2024 TDM Excellence Awardee: Stanford Medicine

Stanford Medicine

2024 Employer TDM Excellence Awardee

ACT was thrilled to recognize 2024 TDM Excellence Award winner Stanford Medicine at the TDM Forum in Charlotte, NC this week. Read below to learn about their impact and accomplishments!

When employers champion TDM initiatives, they play a pivotal role in motivating employees and fostering a workplace culture that encourages alternatives to solo driving. This support can significantly impact employee commuting habits, making sustainable transportation options more accessible and attractive.

Over the past two decades, Stanford Medicine’s Transportation Services has made substantial strides in advancing sustainable commuting through its innovative TDM initiatives. A major resource is their comprehensive website, which serves as a central hub for educating employees, contractors, and visitors on sustainable commute options, including biking, walking, carpooling, and public transit.

Among its standout programs is a carpooling initiative, designed to reduce SOV trips to campus, easing traffic congestion while fostering a sense of community. Stanford Medicines offers a free/discounted parking program for carpoolers to incentivize sustainable commuting. The enhanced program resulted in a 15% increase in carpool ridership, through the first nine months of the year.

Additionally, the team’s proactive outreach to new employees—introducing TDM options before their official start date—helps instill sustainable commuting habits from day one, supported by engaging videos that explain available resources.

Supported by a $9 million annual budget, Stanford Medicine’s TDM programs include shuttle services, safe biking initiatives, and subsidized transit passes, all designed to meet the institution’s sustainability goals. To keep these initiatives relevant, Transportation Services holds workshops and gathers community feedback to adapt to changing commuter needs, showcasing its commitment to reducing the overall carbon footprint and promoting a culture of sustainability within the community.

Starting with a 28.7% alternative mode share in 2011. Through consistent efforts, they reached a peak of 39.1% by 2019, highlighting the success of their programs. However, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted these gains, with the share falling sharply to 23.0% as commuting patterns shifted.

Since then, Stanford Medicine’s Transportation Services has reinvigorated its programs, recovering to a 30.5% alternative mode share by 2024. Aiming for 35.1% by 2026, the department remains focused on advancing sustainable commuting options through TDM strategies.

Stanford Medicine achieved a 14% increase in Caltrain ridership, with average daily riders increased from 978 in July 2023 to 1,112 in July 2024.

And currently, more than 1,100 employees are participating in the Clean Air Cash Program, providing them with $25/month for returning and not purchasing an onsite parking permit.

Stanford Medicine’s Transportation Services has created a sustainable commuting model that meets the needs of its diverse, round-the-clock workforce. Acknowledging the unique requirements of employees with varying shifts, the department has developed flexible strategies to increase engagement in sustainable transportation. Through an advanced platform, staff can manage parking, organize carpools, and access real-time commuting information, making sustainable choices easier—even for those with unpredictable schedules.

Stanford Medicine’s dynamic approach to TDM serves as a replicable model for other employers aiming to boost sustainable commuting.  For these great achievements, we congratulate them with this year’s TDM Excellence Award.

Learn more about the TDM Excellence Awards 
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2024 TDM Excellence Awards sponsored by: