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Fewer UCLA commuters are driving to campus alone than ever before

Commuters to UCLA opt to take more sustainable forms of transportation compared with commuters in Los Angeles County. The drive-alone rate for UCLA commuters is about 37% while the LA county rate is 76%.
(Daily Bruin file photo)

By Martín Bilbao

Oct. 10, 2019 12:00 a.m.

More commuters are forgoing driving alone to UCLA compared to county-wide commuting trends.

UCLA reached its lowest drive-alone rate ever in 2018, according to a press release from UCLA Transportation. The employee drive-alone rate fell to 48.9% and the student drive-alone rate sits at 23%. These rates are lower than the Los Angeles County drive-alone rate of 76%. Taken together, the drive-alone rate of employees and students is about 37%.

The milestone was announced Oct. 1 with the start of National Rideshare Month, an annual occasion that encourages and celebrates commuting with public transit, car pools, van pools, biking and walking. A majority of student commuters use more environmentally friendly ride-sharing transportation options, according to the press release.

UCLA is participating in National Rideshare Month by collecting pledges from commuters to use ride-share options. Participants will be entered to win transportation-related prizes.

There were 63,887 commuters to UCLA in 2018, according to a UCLA Transportation report of the same year. Students and employees that carpool account for just 8.1% of those commuters, 23.8% walk, 20.7% take public transit, 3.5% bike, 2.1% vanpool and 5.2% use other forms of transportation, the report stated.

Commuters in a two-person carpool save about $580 per year in parking permit costs compared to commuters that drive alone and need to buy their own permit, according to the report. Three-person car pools save over $800 in permit costs.

About 12,000 people visit campus every day, said David Karwaski, senior associate director of UCLA Transportation, at a Westwood Village Improvement Association meeting. Around 2,300 students and 7,000 employees live in the San Fernando Valley, Karwaski added.

UCLA held a Rideshare Fair at Bruin Plaza on Oct. 3 to promote sustainable transportation options. A series of other on-campus events were also held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 to promote ride-share options.

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Martín Bilbao | Alumnus
Bilbao was the Assistant News editor for City and Crime from 2019-2020. He graduated with a degree in political science student and previously worked as a News contributor for Features and Student Life.
Bilbao was the Assistant News editor for City and Crime from 2019-2020. He graduated with a degree in political science student and previously worked as a News contributor for Features and Student Life.
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