The absence of a daily commute has been an unexpected perk of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as WashU staff and faculty are slowly transitioning back to campus offices, daily commutes are once again becoming a widespread reality. This transitional time is a perfect opportunity to upgrade your commuter habits into a more sustainable, social, and healthier approach.
To help you get started on your sustainable commute, start by exploring WashU Rides, our university’s one-stop ride-matching and trip-planning platform. Through WashU Rides, you can explore sustainable transportation options, find people with similar routes, schedules, and preferences to carpool or bikepool with to campus on a one-time or ongoing basis, view an interactive transportation map and much more. The availability of carpool matches depends on how many people are actively searching for matches so please join and spread the word to your friends and colleagues! WashU also participates in the Guaranteed Ride Home program that provides up to 4 subsidized rides home per year to sustainable transportation users, so you don’t have to worry that you will be stranded on campus in the case of an emergency.
If you are interested in exploring public transportation, WashU offers free U-passes to all benefits-eligible faculty and staff, full-time Basic Services Contractors, and full-time students. A U-pass will allow you to ride MetroLink and MetroBuses for free! Just be sure to have your WashU ID with you.
Arguably the most sustainable and healthiest commuting option is biking. WashU has many resources available to make biking more accessible on campus, including showers, free bike tune-ups (don’t miss free tune-ups at WUSM!), and fixit stations. If you’re worried about being stinky from a commute – you’re in luck! The Active Commuter Hub on the Danforth Campus will be re-opening in a limited capacity at the beginning of September with COVID restrictions in place. Any WashU staff, Basic Service Contractor, faculty, or student is eligible to register for membership and gain access to the showers and lockers.
For those who still need to drive to campus, please be aware that we have updated resources for electric vehicles for both Danforth and WUSM campuses. To learn about all your parking & transportation options and view any changes/alerts, please visit parking.wustl.edu. In particular, be aware that free summer parking ends this week!
While you’re already gearing up to get back to the office, check out HR’s “thrive tips” for building a new normal.