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LEED v4.1

Existing Buildings
Location & Transportation
Transportation Performance

LEED CREDIT

EBOM-v4.1 LTp1: Transportation Performance Required

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Requirements

Conduct a transportation survey of building occupants on their commute patterns.

Regular building occupants must be surveyed. Building occupants shall provide information on their two-way commutes over one work week and consider seasonal variations and variations in work schedules. Visitors are encouraged to be surveyed, especially if the daily average is greater than the number of regular building occupants. Visitors shall provide information on their one-way travel to the building for that day in particular.

Conduct the survey at least once per year, using the required survey methodology outlined in the LEED v4.1 O+M beta guide. Use the survey results to calculate a transportation performance score for the project.

For initial certification, obtain a minimum Transportation Performance Score of 40. Additional points for this prerequisite are awarded for Transportation Performance Scores above 40, according to Table 1.

Table 1. LEED Points for Transportation Performance Score
Transportation Performance Score LEED Points
40 (Required for initial certification) 6 (Required for initial certification)
47 7
54 8
61 9
68 10
75 11
83 12
90 13
97 14
The Transportation Performance Score
The transportation performance score rates the project’s greenhouse gas emissions measured in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) resulting from transportation to and from the building against other high performing buildings worldwide.

The score is a value from 1-100 based on the project’s average carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) per one-way trip per occupant (lbs.).
Transportation Performance Score Calculation
To calculate a transportation performance score, the following data is required. All data is collected via the transportation survey. At least one survey every 365 days must be conducted:
  • Number of regular building occupants and visitors
  • For Hospitality projects, number of hotel or lodging guests (these occupants may be excluded from the survey even though they are considered regular building occupants).
  • Regular building occupant survey responses
    • # of routes for 2-way commutes over one week
    • Per route,
      • Commuting transportation mode(s),
      • Distance traveled (in miles or kilometers)
  • Visitor occupant responses
    • Commuting transportation mode(s),
    • Distance traveled (in miles or kilometers)
An emissions value is calculated for each building occupant that completes the survey as follows:
  1. A CO2e value is calculated for each route provided for the occupant, using the commuting transportation mode(s), distance traveled, transportation emissions factors, and Equation 1:

    Equation 1: CO2e for route (lbs.) = (CO2e lbs./mile) * distance traveled in miles


    2. The transportation greenhouse gas emission factors use the latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Emission Factors Hub for CO2e lbs. per occupant mile coefficients and are kept up to date with U.S. EPA release updates.
  2. For each occupant, CO2e is calculated using Equation 2:

    Equation 2: CO2e for individual occupant (lbs.) = (∑ CO2e for routes) / # routes

    For visitors, calculations include one route (as their survey includes only one way and one day) For regular building occupants, calculations may include more than one route (as their survey requests information regarding two way commutes over one week, and includes all seasons/yearly variations). Each route is weighed equally.
An average emissions value is calculated by taking an average of the individual emissions, using Equation 3.

Equation 3: Project CO2e per one-way trip per occupant (lbs.) = (∑ CO2e for individual occupants) / # occupants in survey

The project’s average CO2e per one-way trip per occupant (lbs.) value is then input into the transportation scoring function (see Figure 2) to produce a transportation performance score:
Figure 2: Transportation scoring function
The transportation scoring function was developed using transportation patterns reported by LEED buildings, certified under LEED O+M v2009. The data set includes buildings that earned SS credit 4 Alternative Commuting Transportation. See all forum discussions about this credit »

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Frequently asked questions

How should I distribute the survey? What if we want to use a “lobby blitz” approach?

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(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

What if we already participated in a local transportation survey? Can we use those results?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

Is there a minimum response rate?

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Whom do we need to survey?

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How often do we need to conduct the survey?

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Some of our occupants commute by ferry. How do we account for this type of transit?

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How can we determine the CO2e associated with each transit mode?

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See all forum discussions about this credit »

Addenda

2/6/2023 – Updated: 2/9/2023
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Under Requirements, delete "The required number of responses that must be received is outlined in Figure 1."

Edit the third and fourth paragraphs to read as:
"Conduct the survey at least once per year, using the required survey methodology outlined in the LEED v4.1 O+M beta guide. Use the survey results to calculate a transportation performance score for the project.

For initial certification, obtain a minimum transportation performance score of 40. Additional points for this prerequisite are awarded for transportation performance scores above 40, according to Table 1. "


Add "for initial certification" to each of the required values in Table 1.

Delete Figure 1. Required Responses Rate for Survey and "Equation: Response rate= 100 * (0.25 / square root (occupancy / 500))

In item 1 under "An emissions value is calculated....", replace "the CO2e per mile values in Table 2" with "transportation emissions factors"

Under Equation 1, add the following text as a new paragraph:
"The transportation greenhouse gas emission factors use the latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Emission Factors Hub for CO2e lbs. per occupant mile coefficients and are kept up to date with U.S. EPA release updates."

Delete Table 2.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
2/6/2023 – Updated: 2/9/2023
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Delete "in the system" from the second paragraph.

Revise first sentence under Step by Step, Step 1, to read as: "Administer a transportation survey for the building using the below survey methodology.

Add "Survey Methodology" as a title, and revise the bullets to read as:

- Conduct the survey in the Arc/LEED Online platform or via an alternative method. If conducting the survey outside of the Arc/LEED Online platform, submit an inquiry to https://www.gbci.org/contact prior to conducting the survey for pre-approval.
- The survey may be conducted at any time in the year, but once per season is encouraged.
- The available transportation survey responses include:
o Active transportation: walk, bike, e-bike, e-scooter/other micromobility
o Public transit: bus, light rail (trolley, tram, or streetcar), heavy rail (subway/metro), commuter/regional rail, intercity rail, ferry boat
o Carpool/vanpool: carpool (2-3 people), vanpool
o Drove alone: internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid (milk or PHEV), battery electric vehicle (BEV)
o Telework: telework
- For employee surveys, decide who should be included in the surveying. Only include employees who are assigned to the Project as their primary place of work, i.e., the employee works at the project’s location at least one day per five-day work week, on average. Do not include employees who are assigned to other locations or are permanently remote.
- Decide whether visitors will be included in the survey. While not required, it is recommended to include visitors if the daily average number of visitors are greater than the number of building occupants. See the Definitions for more information on defining and calculating visitors and regular building occupants.
- Check the survey response data for any anomalous responses, such as unrealistically high or low travel distances. Submit an inquiry to https://www.gbci.org/contact prior to submitting for review to request the removal of anomalous responses in Arc/LEED Online.

Under Step 2, replace "the rating system" with "Figure 1" and add Figure 1 diagram.

Revise Step 3 to read as:
"A transportation performance score will generate for your project once survey response data is entered into Arc/LEED Online and a minimum survey response rate is achieved.
If conducting the survey outside of the Arc/LEED Online platform, contact us at https://www.gbci.org/contact for data upload instructions."

Revise Required Documentation to read as:
- Completed transportation survey including survey dates, occupant type, travel method, travel distance, and frequency for each mode.
- If the survey is completed outside of Arc/LEED Online include a copy of the pre-approval from GBCI and a description of the survey methodology and how it meets the survey requirements.
- Transportation performance score result. A minimum performance score of 40/100 is required for initial certification.

Delete first bullet in "Changes from LEED v4"

Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/25/2019 – Updated: 3/1/2021
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under Further Explanation, delete the paragraph titled "Surveying Visitors"


Add the following to Changes from LEED v4:
"Visitors are encouraged, but not required to be surveyed."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under Further Explanation, delete the paragraph titled "Surveying Visitors"


Add the following to Changes from LEED v4:
"Visitors are encouraged, but not required to be surveyed."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Remove the following:

LT prerequisite Transportation Performance
"Note: at this time, the transportation performance score calculated is only based on one-way, one-day survey information. USGBC is in the process of updating the survey platform and scoring to include two-way one-week information."

EA prerequisite Energy Performance
"Note: at this time, the energy performance score calculated is only based on GHG emissions. USGBC is in the process of updating the scoring to include source energy. In the meantime, projects are eligible to earn up to the full 33 points based GHG emissions score."

EQ prerequisite Indoor Environmental Quality Performance
"Note: at this time, the Human Experience score is calculated as one-third occupant satisfaction score, one-third CO2 score, and one-third TVOC score. USGBC is in the process of updating the scoring to be half occupant satisfaction, one-quarter CO2 score, and one-quarter TVOC score (as specified in the rating system language)."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Correct reference from "Using O+M section" to "How it Works section, step 4" for more information on defining and calculating visitors and building occupants.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Edit the third sentence to read as follows: "The available transportation survey responses include: walk, bike, telecommute, motorcycle or scooter, light rail (trolley, tram or streetcar), rapid transit (subway/metro), carpool (2-3 people), alternative fuel vehicle, bus, and car (solo)."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
4/9/2019 – Updated: 4/9/2019
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
In the second bullet, add the following text at the end "(these occupants may be excluded from the survey even though they are considered regular building occupants)."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
4/9/2019 – Updated: 4/9/2019
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Add "(Required)" after the 40 point threshold
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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WSP
Senior Sustainability Manager

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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Conduct a transportation survey of building occupants on their commute patterns.

Regular building occupants must be surveyed. Building occupants shall provide information on their two-way commutes over one work week and consider seasonal variations and variations in work schedules. Visitors are encouraged to be surveyed, especially if the daily average is greater than the number of regular building occupants. Visitors shall provide information on their one-way travel to the building for that day in particular.

Conduct the survey at least once per year, using the required survey methodology outlined in the LEED v4.1 O+M beta guide. Use the survey results to calculate a transportation performance score for the project.

For initial certification, obtain a minimum Transportation Performance Score of 40. Additional points for this prerequisite are awarded for Transportation Performance Scores above 40, according to Table 1.

Table 1. LEED Points for Transportation Performance Score
Transportation Performance Score LEED Points
40 (Required for initial certification) 6 (Required for initial certification)
47 7
54 8
61 9
68 10
75 11
83 12
90 13
97 14
The Transportation Performance Score
The transportation performance score rates the project’s greenhouse gas emissions measured in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) resulting from transportation to and from the building against other high performing buildings worldwide.

The score is a value from 1-100 based on the project’s average carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) per one-way trip per occupant (lbs.).
Transportation Performance Score Calculation
To calculate a transportation performance score, the following data is required. All data is collected via the transportation survey. At least one survey every 365 days must be conducted:
  • Number of regular building occupants and visitors
  • For Hospitality projects, number of hotel or lodging guests (these occupants may be excluded from the survey even though they are considered regular building occupants).
  • Regular building occupant survey responses
    • # of routes for 2-way commutes over one week
    • Per route,
      • Commuting transportation mode(s),
      • Distance traveled (in miles or kilometers)
  • Visitor occupant responses
    • Commuting transportation mode(s),
    • Distance traveled (in miles or kilometers)
An emissions value is calculated for each building occupant that completes the survey as follows:
  1. A CO2e value is calculated for each route provided for the occupant, using the commuting transportation mode(s), distance traveled, transportation emissions factors, and Equation 1:

    Equation 1: CO2e for route (lbs.) = (CO2e lbs./mile) * distance traveled in miles


    2. The transportation greenhouse gas emission factors use the latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Emission Factors Hub for CO2e lbs. per occupant mile coefficients and are kept up to date with U.S. EPA release updates.
  2. For each occupant, CO2e is calculated using Equation 2:

    Equation 2: CO2e for individual occupant (lbs.) = (∑ CO2e for routes) / # routes

    For visitors, calculations include one route (as their survey includes only one way and one day) For regular building occupants, calculations may include more than one route (as their survey requests information regarding two way commutes over one week, and includes all seasons/yearly variations). Each route is weighed equally.
An average emissions value is calculated by taking an average of the individual emissions, using Equation 3.

Equation 3: Project CO2e per one-way trip per occupant (lbs.) = (∑ CO2e for individual occupants) / # occupants in survey

The project’s average CO2e per one-way trip per occupant (lbs.) value is then input into the transportation scoring function (see Figure 2) to produce a transportation performance score:
Figure 2: Transportation scoring function
The transportation scoring function was developed using transportation patterns reported by LEED buildings, certified under LEED O+M v2009. The data set includes buildings that earned SS credit 4 Alternative Commuting Transportation.

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

How should I distribute the survey? What if we want to use a “lobby blitz” approach?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

What if we already participated in a local transportation survey? Can we use those results?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

Is there a minimum response rate?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

Whom do we need to survey?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

How often do we need to conduct the survey?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

Some of our occupants commute by ferry. How do we account for this type of transit?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

How can we determine the CO2e associated with each transit mode?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)
2/6/2023 – Updated: 2/9/2023
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Under Requirements, delete "The required number of responses that must be received is outlined in Figure 1."

Edit the third and fourth paragraphs to read as:
"Conduct the survey at least once per year, using the required survey methodology outlined in the LEED v4.1 O+M beta guide. Use the survey results to calculate a transportation performance score for the project.

For initial certification, obtain a minimum transportation performance score of 40. Additional points for this prerequisite are awarded for transportation performance scores above 40, according to Table 1. "


Add "for initial certification" to each of the required values in Table 1.

Delete Figure 1. Required Responses Rate for Survey and "Equation: Response rate= 100 * (0.25 / square root (occupancy / 500))

In item 1 under "An emissions value is calculated....", replace "the CO2e per mile values in Table 2" with "transportation emissions factors"

Under Equation 1, add the following text as a new paragraph:
"The transportation greenhouse gas emission factors use the latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Emission Factors Hub for CO2e lbs. per occupant mile coefficients and are kept up to date with U.S. EPA release updates."

Delete Table 2.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
2/6/2023 – Updated: 2/9/2023
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Delete "in the system" from the second paragraph.

Revise first sentence under Step by Step, Step 1, to read as: "Administer a transportation survey for the building using the below survey methodology.

Add "Survey Methodology" as a title, and revise the bullets to read as:

- Conduct the survey in the Arc/LEED Online platform or via an alternative method. If conducting the survey outside of the Arc/LEED Online platform, submit an inquiry to https://www.gbci.org/contact prior to conducting the survey for pre-approval.
- The survey may be conducted at any time in the year, but once per season is encouraged.
- The available transportation survey responses include:
o Active transportation: walk, bike, e-bike, e-scooter/other micromobility
o Public transit: bus, light rail (trolley, tram, or streetcar), heavy rail (subway/metro), commuter/regional rail, intercity rail, ferry boat
o Carpool/vanpool: carpool (2-3 people), vanpool
o Drove alone: internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid (milk or PHEV), battery electric vehicle (BEV)
o Telework: telework
- For employee surveys, decide who should be included in the surveying. Only include employees who are assigned to the Project as their primary place of work, i.e., the employee works at the project’s location at least one day per five-day work week, on average. Do not include employees who are assigned to other locations or are permanently remote.
- Decide whether visitors will be included in the survey. While not required, it is recommended to include visitors if the daily average number of visitors are greater than the number of building occupants. See the Definitions for more information on defining and calculating visitors and regular building occupants.
- Check the survey response data for any anomalous responses, such as unrealistically high or low travel distances. Submit an inquiry to https://www.gbci.org/contact prior to submitting for review to request the removal of anomalous responses in Arc/LEED Online.

Under Step 2, replace "the rating system" with "Figure 1" and add Figure 1 diagram.

Revise Step 3 to read as:
"A transportation performance score will generate for your project once survey response data is entered into Arc/LEED Online and a minimum survey response rate is achieved.
If conducting the survey outside of the Arc/LEED Online platform, contact us at https://www.gbci.org/contact for data upload instructions."

Revise Required Documentation to read as:
- Completed transportation survey including survey dates, occupant type, travel method, travel distance, and frequency for each mode.
- If the survey is completed outside of Arc/LEED Online include a copy of the pre-approval from GBCI and a description of the survey methodology and how it meets the survey requirements.
- Transportation performance score result. A minimum performance score of 40/100 is required for initial certification.

Delete first bullet in "Changes from LEED v4"

Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/25/2019 – Updated: 3/1/2021
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under Further Explanation, delete the paragraph titled "Surveying Visitors"


Add the following to Changes from LEED v4:
"Visitors are encouraged, but not required to be surveyed."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under Further Explanation, delete the paragraph titled "Surveying Visitors"


Add the following to Changes from LEED v4:
"Visitors are encouraged, but not required to be surveyed."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Remove the following:

LT prerequisite Transportation Performance
"Note: at this time, the transportation performance score calculated is only based on one-way, one-day survey information. USGBC is in the process of updating the survey platform and scoring to include two-way one-week information."

EA prerequisite Energy Performance
"Note: at this time, the energy performance score calculated is only based on GHG emissions. USGBC is in the process of updating the scoring to include source energy. In the meantime, projects are eligible to earn up to the full 33 points based GHG emissions score."

EQ prerequisite Indoor Environmental Quality Performance
"Note: at this time, the Human Experience score is calculated as one-third occupant satisfaction score, one-third CO2 score, and one-third TVOC score. USGBC is in the process of updating the scoring to be half occupant satisfaction, one-quarter CO2 score, and one-quarter TVOC score (as specified in the rating system language)."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Correct reference from "Using O+M section" to "How it Works section, step 4" for more information on defining and calculating visitors and building occupants.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/25/2019 – Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Edit the third sentence to read as follows: "The available transportation survey responses include: walk, bike, telecommute, motorcycle or scooter, light rail (trolley, tram or streetcar), rapid transit (subway/metro), carpool (2-3 people), alternative fuel vehicle, bus, and car (solo)."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
4/9/2019 – Updated: 4/9/2019
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
In the second bullet, add the following text at the end "(these occupants may be excluded from the survey even though they are considered regular building occupants)."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
4/9/2019 – Updated: 4/9/2019
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Add "(Required)" after the 40 point threshold
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No

LEEDuser expert

headshot

Ashwini Arun

WSP
Senior Sustainability Manager

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Unsubscribe from discussions about EBOM-v4.1 LTp1