UW News

October 31, 2002

Commute behavior survey under way

You may be getting an e-mail message soon asking you to complete a survey online about your commute behavior. The UW has retained Northwest Research Group Inc. to conduct the survey, which will ask randomly selected staff, faculty and students how they get to campus and what their reasons are for taking the routes they do.

Those who don’t have e-mail will receive a phone call instead, and those who don’t respond to the e-mail will also receive a follow-up call. The last time such a survey was conducted, the average time involved for respondents was 11 minutes. Staff and faculty may use work time to complete the survey.

Survey results will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the U-PASS program and to develop transportation program improvements. “Our job is to learn about commuter behavior so that we can provide alternatives that work for people,” said Peter Dewey, transportation office manager.

As a major employer in the region, the University is required to survey its employees every two years to comply with the State Commute Trip Reduction Law and must have a 70 percent response rate.

For additional information, contact Lisa Quinn, public information specialist in the transportation office, lquinn@u.washington.edu