UC IRVINE ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Responsible Office: Parking and Transportation Services Revised: September 2006

South Coast Air Quality Management District, Rule 2202

UCI Administrative Policies & Procedures

Section 904 Parking Policy
Section 904-10 Definitions, Laws, and Enforcement
Section 904-11 Parking Permits and Fees
Section 904-13 Vehicles Other Than Automobiles
Section 904-14 Motorist Assistance Service
Section 904-15 Commuter Services - Carpool Program
Section 904-16 Commuter Services - Vanpool Program

Commuter Services Application/Payment Authorization

A. Purpose and Goals

UCI encourages employees and students to use alternative forms of transportation and incentives are offered to registered participants who use less or non-polluting forms of transportation. Telecommuting and alternative work schedules are advocated to reduce the number of vehicle trips to campus.

Commuter Services and Ridesharing, a unit within Parking & Transportation Services, coordinates carpools, vanpools, shuttle and public transportation programs. A Guaranteed Ride Home Program is available to registered employee participants. Commuter Services is located at 200 Public Services Building (building #7 on the campus map) and can be reached at (949) 824-5060.

B. Responsibilties of Participants

1. Compliance with Program Regulations

   Participation in UCI's Commuter Services program is a privilege and not a right of employment or enrollment at UCI. Commuter Services management may refuse participation privileges to anyone who does not meet qualification requirements. Participants are expected to display courteous and safe behavior, and comply with all University policies, procedures, and specific program regulations. Failure to practice good conduct may result in revocation of program participation and incentive privileges. Abuse of incentives can also result in revocation of privileges by the Manager of Commuter Services or by the Director of Parking and Transportation Services. Depending on the severity of the infraction or misconduct, the case may also be referred to an appropriate Dean, Vice Chancellor, or to the UCI Police Department.

2. Registration
   1. Employees must initially register with Commuter Services at 200 Public Services Building. The Commuter Services Application/Payment Authorization form should be used to identify the mode of transportation and select incentives. Employees eligible for payroll deduction may choose that option at the time of registration. Annual registration is required for continued participation in Commuter Services programs. In May, participants are reminded via email that they must re-register in order to receive their incentives by June 30th. Employees with an appointment for less than a year must also re-register.

   2. Students must visit Commuter Services at 200 Public Services Building quarterly in order to identify their mode of transportation and receive incentives when they are offered.

   Employees and students are responsible for notifying Commuter Services of changes in status or choice of transportation mode for which they receive incentives.

C. Incentives

1. General

   Only qualified UCI participants who have applied for participation in the Commuter Services program can receive incentives in the form of either an annual CS Permit authorized for a specified number of days, or Commuter Dollars. Participants may not choose both, and one cannot be exchanged for the other. Permits are non-transferable and may be used only by the person to whom they are issued and the holder's carpool partner(s). Incentives are distributed by June 30th and sent to registered participants via campus mail so they may continue participation without interruption. Participants can change their incentive preference only during Commuter Services's annual registration period. Participants who terminate, or are terminated, from participation in a Commuter Services program are required to return remaining incentives.

   1. CS Permits allow participants to park on campus when they cannot utilize their regular mode of alternative transportation. An CS Permit displays a specific number of one-day use boxes and is valid in general parking when one box is dated, and in AR/Reserved parking when two consecutive boxes are dated with the same date. Corresponding day(s) of the week must be circled. The date must be clearly written in ink; a vehicle displaying a permit dated in pencil will receive a parking citation.

      An CS Permit has a value of $5.00 per unused date box when redeemed at the Bike Doctor. The value may be applied towards the purchase of any item with a value greater than the total number of date boxes being redeemed. If lost or stolen, the AT Permit can be replaced once for a $15.00 fee.

   2. Commuter Dollars may be used to purchase one-day parking permits, or to purchase food or merchandise from participating merchants. Commuter Dollars that are lost, misplaced, or stolen will not be replaced.

2. Participation in Specific Programs
   1. For each month of participation, walkers and cyclists receive either an CS Permit authorizing four days of parking or Commuter Dollars worth $10.00.

   2. For each month of participation, carpool, vanpool, OCTA bus, shuttle, and commuter rail program participants receive either an CS Permit authorizing two days of parking or Commuter Dollars worth $5.00.

D. Walking and Cycling

E. Carpool and Vanpool Programs

1. Carpool Program - A carpool exists when two or more employees or students travel together to the campus in a private vehicle. UCI employees and students are eligible to receive carpooling incentives if they have applied to participate in a UCI sponsored carpool and met specific requirements regarding their home address, work appointment, work location and length of commute traveled together.

   See Section 904-15: Carpool Program for more information.

2. Vanpool Program - UCI currently offers eight-, nine-, ten-, and twelve-passenger vanpool vehicles for commuting to the UCI campus. A vanpool exists when a certified driver and at least five, but preferably seven, full-time passengers travel together from a designated departure site to the UCI campus in a UCI vanpool vehicle. The Vanpool Program is open to all faculty, staff, and students who commute to the UCI campus, and to non-affiliated patrons who work in surrounding areas of UCI. Commuter Services must receive signed copies of the Commuter Services Application and the Guidelines for Drivers and Passengers before an individual participates in the Vanpool Program.

   See Section 904-16: Vanpool Program for more information.

3. Non-UCI Employees in Carpools and Vanpools - Carpools and vanpools are open to non-UCI employees who are actively employed and have applied to participate in a UCI sponsored carpool or vanpool. UCI employees and students are given priority in seating on University sponsored vanpools. A non-UCI employee who has secured a seat on an existing vanpool by making monthly payments is not removed from the vanpool in favor of a UCI employee or student who wishes to vanpool. However, UCI employees and students on vanpool waiting lists have priority over non-UCI employees.

F. Bus Service

UCI's U-Pass Program provides current students, staff and faculty with free, unlimited access to Orange County Transportation Authority's (OCTA) extensive bus system using their encoded UCI ID as a bus pass. Participants must visit Parking and Transportation or UC Items Photo ID Office to get their UCI ID card encoded with the U-Pass information; it must be re-encoded annually during the month of June. This allows the rider to swipe the ID in the farebox when boarding any OCTA bus. The U-Pass program is jointly managed by Parking and Transportation Services, ASUCI, and OCTA.

Parking and Transportation also sells OCTA monthly bus passes to employees hired through Campus Temporary Employment Services and University Extension students at a discount. Employees must be on active pay status, and students must be currently enrolled to be eligible for the discount. Qualified participants who do not purchase a long-term parking permit receive a greater discount than those who do.

OCTA bus schedules are available at the Parking and Transportation Office at 200 Public Services Building, in the lobby of the Administration Building, and at the Student Center information booth.

G. Commuter Rail

H. Shuttle Services

1. Campus Shuttles

Campus shuttles provide free service throughout the campus. The Main Campus Shuttle services the Administration Building, Engineering gateway, Physical Sciences I and II, and Humanities; the East Campus Shuttle provides service between the east campus (Verano Housing, Arroyo Vista Housing, Anteater Recreation Center, and Vista del Campo) and the Administration Building. Campus shuttles operate when classes are in session during fall, winter and spring quarters from Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 10:45 p.m., and on Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Shuttles do not operate during the summer or on campus administrative holidays. Schedules are available at the Parking and Transportation Office, the Information Desk in the UCI Student Center, and from shuttle drivers. Campus shuttles are operated by ASUCI and funded in partnership by ASUCI and Parking and Transportation Services.

2. UCI Medical Center Shuttle

The UCI Medical Center Shuttle provides free shuttle service between campus and UCI Medical Center in the City of Orange. It operates year-round, Monday through Friday, from 6:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. The shuttle makes four round-trips between the campus and UCI Medical Center, with stops at the Santa Ana Transportation Center and the UCI Santa Ana Family Health Center. Schedules are available at the Parking and Transportation Office, the Information Desk in the UCI Student Center, and from shuttle drivers. The shuttle is operated by Best Transportation, Inc. and is funded in partnership by Parking and Transportation Services, UCI College of Medicine and UCI Medical Center.

3. Parkwest Shuttle

The Parkwest Shuttle provides service between the campus and the Parkwest Apartments in Irvine when classes are in session during fall, winter and spring quarters. It does not operate during the summer or on campus administrative holidays. Passengers may either pay the $1.00 per ride fare, or purchase an eighteen-ride or quarterly unlimited use shuttle pass from ASUCI (located in the UCI Student Center). Schedules are available at the Parking and Transportation Office, the Information Desk in the UCI Student Center, and from shuttle drivers. The shuttle is operated by ASUCI and funded in partnership by ASUCI and Parking and Transportation Services.

I. Guaranteed Ride Home Program

J. SCAQMD Rule 2202