

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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)

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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: – –

Think. Learn. Succeed. 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

Think. Learn. Succeed. Questions? Contact: Josh Cantor Director of Parking & Transportation –(703)