Commute Planning Assistance: Serving Our Community's Mobility Needs

Monday, March 5, 2018

When we think about the progress our institution has made over the past several years, we see the true power of partnership— the ways our community benefits when we collaborate to enhance the lives of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, patients, visitors, fans, and fellow Kentuckians.  

We see this in our collaborative relationship with the city of Lexington; in our public-private partnerships that helped us construct state-of-the-art residential, dining, learning and research spaces; and in our progress toward a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly campus.

Aligning with the goals set forth in the UK Transportation Master Plan (TMP), the University’s suite of mobility alternatives, not only expands the number of options aimed at improving access to, from, and around campus, but also benefits the campus, community, and environment.

• UK Transportation Services this year launched a pilot “cash out” incentive program for employees who choose to forgo bringing a motor vehicle to campus for one year. The program will give up to 200 qualified employees each up to $200 over a one-year period, that will be divided evenly on each paycheck during that time period.
• UK Transportation Services developed a partnership with Zipcar to provide a new, quick and convenient transportation opportunity.  Zipcar provides an option for anyone who only needs a vehicle occasionally. The cars are easily accessible, as they are positioned near campus bus stops in the Woodland Avenue Lot and on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
• UK Transportation Services implemented a pilot bicycle voucher program aimed at encouraging students and employees to consider alternatives to driving a vehicle to campus. The bicycle voucher program gives up to 100 qualified students and employees each four $100 vouchers to spend at participating local bicycle shops.
• In 2015, UK and Lextran formed the BluPass program, a partnership which allows all UK students, faculty and staff to ride any Lextran bus route free of charge when they show their Wildcard ID. In 2016, the BluPass program reached a landmark of 1.1 million rides. In 2017, ridership nearly doubled; As of this past January, the BluPass program has provided more than 2.1 million rides in Lexington. The partnership has been so successful, we renewed it through June of 2019.

 And, in a recent campus-wide survey about commuting habits, 30.7 percent of respondents indicated that they have considered switching to an alternative mode of transportation.

To help students and employees more easily navigate the wide variety of transportation modes available, Transportation Services is now offering free personalized commute planning assistance. This initiative showcases our commitment to the UK family—continuous improvement and innovative thinking to serve the campus’ mobility needs and to promote sustainability.

Visit www.uky.edu/transportation/commuteplanning to sign up for personalized commute planning assistance.

When signing up for commute planning assistance, students and employees will be able to indicate which alternative transportation modes they would like to try, as well as their desired starting and ending points.

Participating students and employees may choose to receive commute planning feedback via email, phone or at an in-person meeting, and may also opt to have a student transportation ambassador accompany them on a trial run of their planned route.

We will continue to explore additional partnerships and novel opportunities. As always, we value your feedback.

Have a great week.

Eric N. Monday

@UKYMonday

#seeblue