HEATHER FITZGERALD, JESSICA GETCHEL, JORGE OLEA, PETER NICHOLSON

How much is commuting really costing Students?

Bus 304 MW 11:30

May 7, 2008

Prof. Fang Fang

What We Want To Know

How much are students spending to commute to CSUSM?

How long will it take for the rise in parking permits prices to cover the cost of parking lot F?

Survey Scope A total of 115 students answered our survey.

These students were all California State University San Marcos Students of differing ages and majors.

Bias? In order to avoid bias we surveyed students away

from parking lots so we would have a better chance

of including students that do not commute as well as

those that do.

Survey Questions Asked Gender: Male Female Day that you attend CSUSM: M-F M-Th M, W & F M &W T, TH &F T&TH Other (please specify): __________________________________________Arrival Time at CSUSM:AM: Afternoon: PM: Hours spent at CSUSM per day for classes:0-2 hours: 2-4 hours: 4-6 hours: 6-8 hours: 10+ hours: Miles driven to CSUSM:________________Average time it takes to get to get to CSUSM: 0-10 min: 10-20 min: 20-30 min: 30 min-1 hr: 1 hr+:What type if parking passes do you purchase?Semester (car): Semester (motorcycle): Carpool: Single day pass:

Sample Distribution of Gender

Who Responded?

Male56%

Female44%

Male

Female

Out of 115 surveys: 64 Male 51Female

Is CSUSM a Commuter School?

Out of 115 surveyed:*99% of sample commute to CSUSM*1% of sample do not commute to CSUSM

Frequency of Days in Attendance at CSUSM?

Of a sample size of 115:• 44% attend M-TH•22% attend M&W•14% attend M-F•8% attend T-TH•2% attend TTH&F•9% responded other

Days of Attendance

M-F 13.91%

M-Th 44.35%

MWF 0.87% MW 22.61%

TTHF 1.74%

TTH 7.83%

Other 8.70%

M-F

M-Th

MWF

MW

TTHF

TTH

Other

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10

20

30

40

50

60

2 3 4 5

Average Days in Attendance at CSUSM?

Out of 115 surveyed:*43% attend 4 days per week*30% attend 2 days per week*14% attend 5 days per week*11% attend 3 days per week

Average Arrival time at CSUSM?

Out of 115 surveyed:*73% arrive in the AM*24% arrive in the afternoon*3% arrive in the PM

Out of 115 surveyed:*43% attend 2-4 hours/day*28% attend 4-6 hours/day*15% attend 0-2 hours/day*9% attend 6-8 hours/day*5% attend 10+ hours/day

Average Hours spent per day at CSUSM?

05.133708.170

13913.152

Average Miles driven per day to CSUSM?

Out of 115 surveyed:*33% 0-5 miles*20% 5-10 miles*13% 20-30 miles*9% 10-15 miles*9% 15-20 miles*8% 30-40 miles*8% 40+ miles

Type of parking pass purchased?

Out of 115 surveyed:85% Semester car6% Single day 3% Carpool 3% Semester motorcycle3% NONE

Semester Pass-Car

7,700 x 99%= 7,623(number of students that commute)

7,623 x 87%= 7,547 (number of students that commute

and purchase car semester pass)7,547 x $248=1,871,598.96

Semester Pass-Motorcycle

7,623 x 3%=229 (number of students that commute

and purchase a motorcycle semester pass)

231 x $30 =6860.70

Single Day Pass7,623 x 6%=457

(number of students that commute and purchase a single day pass)

$7 x 2 days a week= $14 a week$14 x 15 weeks (in each

semester)=$210 each semester 457 x $210=$96,049.80

Semester Carpool Pass

75 (number of students that commute and purchase a

carpool semester pass; this number is limited.)

75 x $248 =$186,000

What about Gas?Considering the average student commutes at total of 15 miles one way to the university, and attends classes an average of three times a week. That means:15miles x 2 times/day= 30miles (roundtrip)

30 miles/day x 3 days/week= 90 miles/week

90 miles/week x 15 weeks/semester= 1,350 miles/semester

1,350/30 miles/gallon=45 gallons

45 gallons x $4.09=$184.05

According to this information the average students spent $184.05 per semester on gas to commute to school alone.

Alternatives?An alternative to driving to school, and therefore purchasing a parking permit, is to take the Sprinter; which offers a convenient CSUSM stop.

$54 (price for a monthly sprinter pass) x 5 (months in school)=$270 Per semester.

Sprinter Commuting$270- Monthly Sprinter Pass $330 -Parking Permit

$184.05 -Ave amount spent on gas due to commuting per semester

$270 -amount spent on taking the sprinter

$514.05 Total Spent on Commuting to CSUSM

Correlation

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8

10

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14

16

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

There is the little to no correlation between the miles driven to CSUSM and the time spent there. This could be due to many students working while attending school and must plan classes around their work schedule.

What does this mean to you?

Our results show that the university takes in approximately 2.1 million dollars for parking and related expenses. The greatest expense that the university faces when it comes to parking was the 3.3 million dollar parking lot F, which is why the price of parking permits is rising by 90 dollars. However, the extra 3.3 million dollars to pay for the new parking lot will take about 3 years to accumulate.

Furthermore, students that commute to school are spending an extra $184 on gas alone. Therefore, it would be cheaper for students to find other means of transportation (e.g. carpooling of the use of the new sprinter system.)

Any Questions??