Travel between SRWC and Main Campus
Options for traveling between campuses
We understand that there may be times when employees must visit the main campus for business or personal reasons. The following options are available to travel between campuses:
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Zipcar, an on-demand car-sharing service, will be available at SRWC.
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Departments can set up Department Zipcar accounts for free and charge business Zipcar use to a department PCard. If you have a personal Zipcar account, you can choose whether to charge your reservation to the department account or your personal account.
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Personal Zipcar accounts. More than 35 Zipcars are available. Stanford affiliates join for $15, a savings of $10 off the $25 annual fee.
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You can use a personal vehicle with one of these options:
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Department parking permit for business-related trips. Departments can purchase ‘SV’ (Service Vehicle) or ‘A-Business’ permits.
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'C'-SRWC parking permit to park in ‘C’ spaces on the main campus.
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Hourly visitor parking to park on one or both campuses. Departments have the option to reimburse employees for business-related trips.
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You can also ride Caltrain between Palo Alto and Redwood City
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Please note that the average travel time (one way) using this option is just over one hour. However, if you are unable, or prefer not, to drive a vehicle, this could be an alternative for you.
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Eligible employees ride for Caltrain free with a Go Pass.
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The Commute.org Redwood City-Midpoint Caltrain Shuttle will provide peak-hour service between the SRWC campus and the Redwood City Caltrain station. A new Marguerite shuttle will provide midday service between SRWC and the Redwood City Caltrain station.
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The Marguerite shuttle provides service between the main campus and the Palo Alto Transit Center.
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For those on the Main Campus traveling to Stanford Redwood City, visit Traveling Stanford Redwood City From the Main Campus.
SRWC business center located at Bambi modular
The Bambi modular located at 320 Panama Mall has been identified as the SRWC Business Center. The modular will serve as a touchdown location for SRWC employees who require space to work before or after meetings held on the main campus.
Telepresence is the first choice
One of the reasons employees may not have been aware of these alternatives is because the University strongly encourages telepresence as the first choice for meetings. The University encourages the use of technologies, such as Zoom, Jabber or Slack, to avoid trips between campuses.
Since roundtrip travel between campuses takes about an hour, reducing trips is a priority to maximize productivity and efficiency and to reduce impacts on the environment and the community.
Why isn't there an intercampus shuttle between SRWC and the Main Campus?
In response to the earlier announcement that there will not be shuttle service between SRWC and the main campus, employees have expressed concern and disappointment. We believe that employees may be unaware that there are alternative options available in addition to telepresence.
Why did the University decide not to run a shuttle between campuses?
Our office and University leadership gave careful consideration to the decision not to operate a shuttle between campuses. We recognize that while people often think they would like to ride a shuttle, the reality is that they are less likely to ride it when a shuttle will add significantly to their travel time.
Since one round trip between campuses takes about one hour, shuttle frequency would be once every hour (one shuttle) or once every 30 minutes (two shuttles). In either case, if the shuttle isn’t traveling at the time that works for your schedule or if you miss your connection, it could add a significant amount of time to your trip, making you less likely to ride the shuttle.
Operating one or more shuttles throughout the day could represent an expense of a few million dollars a year. To make this a good return on investment, we would need roughly 100 riders per hour traveling between campuses during shuttle hours of operation. This is unlikely, which means that the University could be spending millions of dollars to operate empty or nearly empty buses between campuses. An alternative to a costly, low-ridership shuttle is to provide faster, more flexible options, which people generally prefer.
People prefer on-demand services
The alternatives we are offering provide this flexibility, offering more convenient and time-efficient options.
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Zipcar car sharing can be reserved by the hour or day, with personal and department accounts available. Zipcar enables those who use a sustainable commute and don’t have their own vehicle available to have access to a vehicle when they need it.
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The 'C'-SRWC permit will be valid at both SRWC and in ‘C’ spaces on the Main Campus. As such, those who purchased SRWC parking permits can park on the Main Campus at no additional cost.
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Departments will continue to be able to purchase department permits, enabling their employees to park in Service Vehicle or ‘A’ spaces on the Main Campus.
Rethinking the need to travel between campuses
We have heard from some employees that they recognize the need to be strategic in how and when they spend time on the Main Campus. Some plan to start or end their day at the Main Campus to avoid making a round trip. Touchdown spaces will help with this. They also plan to group meetings on main campus on the same day whenever possible.