Specifications

University*of*Washington*Climate*Action*Plan*
!
10!
operation!and! cooling,!avoiding!95!tons!of! carbon!production!per!year.!! At!the!
completion!of!their!rebuild!project,!nearly!80%!energy!savings!will!be!achieved,!
avoiding!475!tons!of!carbon!production!per!year.!
Our!students,!staff!and!faculty!are!enabled!to!choose!energy‐efficient!commut‐
ing!modes!by!our!award!winning!U‐PASS!program!created!in!1991.!!U‐PASS!en‐
compasses!an!unlimited!right‐to‐ride!transit!pass!covering!six!Puget!Sound!tran‐
sit! agencies,! discounted! carpool! parking,! vanpool! subsidies,! walking! and! biking!
programs,! merchant! discounts! including! car! sharing! discounts,! plus! emergency!
rides! home! and! discounted!
occasional! use! parking! for! faculty!
and!staff.!
U‐PASS! has! supported! a!
significant! shift! of! commuters!
from! private! cars! to! transit:!
Today! 39%! of! commutes! to! the!
Seattle!campus!are!made!by!bus,!
and! 30%! of! trips! are! by! foot! or!
bicycle! –! producing! zero! GHG!
emissions.!!We!heavily!promote!bicycle!commuting! through!widespread!access!
to!bicycle!facilities!and!three!team‐based!bicycle!commute!campaigns!each!year.!!
Despite! a! 24%! growth! in! the! employee! and! student! population! between! 1990!
(the!year!before!the!launch!of!U‐PASS)!and!2007,!there!were!fewer!vehicle!trips!
to!campus!per!day!in!2007!than!in!any!of!the!previous!24!years.!!On!the!Bothell!
campus,!a!rideshare!email!subscriber!list!implemented!jointly!with!the!adjacent!
Cascadia! Community! College! provides! an! additional! mechanism! for! reducing!
commuting!emissions.!
Professional!air!travel!involves!substantial!GHG!emissions!but!plays!a!vital!role!in!
research,! teaching,! and! administrative! activities! at! UW.! ! The! University! has! a!
modest!but!expanding!set!of!videoconferencing!facilities!which!already!provides!
an!alternative!to!some!of!the! functions!of! long‐distance!travel.!!To!make!a!sig‐
nificant!impact!on!air!travel,! the!use!of!videoconferencing!would!have!to!grow!
enormously!and!this,!in!turn,!entails!a!host!of!technical!and!cultural!challenges.!!
We! propose! that! the! University! embrace! these! challenges! and! thereby! play! a!
leadership!role!in!developing!a!more!sustainable!form!of!global‐scale!communi‐
other
walk
bicycle
carpool/vanpool
public transit
drive alone
today
before U-Pass
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
commuters who use
this op!on
1991
U-PASS
Figure&3&‐&Effect&of&U‐Pas s&on&commuting&