Introduction

University campuses have unique transportation requirements that may be characterized with a high concentration of trips during multiple peak periods (i.e., morning, lunch and afternoon). These campuses are often one of the largest employers in small- to medium-size cities and it is therefore critical to coordinate campus mobility needs with the overall transportation system. Many colleges and universities recognize transit as an effective mode for meeting campus mobility and have developed transit systems to serve those needs. We are aware of at least 48 colleges and universities in the United States that have some type of campus transit program. Successful campus transit systems include factors such as careful planning, understanding user preferences, efficient design of system services, and coordination with existing city transit service. Universities are not homogenous (i.e., enrollment levels, campus locations, size of community), so they will have different needs. This study examines these factors for three campuses in the twin city area of Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN. The study began as an analysis of North Dakota State University, but with interest from the Council of Governments and the other campuses the study expanded to include the three major campuses. The campuses are major employers in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

North Dakota State University

At North Dakota State University there are approximately 2,000 faculty and staff who travel to campus nearly every day to teach, conduct research, and facilitate information exchange for North Dakota and beyond. NDSU has experienced a recent surge of on-campus growth which impacts personal mobility on campus. The growth is due to a number of factors including: 1) development of new graduate programs which draw more students and requires more faculty, 2) the development of the Technology Park on campus, and 3) the new research programs being implemented. These factors have required the expansion of the land used to house the buildings and programs, requiring students and faculty to travel longer distances on campus. Further, the architecture, landscape architecture and visual arts program utilize buildings in downtown Fargo, requiring students and faculty to travel to off-campus sites to take and teach classes.

The growth occurring on-campus is not met without growing pains. Mobility has become a greater issue. The additional students and faculty need to travel greater distances on campus. Parking has not increased at the same rate. Parking is typically a problem for most universities, but the growth at NDSU has accentuated the problem. To address these issues, the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC), a research program at the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute on the NDSU campus, designed a research project. The overall project will address the transportation needs of the campus.

In fall 2002, President Joseph Chapman sent an e-mail message to NDSU faculty and staff requesting they complete a campus transit survey developed by SURTC. The objective of the survey was to identify transportation needs of campus employees to better meet needs as employees travel to and from campus as well as around campus. Approximately 695 faculty and 1,052 staff received the e-mail notice.¹ Three hundred nineteen faculty and staff responded to the on-line survey, providing an 18 percent response rate. Of these responses, approximately 40 percent indicated they are classified as faculty and 60 percent indicated their classification as staff.

Concordia College

Concordia College is a private, accredited four-year liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college offers 80 majors in 42 academic areas. The campus is located in Moorhead, MN. There are approximately 2,750 students attending college. Of those, approximately 60 percent live on-campus.

Concordia traditionally keeps student enrollment below 3,000 to ensure a smaller student-to- teacher ratio. The campus is expanding through the addition of a tri-college graduate program in nursing.

Parking is somewhat underutilized in two lots further from campus. Certainly students want to park as close to their class or dorm as possible.

Thomas Iverson, director of campus security, sent the students two different surveys asking questions about transportation. The first survey pertained to the use of the MAT bus around the Fargo-Moorhead community. The second survey inquired about students' perceptions of adding a taxi service to the campus. The taxi service would potentially be available in the evening when the bus service is not running. Students would be able to take the taxi service anywhere within the FM area for a designated price. NDSU and MSUM already have this type of service available. Both surveys received a response rate greater than 16%.

Minnesota State University Moorhead

Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is public four-year university in Moorhead, MN. MSUM offers over 130 majors along with numerous graduate programs. More than 7,500 students are enrolled at MSUM and with roughly 1,600 living on-campus.

Les Bakke sent out separate surveys to both students and faculty and staff. Questions asked pertained to the use of the Metro Area Transit (MAT) in the Fargo-Moorhead area and around campus. Also, all respondents were asked their perceptions of the current parking conditions at MSUM and what they felt could be done to alleviate parking congestion. MSUM is "locked" within the city of Moorhead leaving very little room to expand parking areas for all students, faculty, and staff. MSUM is opening a new health center along with a new science lab in the fall of 2004 as well. These new developments will only increase the demand for already limited parking on and around campus. The survey included responses from 476 students (7%) and 155 faculty and staff (21%).