TDM and Transportation Infrastructure: An Essential Part of Any Master Plan
Trehan_Asirifi_RU_TDM_Nov2016
1. Travel Demand Management Plan for
Rutgers New Brunswick
Richard Asirifi & Aman Trehan
November 11, 2016.
2. Aman Trehan & Richard Asirifi 2
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................................3
Scope and Goals............................................................................................................................................4
1. Existing conditions ................................................................................................................................6
1.1 Status of Bicycling on Campus ..........................................................................................................10
1.2 Parking ..............................................................................................................................................11
2. Strategies and Recommendations......................................................................................................13
(in order of priority)....................................................................................................................................13
A. Cash-out and Zipcar solutions for faculty and staff........................................................................13
B. Bikesharing Program..........................................................................................................................15
C. Collaboration between RU DOTS and Centers for Global Services ....................................................17
D. Ride matching through the RU DOT and school smart phone app. ..................................................18
References ..................................................................................................................................................19
List of Tables ...........................................................................................................................................20
List of Figures ..........................................................................................................................................20
Appendix – Parking Inventory by campus..................................................................................................21
3. Aman Trehan & Richard Asirifi 3
Executive Summary
Rutgers-New Brunswick is the oldest and the largest campus within the complete statewide multi-
location university system. The highly central location of New Brunswick in the state on the Northeast
corridor is of great advantage to its students and also plays a key role in attracting faculty and staff to
the campuses. The student population here is quite diverse and 17% of students come from outside of
New Jersey and about 8% of the full time graduate and undergraduate student body is international.
The New Brunswick system spreads over 2688 acres across five different campuses in New Brunswick
and Piscataway municipalities. The College Avenue and Cook-Douglass campuses in New Brunswick are
strongly integrated within the urban setting of the city while the relatively recent buildings in Piscataway
location have a more suburban setting disconnected from the Piscataway community. Due to the
spread out locations of these campuses, students typically use the (almost) round-the-clock university
bus system to get around if they do not drive. Faculty and staff prefer driving to other campuses to using
campus buses or shuttles citing reasons such as over-crowding on buses and unreliable travel times.
Walking and biking is a small portion of the campus travel profile due to lack of conducive infrastructure.
The university owns and manages more than 20,000 parking spaces to accommodate the needs of
students, faculty and staff who drive to the campuses or use on-campus housing.
The university recently released a physical master plan but they have never developed a Transportation
Master Plan or a Travel Demand Management (TDM) Plan before. Such an effort has the potential to
create tremendous value in making the campus locations and local destinations more accessible and
contribute to a more fulfilling learning experience. We reviewed master plan’s mobility elements, past
university initiatives, parking inventory and management to understand the context and travel behavior
of different groups. On the foundation of this groundwork, we then developed a few strategies with the
goal to increase mobility and accessibility for students, faculty and staff with the given resources.
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Scope and Goals
Our analysis looks at how different campus population groups travel to make their trips between
campuses, commute trips from and to their places or residences and then how do students access other
destinations and amenities in the area.
The primary goal of the strategies is to reduce the amount of single occupancy vehicle(SOV) travel rate
to the Rutgers New Brunswick campus locations by faculty, staff and students to reduce the air quality
and traffic impacts that mode has on the local community and in the area especially when the semester
is in session. The second goal is to provide campus users with healthy travel options like walking and
bicycling thereby improving their health and at the same time increasing their mobility and accessibility.
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Figure 1: Rutgers 2030 masterplan proposed transit and bus routes map
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1. Existing conditions
RU-DOTS is in the process of preparing a Transportation Master Plan as confirmed through email
inquiries with current staff. The Physical Master Plan updated in June 2015 for each of the campuses
after more than a decade has details pertaining to the transportation issues and specific projects to
improve the challenges (Table 2). These ideas informed us about the general direction and thinking that
the university system is taking to integrate the new departments, schools (RBHS) over the course of next
10-15 years.
Rutgers Bus System and shuttle services are the primary mode of transportation that students use to
travel between the 5 different campuses. Recently, there have been concerns around over-crowding on
the buses especially around class change time as students travel to classes and activities on other
campuses. At a student assembly meeting in March 2015, University President Robert Barchi reaffirmed
this view when he presented the masterplan saying that many of the students spend enormous
amounts of time on buses (Zoppo, 2015). Students have also complained that they sometimes have to
make transfers to reach their classes in a short time window.
The University Planning team used a software solution to help students understand the travel that will
be required to manage their selected class schedule. Another interesting idea that has emerged from
this plan making process is the proposal to allocate campus housing to first year students on the basis of
their choice of major – the claim here being that this strategy could reduce bus trips by 35%.
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Table 1. Campus population New Brunswick system
32,206 Undergraduate students
8,514 Graduate students
40,720 Total full-time student
population
4,000 Full time and Part time faculty
6,000 Full time and Part time staff
Source: http://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/about/facts-figures
District Transit Hubs
The major theme of the mobility element in the Plan revolves around the proposal to create a
(district/campus) hub of activities and amenities within a short walk from the central bus stop at each of
the campuses. Some other major (capital) projects within the 20-year horizon are listed in Table 1.
Existing Game Day Travel Management
As part of the Big Ten Conference, High Point Solutions (HPS) hosts quite a few events throughout the
season. Despite extensive parking management, there is a major impact on the neighboring
communities on such days. Some of the measures that are currently used for such events are as follows:
Game day parking lots (at $20 per vehicle) are usually spread between the College Avenue,
Livingston the Biomedical / Health Sciences Campuses and Johnson Parks ($45 per vehicle).
Free shuttle service from downtown New Brunswick to HPS from 3 hours from kick off and
return 3 hours after the game.
Parking for oversized vehicles and buses at $100.
Parking lots open 5 hours before kickoff and stay open till dusk.
All lots surrounding HPS Stadium are reserved for season ticket holders only.
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Some proposals that can improve the situation on event days further are – to add car pool only parking
lots, add covered/secured bike parking close to the stadium, enhance pedestrian connection from
downtown New Brunswick to HSP.
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Table 2. Mobility elements from the Rutgers 2030 Master Plan
PROPOSAL (IN NO PARTICULAR
ORDER)
CAMPUSES
AFFECTED
OUR ASSESSMENT FOR POSSIBLE MOTIVATION
Bike and pedestrian bridge across
the Raritan river to connect the
College Avenue campus(CAC) to
Livingston through the Rutgers
Ecological Preserve
CAC
Livingston
Enhance mobility between campus separated
by the river.
Encourage biking and walking
Develop a loop of bus rapid
transit(BRT) that improves
connectivity between College Ave
to Cook/Douglass along George
Street and Neilson Street
CAC
Cook/Douglass
During the peak hours, the buses mix with the
New Brunswick city traffic and take much
longer to complete trips between the two
campuses.
Busch and Livingston campuses to
be served by a dedicated roadway
over Route 18.
Busch
Livingston
This route has the highest amount of ridership.
While the campuses (centers) are apart by only
1.4 miles, the path is not conducive for walking
and bicycling as it is adjacent to speeding
vehicles on Route 18.
Restoration of bus service across
Route 27 bridge to Highland Park
Highland Park Large numbers of graduate students, faculty
and staff live in this community. While this
community is quite close to downtown New
Brunswick and Livingston campus, the restored
bus service can further improve its accessibility
especially to pockets further north.
College Avenue and
Cook/Douglass connected by an
enhanced bicycle and pedestrian
route along the Raritan
CAC
Cook/Douglass
Increase in mobility option for people who
choose to circumvent the city traffic and streets
to make these inter-campus trips.
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1.1 Status of Bicycling on Campus
Bicycling is a small part of the campus travel profile of students on the New Brunswick campuses. For
inter-campus travel especially, the major impediment is that the locations are not well connected by
contiguous bike lanes or paths.
RU DOTS manages an on-campus bicycle rental program with the 150 bikes that they received with a
grant from the Rutgers Energy Institute. The department website mentions that there are about 9
rental locations across the different campuses. The current status of the program is unknown and
phone inquiries especially for this did not yield any responses.
To facilitate safe storage of personal bicycles, this department also runs a bicycle locker rental program
with locations on the Cook Campus Lot 98A and Livingston Campus Yellow Lot.
NJ Transit Student Discount Program
Through a university-wide arrangement with NJ Transit, full-time undergraduate and graduate students
receive a 25% discount for rail, bus, or light rail monthly passes. However, this benefit is not extended to
faculty or staff.
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1.2 Parking
Each of the campuses have parking decks, metered parking, access controlled and restricted lots that
cater to faculty, staff, students and visitors.
Figure 2. Total Parking spaces within the New Brunswick System
There are two kinds of parking permits (color coded in the histogram):
● Faculty/Staff: The annual fee for the full time Faculty/Staff permit is determined on the basis of
the annual salary of the person – so, yearly parking permit fees can range from $25 to $600
or more.
● Student: there are different kinds of permit depending on the housing situation and the
duration of use (Table 3). Temporary permits are provided for special circumstances like reading
days, event days, etc.
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Table 3 Types of Student Permits
TYPE ANNUAL COSTS
Commuter A Commuter Permit is available
to students not living in
university housing.
Deck Permit -Zone A & D:
$340.00 annually.
Surface Lot permit (Zone B, C, &
L) $165.00 annually;
$110.00 - 8 month after
January 1.
Night Commuter $165.00 annually;
$110 for 8 months after
January 1.
Resident A Resident Permit is available to
all students living in university
housing
$250
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2. Strategies and Recommendations
(in order of priority)
A. Cash-out and Zipcar solutions for faculty and staff
The needs of this group are not well served when one looks at the entire gamut of transportation
services and initiatives that the university has developed over the years. Consequently, faculty and staff
prefer driving to reach the offices in campus locations and are a major consumer of parking spaces.
Now, staff parking pricing is controlled through a labor agreement and hence cannot be aligned with the
market (University Facilities & Capital Planning, Rutgers University, 2016). So, a two-pronged approach
could produce the desired results of reducing the SOV rate and consequent parking demand:
1. Parking cash outs to encourage users to shift to transit service
2. University-level arrangement with Zipcar for those would like added mobility to run errands
during their day.
When these two tools are bundled together, they can become a more potent means to achieve the goal
of reducing the habit of SOV travel and parking demand from this group. Settle’s Children Hospital, a
recent TDM excellence award winner from ACT, pays employees $4 per day they don’t drive to work
alone (Association of Commuter Transportation, 2016). This financial bonus measure and recognition for
faculty and staff may achieve the same end-goals that are constrained by the labor agreement that
constrains parking price increases.
Zipcar services on their own have not been able to reduce the SOV rate for commute travel. In an email
interview, the staff also shared that an arrangement in the past was discontinued since Zipcar was not
able to achieve the profit threshold that they seek in such collaborations (Molenaar, 2016). But
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programming this initiative in the described manner and also including students to build the critical
mass for the carsharing operator can produce stronger results for all parties this time.
Fig 3. Commuter Locations (Rutgers New Brunswick 2030 Master Plan)
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B. Bikesharing Program
The extensive and dispersed configuration of campuses within the New Brunswick system create a
conducive setting for biking to complete short (under 4 miles) trips. While a lot of students may prefer
using their own bikes, this shared service is particularly useful for first mile and last mile connections
with transit services. Also, NJ Transit trains do not allow bicycles on trains during the peak weekday
hours of operation.
Our analysis supports that the size of the campus student population, and activities and densities at
each of the campuses provide the critical mass needed for the uptake for such a program. The university
will have to work in cohesion with Highland Park and Piscataway municipalities to create a reasonably
dense network for docking stations and also work out the business model to sustain the program. The
entire program can be administered by the university, university in collaboration with the municipalities
or by a third party sponsor or foundation (Toole Design Group, 2012). A survey targeted at all
stakeholders – students, staff and faculty – will give a fair idea about the potential demand for such a
service and the insights can be used to determine the size of the system – no of bikes and docking
station density.
The major costs for such a program are Installation, equipment costs and then redistribution of cycles
during the day. Cambridge-based Zagster runs similar programs at over 20 universities around the
country and they have been able to launch services at quite a few campuses over the past year (Table 3).
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Table 4. Bike sharing systems at Big Ten universities and other large institutions
INSTITUTION NO. OF BIKES NO OF STATIONS SYSTEM LAUNCH
University of Maryland,
College Park, MD
120 cruiser bikes
5 accessible bikes
14 May 2016
Princeton University,
NJ
60 bikes 9 Nov 2014
Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH
100 cruiser bikes,
15 accessible bikes
15 August 2015.
Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN
50 bikes
(expansion to 100
bikes in 2016)
13 August 2015
Dartmouth College,
Hanover, NH
50 cruiser bikes 8 August 2016
Table 5: Costs of operation
Station Size (docks) Bikes Equipment &
Installation (including
bikes)
Approximate Annual
Operating Costs
11 6 $35,000 to $40,000 $12,000 to $15,000
15 8 $45,000 to $48,000 $18,000 to $21,000
19 10 $53,000 to $58,000 $24,000 to $28,000
(Toole Design Group, 2012)
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C. Collaboration between RU DOTS and Centers for Global Services
The New Brunswick location has a sizable international student body (pop. 6000) and most of the
campus housing locations are located in transit-poor locations in Piscataway. While the inter-campus
travel is well taken care of by the university bus system, trips to local areas for shopping, airport travel,
getting to even train station during the summer months (when buses run on a reduced schedule)
becomes a real challenge. Interview with the CGS staff revealed that most students use rideshare
services (like UBER) to make these kind of trips.
The department also runs a shuttle service to the local grocery destinations on bi-monthly schedule
when the semester is in session. One suggestion here would be to have a regular weekly schedule at a
fixed hour every weekend so as to avoid any confusion and attract a critical mass of users to justify the
costs of the operation. Discontinuation over the summer creates challenges for students who are living
in the area for internships and other employment opportunities. A proactive effort at organizing
information to estimate demand will be valuable to this student group and reduce reliance on taxi
services.
The transit connection to JFK airport (50 miles from New Brunswick downtown) is a bit weak as it
requires at least 2 transfers and takes a minimum of 2 hours. As the semester starts or ends, several
students will be making these trip either by transit or cab services and here in lies an opportunity to
match rides or ever run a shuttle service so as to simplify the to/from airport travel. Currently, student
organizations and church groups have set up an informal pick up system and this is also not well-
publicized.
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D. Ride matching through the RU DOT and school smart phone app.
RU-DOTS can create a provision for campus users to find partners to share rides through a feature on
their website. There are several trips that cannot be completed using the campus resources and campus
users may find it convenient and comfortable to share the ride with other people through this system.
Trips to and from the airport (esp. JFK), work travel to destinations not served (well) by the NJ Transit
system may be especially conducive for carpooling.
After the pilot phase, this can make way to the smartphone application so that it is even more
convenient and effortless to make requests. A well-designed incentive system can really jumpstart this
program creating a sense of community between carpoolers and reducing SOV trips.
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References
Association of Commuter Transportation. (2016, October 11). The Walt Disney Company, Harvard
University Win National Award for Transportation Programs. Retrieved from http://actweb.org:
http://actweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2016TDMExcellenceAwardPR.pdf
De, N. (2016, August 23). Rutgers moves Cabaret Theater bus stop to George Street. Daily Targum.
James, C. (2016, November 4). Residence Life Coordinator,Busch Campus. (A. Trehan, Interviewer)
Molenaar, J. (2016, November 1). Director, Department of Transportation Services . (A. Trehan,
Interviewer)
Office of University Planning and Development, Rutgers University. (2016, November). New
Brunswick/Piscataway Campus Map. Retrieved from Department of Transportation Services:
http://rudots.rutgers.edu/DOTS_files/0302%20Campus%20Map0721.pdf
Parking Rules & Regulations. (n.d.). Retrieved from Rutgers Department of Transportation Services
(DOTS): http://parktran.rutgers.edu/DOTS_files/RulesRegulations2014-2015.pdf
Schmitt, A. (2015, May). How Seattle Children’s Hospital Took the Lead on Healthy Transportation.
Retrieved from StreetsBlog USA: http://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/05/08/how-seattle-childrens-
hospital-took-the-lead-on-healthy-transportation/
Toole Design Group. (2012, September). Bike Sharing in the United States:State of the Practice and
Guide to Implementation. Retrieved from Forum bikesharing Schweiz:
http://www.bikesharing.ch/fileadmin/redaktion/bikesharing/Dokumente/Documents_et_autres
/Bikesharing_in_the_United_States.pdf
University Facilities & Capital Planning, Rutgers University. (2016, November). University Physical Master
Plan. Retrieved from Rutgers 2030 Volume 1: New Brunswick:
http://masterplan.rutgers.edu/reports/rutgers-2030-volume-1-new-brunswick
Zoppo, A. (2015, March 29). Barchi addresses student concerns at RUSA meeting. The Daily Targum,
New Brunswick, NJ.
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List of Tables
Table 1. Campus population New Brunswick system
Table 2. Mobility elements from the Rutgers 2030 Master Plan
Table 3 Types of Student Permits
Table 4. Bike sharing systems at Big Ten universities and other large institutions
Table 5: Costs of operation - Bike sharing systems
Table 6: Total Parking spaces – Rutgers New Brunswick
List of Figures
Figure 1: Rutgers 2030 masterplan proposed transit and bus routes map
Figure 2. Total Parking spaces within the New Brunswick System
Figure 3. Commuter Locations (Rutgers New Brunswick 2030 Master Plan)
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Appendix – Parking Inventory by campus
22. Lot #
Total
Spaces
Fac/S
taff Res.
All
Commu
ters
After
6 pm
Commu
ter
Comm
& F/S
Res
&
F/S
Res
erv
ed Meter
Visit
or
State
Govt.
Handi
cap
1 Old Queens 112 42 34 32 4
2 Alexander Hall 34 33 33 1
4 24 College Ave 6 6
5 30 College Avenue 14 10 4
6 McKinney Hall 10 8 2
7 36 Union St. 11 11 11
9 Scott Hall 33 30 1 2
10 60 College 19 19
11 26 Mine Street 97 93 4
12 43 Mine Street 8 8 8
13 88 College Avenue 22 22
14 18 Seminary Place 11 11
16 Murray Hall 188 178 188 2 8
17 25 Bishop Place 12 12
18 Hurtado 20 17 20 3
18A Hurtado Meters 8 6 6 2
20 River Dorms 108 19 76 6 7
22 Records Hall 42 35 41 4 3
23 Brower Loading 12 12
24 Dining 21 20 1
25A 3 Bartlett (lg side)44 42 2
26 Bartlett/Sicard 143 143 143
27 Gym-Annex 35 35
28 17 Senior St 20 20
29 13 Senior St 12 11 1
30 Gym-Student side 243 243 243
31 102 College Ave 4 3 1
32 9 Senior St 20 19 19 1
33 Huntington Street 53 41 2 10
34 Library 32 29 3
35 Stonier 39 37 37 2
36 Lafayette Street 33 33
College Avenue Campus
