Subscribe for New North  Area Transportation Updates & News:

Center for Urban Transportation Research Maintains

Best Workplaces for Commuters^SM Designation

Two years ago, USF's Center for Urban Transportation Research earned the Best Workplaces for Commuters^SM designation - a mark of environmental and commuter friendliness - from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation. CUTR recently fulfilled an annual reporting requirement to determine if the Best Workplaces' standards continue to be met. The survey results showed that CUTR's commuter-friendly policies and the resulting use of commute options by employees have resulted in a 17 percent reduction in work commute trips; the Best Workplaces designation requires at least 14 percent.

CUTR also fulfilled other Best Workplaces requirements by offering incentives, policies, and amenities to increase the viability of commute option use. These include a telecommute policy, a compressed work week program, and secure bicycle facilities and showers. Since CUTR employees are ultimately USF employees, they also have access to a shuttle to the mall and other nearby shopping, and are eligible for fare-free transit through USF and HARTline's universal pass (UPASS) program. For carpool/vanpool matching and guaranteed ride home services, employees look to the regional rideshare program, Bay Area Commuter Services.

In addition to improving the quality of life for its employees by reducing commuting-related stress, CUTR, by offering commuter benefits, has managed to eliminate 106 vehicle trips from the road during a typical workweek (5512 cars annually), reducing vehicle pollutant emissions and saving thousands of gallons of gasoline annually.

CUTR's participation in Best Workplaces for Commuters^SM is part of a national EPA effort. Employers participating in the program provide commuter benefits to more than 1.4 million employees in the United States. If just half of all U.S. employees were covered by these commuter benefits, traffic congestion and air pollution could be cut by the equivalent of taking 15 million cars off the road every year, saving American workers about $12 billion in fuel costs.

For more information, call Heather Sobush at 974-9799, or visit www.bwc.gov.

USF Bull Runner Transit System Experiences First Million Rider Year

Established during the 1997-98 schoolyear, USF's Bull Runner began as an on-campus shuttle system carrying just over 90,000 riders during its first full year.  The Bull Runner system has grown to include multiple routes that transport members of the USF community around campus and to nearby off-campus destinations, such as housing, the University Mall, and a variety of restaurants and stores.  During the 2003-04 school year alone, the Bull Runner system, operated by the university's Parking & Transportation Services Department, provided over a million rides to students, faculty, and staff. 

This growth in ridership over the years can be attributed to several factors:

o    Development of a bi-directional off-campus route (the BullET) to serve the high-density

      student housing area along 42nd and 46th Streets (2000)

o    Mall Express Shuttle Route to serve lunch-time trips to the University Mall (2001)

o    Combining mall route with Route D (to the University Area Transit Center) for better service

      and longer service hours between USF and the mall (2002)

o    Route modification to serve new organizational housing off of Maple Drive (2003)

o    Creating Bull Runner Extended (BRX) routes that transport riders to the mall, library, and other shopping locations during off-peak hours on weekdays and for limited service hours on the weekend (2003)

o    Adding covered shelters at major stops

o    Adding new buses as needed to keep wait times between 10 and 15 minutes

o    Replacing older, smaller buses with larger ones to accommodate more riders per stop

o    More parking demand

o    More facilities/buildings needed to accommodate more people - reduced parking temporarily or permanently due to construction

In addition to reducing parking demand and providing another transportation option for people commuting to, or traveling around, the USF campus, a successful transit system such as the Bull Runner also reduces air pollution and congestion on area roadways.  According to a recent survey of Bull Runner riders, 22 percent indicated that if they had not made the trip by bus, they would have driven alone to campus and parked.  That amounts to at least 220,000 vehicle trips eliminated during the 2003-2004 school year - not including those trips eliminated by another 11 percent that said they would ride with someone else. 

HART-USF Universal Pass (UPASS) Program

Also Sees Ridership Increases

The UPASS program began as a pilot in August of 2002, allowing anyone with a valid USF student, faculty, or staff identification card to ride any non-express HARTline bus without having to pay a fare.  By simply showing their ID, a rider may board while the driver records the UPASS trip.  HARTline and USF have agreed to a negotiated rate that USF pays for each trip made via the UPASS program.   

During the first full month of the program, September 2002, HART recorded a little over 14,300 UPASS trips.  That number rose in the following months to over 17,300 in January 2003 and 28,000 in September 2003.  Between January and May 2004, ridership averaged 25,300 per month. 

Not surprisingly, the routes with the highest UPASS ridership travel directly through USF's Tampa campus: routes 5, 6, and 18. Those who are not served by these routes can still take advantage of the program, by taking one of many HART routes that travel to the University Area Transit Center (UATC) and then taking the Bull Runner system from the UATC to the USF campus. Others may opt to use the bikes-on-buses program and bike from the UATC to campus.

Since the UPASS program is good for all non-express HART routes, HART has documented rides on many routes that do not directly or indirectly connect with the USF campus, indicating that some riders may be using the program to make other trips.

The UPASS program, Bull Runner system, and bicycle amenities on USF's Tampa campus serve to provide commuters with increasingly more options for traveling to, from, and around campus - and for reducing the need for many to own personal vehicles.

Want to save money & make better use of your time by carpooling or vanpooling-
but don't know anyone to share the commute with?
We may be able to help! Join the regional rideshare database by following the link on the Commuter page of our website, www.newnorthalliance.org,  or by calling 813-974-9799 to speak with a New North Transportation Alliance representative.

Vanpool from Riverview to USF Area looking for more riders.
The newest vanpool to the New North area has room for two more riders. The vanpool travels from Riverview to the Moffitt Cancer Center and VA Hospital. Work hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you are interested in joining this vanpool, call Bay Area Commuter Services at 1-800-998-RIDE.