Columbia Recognized at International Transportation Conference for Commuter Shuttle Solution
Columbia was recognized as the runner-up in the Commute Options category from the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT). The ACT’s national awards ceremony took place at its annual international conference held this year at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida.
Columbia was recognized for the implementation of its Commuter Shuttle service that was put in place to provide an alternative to public transit for Columbia students, faculty, and staff who needed to be on campus during the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, about 50 to 60 percent of Columbia employees used public transit for their commute. The goal of the Commuter Shuttle service was, and still is, to provide a car-free travel alternative to public transit for Columbia affiliates who wish to minimize their risk of contracting COVID-19. The Commuter Shuttle service is only available to Columbia affiliates, who have pledged to Keep the Compact – to keep each other safe from COVID-19 transmission through mask-wearing, frequent testing, and now vaccination.
The shuttle service is made up of four bus routes that service New York City boroughs where Columbia has the largest count of constituents. During the 2020 - 2021 academic year, the buses operated from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM on weekdays, and generally had a departure frequency of every 30 minutes. Over the summer, the service was reduced due to limited summer ridership that generally occurs on Columbia's shuttles.
To ride the shuttle, Columbia affiliates reserve a seat via the online booking tool and are charged $4.50 per trip. Interested Columbia ID-holders can learn more on the Commuter Shuttle webpage.
Columbia is honored to be recognized by the ACT for its efforts in reducing car dependency by university affiliates. This is the second time the ACT has recognized Columbia for its transportation achievements; in 2019 Columbia was awarded Best Overall Transportation Program.