Connie 

Oakland resident Connie knew she was in for a serious commute after joining Stanford last July. Upon driving solo, however, Connie, part of the university's Financial Management Services group, found her commute to be more draining than she’d anticipated.

“I was impressed to find Stanford Transportation offers a commute consultation,” said Connie. “It’s a thoughtful way to get people thinking about their carbon footprint.” 

Connie met with Transportation team member Kasey Inglis to understand what options and strategies East Bay commuters typically use. “Kasey set me up with appropriate public transit options,” said Connie, including a free AC Transit Easy Pass and Caltrain Go Pass (which she calls “awesome.”) Connie also learned she could save money by using pre-tax commuter transit benefits.  

“Before I talked to Kasey I thought [using public transit] would take five hours,” she said. “But I gave it a shot and it’s been really good. I can read and just relax during my commute.” 

Yet another unexpected positive came from their meeting. After adding her name to Stanford’s carpool listing, Connie later received a surprise phone call from Kasey’s team member, Erin Fieberling, who asked if Connie might consider joining their carpool. The three Oakland residents carpooled together occasionally.

 

Commute Consultation - Mari and Erin
Mari and Erin meet via Zoom for a One-on-One Commute Consultation.

Mari

Returning to Stanford Redwood City after sheltering-in-place, Mari, associate director of donor relations with Stanford Medicine, wanted a more eco-friendly commute. Pre-pandemic, Mari carpooled to SRWC. Once she and her carpool buddy moved to different cities during COVID, carpooling was no longer an option. Mari was interested in taking Caltrain since she now lives close to the Santa Clara station.

After looking at the schedule, she didn’t see any peak hour Marguerite Shuttles routes from the RWC Caltrain station to SRWC. Luckily, all that stood between Mari and her new sustainable commute was a 15-minute virtual One-on-One Commute Consultation. After Mari booked an appointment, she met with Erin who explained that during peak hours, the shuttle is operated by Commute.org whereas the Marguerite shuttle service operates midday

“Erin provided clarity around the shuttle system and gave me insightful schedule tips as well,” said Mari. Mari has learned to “let go and enjoy a good book or podcast” during her new sustainable commute. Next, she hopes to incorporate biking into her commute. 

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