Mobility
Yale in Motion
A focus on health and physical activity encourages the Yale community to be more active on campus, reduce vehicle usage, improve air quality, and reduce congestion on the roads.
Yale’s Efforts
- Over one-third of Yale employees live in the City of New Haven, and increasingly choose to walk, bike, or ride the Yale Shuttle to work.
- Yale has partnered with the city and other local employers to encourage use of the expanding infrastructure and programs for walking, biking and using transit.
- The Yale Community Carbon Fund allows those who commute to or travel for Yale to support local efficiency projects and offset their emissions.
- Bike/Walk Yale, a subgroup of the Traffic Safety Committee, manages initiatives to enhance bike and pedestrian infrastructure on campus. They also encourage active transportation through incentive programs and communications and ensure that University planning processes are holistic in their approach to transportation systems. Participating departments include the Office of Sustainability, Facilities Operations, University Planning, Public Safety, and the University Wellness Leadership Group.
What You Can Do
- Avoiding single occupancy vehicle use can save you time and money while improving air quality and reducing emissions. Learn more about the resources Yale provides.
- Join the fun. GoNewHavenGo offers resources and programming to make sustainable transportation easy. CT Rides offers free commuter counseling to all Yale affiliates.
- Concerned about your safety? Download the LiveSafe app for resources to keep you safe while walking and biking in New Haven.
Our Objectives and Goals
Alternative Transportation Systems
Enhance and support systems for alternative and active transportation
In the fall of 2021, President Salovey and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced Yale’s increased financial contributions to the city as well as its acquisition of the section of High Street (between Chapel and Elm streets) that it plans to convert into a public walkway to enhance pedestrian safety. As of 2022, plans are in place to make High Street a car-free thoroughfare where New Haven residents and the Yale Community can safely travel by bike, foot, or adaptive mobility device.
Sustainable Transportation Framework
ACHIEVED
By 2019, complete a Sustainable Transportation Framework and related analyses for enhancing sustainable transportation infrastructure on and across Yale campuses.
This goal was achieved in 2019. Yale continues to address enhanced transportation options to encourage active, safe, and healthy modes of movement around campus and in New Haven. Of the forty capital projects identified in the Sustainable Transportation Framework, nine have been implemented and seven have been initiated.
Campus Circulation
ON TRACK
By 2025, enhance Yale’s strategy for safe, convenient, and resilient circulation around campus.
Yale Transit is exploring opportunities to work with the city and the state to review redundancies between our programs and to understand innovative ways of improving circulation for our campus community and beyond.
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
ON TRACK
By 2025, provide approximately 2% of all Yale controlled parking spaces with electric vehicle charging stations.
In 2019, Yale had five single-hose electric vehicle charging stations available for fleet vehicles and drivers parking on campus. Since then, twenty-five dual-hose units have been installed, providing fifty additional charging options for fleet and drivers parking on campus, for a total of fifty-five charging options. Seven of Yale’s fleet vehicles are electric.
Sustainable Transportation Choices
Advance transportation choices that improve human health and environmental vitality
Sustainable Commuting
ON TRACK
By 2025, increase the proportion of Yale community members commuting to campus using sustainable transportation modes by 10% above 2015 levels.
Our 2021 Transportation Survey results demonstrated that 65% of Yale commuters use sustainable transportation modes, which is a 7% increase from 2015 levels. The onset of the pandemic in 2020 drastically affected commuting patterns, the most notable changes being a 17% increase in telecommuting and a 15% decrease in single-occupancy vehicle use since 2019.