VCU recently completed a comprehensive parking and transportation study which identified the need to convert more single-occupancy drivers to alternative transportation modes in order to meet the existing and projected population growth and parking demand across the university and health system.

While students at VCU have a higher rate of trips made by alternative transportation modes, employees at VCU and VCU Health System have a higher rate of drive-alone trips. If these commuting patterns continue, by 2023, parking demand will likely exceed the available inventory. With limited real estate in the city, building additional decks and lots becomes difficult and costly. VCU and VCU Health System are working together to consolidate resources and provide incentives for using alternative transportation.

Existing VCU and VCU Health System employee parking subscribers who agree to turn in their parking permit to bike, walk, bus, carpool or vanpool to work are eligible to receive incentives. All participants must be existing parking subscribers to receive incentives. Learn more about current incentives.

There are several ways you can reboot your commute -- from carpooling to walking. To start, you can utilize one of GRTC’s free Park ‘N Ride lots that run along GRTC Express service routes to the downtown business district. Additionally, GRTC offers local bus service which operates in many areas from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, seven days a week, and offers convenient stops close to campus. The Pulse, GRTC’s modern, high quality, high capacity rapid transit system, provides a direct connection between the Monroe Park and MCV campuses. 

Under the VCU and GRTC transportation pilot, VCU and VCU Health System students and employees can ride GRTC at no cost with a VCU/GRTC GO Pass. Learn more about this program at go.vcu.edu/grtc.

Yes! Register now and receive 12 free parking passes each year to use at any of VCU’s “pay-as-you-go” parking locations. VCU Health System employees also may use free daily parking passes in M Lot.

There is! For assistance planning your bus commute, GRTC offers an online Trip Planner. For a more personalized experience, contact GRTC's RideFinders service directly. RideFinders offers a variety of resources including connecting carpoolers throughout the region.

Throughout the year, VCU will host lunch-and-learns on each campus as well as travel training sessions with GRTC to help employees create individualized travel plans and demonstrate how to navigate the city bus system. For additional assistance, contact VCU Parking and Transportation at (804) 828-7275 (PARK) or parking@vcu.edu.

We encourage all new VCU program participants to register through RideFinders as well. As a registered RideFinders user, you receive free assistance with carpool matching to help you find other commuters within nearby neighborhoods who share similar work locations and hours. Additionally, RideFinders also offers participating commuters up to four free emergency rides home per year. Learn more at http://ridefinders.com/about-ridesharing/emergency-ride-home.

Carpools and vanpools who split the cost of a parking permit are also eligible for current incentives. Employees planning to carpool/vanpool may need a parking permit to share. Discuss your options for payroll deduction with VCU Parking and Transportation if you are a full-time employee, or decide amongst your group how best to split the cost of a parking permit.

At least two members of your carpool/vanpool must be VCU or VCU Health System employees to be eligible for the incentives. Only VCU and VCU Health System employees are eligible for incentives. Get details and tips about carpooling and vanpooling. 

Full-time VCU and VCU Health System employees may choose to split the cost of the parking permit among the group privately or opt for payroll deduction through VCU Parking and Transportation. Full-time employees opting for payroll deduction will have the cost of the permit split equally among all participants and deducted from each member’s bi-weekly paycheck.

Part-time employees can split the cost of the parking permit among the group privately; however, one member must pre-pay for the permit in advance through VCU Parking and Transportation on a quarterly basis. Get details about carpools and vanpools.

Any member within your designated carpool/vanpool can elect to keep their existing parking location or choose a new location based on current parking availability (e.g., if one member currently parks at A Lot and another member parks in N Deck, if N Deck is the agreed upon preferred carpool location, the A Lot permit holder would forfeit their permit and both carpool/vanpool members would share the N Deck permit).

With either option, you will still receive a new carpool permit for your chosen location, which will designate you as a carpool subscriber. Only one parking permit is allowed per carpool/vanpool group and should be shared among the group when parking, so members should determine which parking location would be most beneficial for the carpool group.

Learn more on the Carpools and vanpools page.

The Pulse
GRTC Pulse is a modern, rapid transit bus that serves a 7.6 mile route along Broad Street and Main Street, from Rocketts Landing to Willow Lawn and connects VCU's Monroe Park and MCV campuses. Pick up the Pulse at a station near you.

GRTC Route 5
Route 5 travels between VCU's Monroe Park and MCV campuses, with stops at several downtown locations, and runs every 15 minutes. See the Route 5 map for stops and route information.

VCU will continue to operate shuttle service to our remote parking facilities: A, I, M and R lots. Additionally, we continue to assess all Campus Connector and GRTC pilot ridership data as well as customer feedback to accurately understand transit demand across the university and health system. We will announce any future plans to our transportation services prior to July 1, 2019.

As an existing Go Green carpool participant, you have the option to remain in your current program until there is a change in your carpool status (ie: number of members, participating members, etc.) or transition into the new alternative transportation program to receive the program incentives.

If there are any further changes needed to your carpool following April 24, 2019, your carpool group will be transitioned to the new alternative transportation program and all participating members would be eligible to receive the program incentives available at that time.

If you give alternative transportation a try and learn that it isn't for you, you are eligible to purchase parking. If you have received the monetary incentive and free parking passes as part of the program, you will need to return a portion of the incentive and parking passes to VCU Parking and Transportation on a prorated basis. Contact VCU Parking and Transportation directly at parking@vcu.edu to learn more about this process.

GRTC utilizes several notification methods for service impacts. The best way to receive alerts is through the GRTC Transit On The Go! Mobile App. In addition to providing estimated arrival times, you can receive service bulletins about holiday schedules, inclement weather, detours and more through the app.
     
In addition to the app, alerts are posted on the following channels:
For traffic advisories, visit: http://ridegrtc.com/news-initiatives/news-updates/.
Riders can subscribe to receive alerts at http://new.grtcbustracker.com/bustime/login.jsp.