Transportation at Augsburg

The Augsburg Transportation Plan goals:

  • Enhance Augsburg’s commitment to the city, its urban location, and environmental stewardship;
  • Maximize the use of other transportation options, including light rail, bus, biking, and ride-sharing;
  • Ensure students access classes, campus services and educational opportunities;
  • Support employees at the Minneapolis campus in getting to work.

Growing Commitment to Alternative Transportation

Augsburg University students, staff, and faculty were surveyed in October 2015 to determine their commuting habits and alternative transportation options. The 653 (22 percent response rate) respondents primarily commuted to campus by car with 78 percent identifying driving alone as their primary mode of travel. The primary mode of transportation for the remaining 22 percent to campus was by transit, foot, bike, or carpool.  

The survey helped identify a baseline for setting transportation goals over the next four to five years. The end goal is a 28 percent reduction in single occupancy trips to campus.

The survey also helped set a better understanding for how parking is being utilized on campus. For example, the vast majority of commuters are on campus for an extended period of time. Approximately 65 percent of commuters are on campus for seven or more hours with 39 percent are on campus for more than eight hours. Augsburg University Parking Permit holders accounted for 65 percent of the respondents. The remaining respondents either park on city streets (26 percent), on-street with a permit (four percent), pay for metered parking (two percent), or find other parking solutions nearby (three percent). These findings suggest a majority of commuters are single occupancy drivers who stay on campus for a majority of the day, and take advantage of permit parking or on-street parking.

Augsburg is committed to promoting the use of multiple modes of transportation (cycling, ride-sharing, public transit, etc.) by students, faculty and staff. We recognize the wide range of individuals and wide range of circumstances that both promote use of alternative strategies as well as require individuals use a car. By 2020, Augsburg University’s goal is to empower its students and employees so that 30% are able to commute using public transit or a carpool and so that 20% are able to walk and/or bike when the conditions permit.

Our thanks to SRF Consulting Group and Transit for Livable Communities for their help in developing this plan. Task Force members include Beth Reissenweber, Ann Garvey, Scott Brownell, Nicole Peterlin, Steve Peacock, Amanda West and  Michael Fetting.