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LEED v4
Existing Buildings
Location & Transportation
Alternative transportation

LEED CREDIT

EBOM-v4 LTc1: Alternative Transportation 1-15 points

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Dan Ackerstein

Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC
Principal

SPECIAL REPORT

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Credit language

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

Requirements

Establishment

None.

Performance

Option 1. Transportation survey (1 point)
Conduct a survey of building occupants on their transportation patterns. Regular building occupants must be surveyed. Visitors must be surveyed if either the typical peak or daily average is greater than the number of regular building occupants. Conduct a transportation survey at least once every five years

OR

Option 2. Alternative Transportation Rate (3–15 points)
Meet the requirements of Option 1. Demonstrate an alternative transportation rate in accordance with Table 1. Alternative transportation strategies that contribute to this reduction include human-powered conveyances (e.g. walking or biking), public transit, telecommuting, informal transit options, compressed workweeks, carpools, and green vehicles. Calculations are performed relative to a baseline case that assumes all regular occupants commute alone in conventional automobiles. The calculations must account for seasonal variations in the use of alternative commuting methods and should indicate the distribution of commuting trips using each type of alternative transportation strategy.
Table 1. Points for alternative transportation rate

Alternative transportation rate

Points

10%

3

15%

4

20%

5

25%

6

30%

7

35%

8

40%

9

45%

10

50%

11

55%

12

60%

13

65%

14

70%

15

OR

Option 3. Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Program (2 points)
Meet the requirements of Option 1. Implement an alternative transportation program to reduce the conventional travel rates of building occupants. Include at least one element from each of the following three categories: Education strategies
  • new-hire orientation;
  • employee newsletter, flyer, announcements, memos, letters;
  • carpool/vanpool matching website; or
  • employer carpool/vanpool events.
Basic support strategies
  • guaranteed return trip;
  • preferential parking for rideshare participants;
  • flextime schedule; or
  • ride-matching service.
Direct strategies
  • telecommuting;
  • compressed workweek schedule;
  • transit subsidy;
  • introduction of a parking fee;
  • bicycle program;
  • parking cash-out;
  • employee clean vehicle purchase program; or
  • carpool program.
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Frequently asked questions

Do we need to attach unique identifiers to survey respondents? Some occupants will not want to be identified.

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

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Do we need to document that we reduced commuting trips compared to our baseline? For example, our survey results show that conventional commuting is reduced by 25%. To get the points for meeting the 25% threshold do we need to reduce conventional trips by another 25%?

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

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Do motorcycles qualify as an alternative means of transportation? What about scooters?

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Does the survey need to adhere to SCAQMD Rule 2202 procedures, like in LEED 2009?

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What if we already participate 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 »

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Do we have to collect home zip code data in our survey?

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

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The LEED Reference Guide says we need to account for seasonal variations in commuting behavior. What should I do?

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.)

My building has fewer than 100 occupants. What should my sample size be?

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

See all forum discussions about this credit »

Addenda

6/10/2016Updated: 6/10/2016
Form Update
Description of change:
Updated 6/10/2016 to v02
Clarified note in cell B20 of Calculator tab
Corrected formula for "Total number of actual trips (factoring in absences)"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC
Principal

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

Requirements

Establishment

None.

Performance

Option 1. Transportation survey (1 point)
Conduct a survey of building occupants on their transportation patterns. Regular building occupants must be surveyed. Visitors must be surveyed if either the typical peak or daily average is greater than the number of regular building occupants. Conduct a transportation survey at least once every five years

OR

Option 2. Alternative Transportation Rate (3–15 points)
Meet the requirements of Option 1. Demonstrate an alternative transportation rate in accordance with Table 1. Alternative transportation strategies that contribute to this reduction include human-powered conveyances (e.g. walking or biking), public transit, telecommuting, informal transit options, compressed workweeks, carpools, and green vehicles. Calculations are performed relative to a baseline case that assumes all regular occupants commute alone in conventional automobiles. The calculations must account for seasonal variations in the use of alternative commuting methods and should indicate the distribution of commuting trips using each type of alternative transportation strategy.
Table 1. Points for alternative transportation rate

Alternative transportation rate

Points

10%

3

15%

4

20%

5

25%

6

30%

7

35%

8

40%

9

45%

10

50%

11

55%

12

60%

13

65%

14

70%

15

OR

Option 3. Comprehensive Alternative Transportation Program (2 points)
Meet the requirements of Option 1. Implement an alternative transportation program to reduce the conventional travel rates of building occupants. Include at least one element from each of the following three categories: Education strategies
  • new-hire orientation;
  • employee newsletter, flyer, announcements, memos, letters;
  • carpool/vanpool matching website; or
  • employer carpool/vanpool events.
Basic support strategies
  • guaranteed return trip;
  • preferential parking for rideshare participants;
  • flextime schedule; or
  • ride-matching service.
Direct strategies
  • telecommuting;
  • compressed workweek schedule;
  • transit subsidy;
  • introduction of a parking fee;
  • bicycle program;
  • parking cash-out;
  • employee clean vehicle purchase program; or
  • carpool program.

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.

Do we need to attach unique identifiers to survey respondents? Some occupants will not want to be identified.

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.)

Do we need to document that we reduced commuting trips compared to our baseline? For example, our survey results show that conventional commuting is reduced by 25%. To get the points for meeting the 25% threshold do we need to reduce conventional trips by another 25%?

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.)

Do motorcycles qualify as an alternative means of transportation? What about scooters?

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.)

Does the survey need to adhere to SCAQMD Rule 2202 procedures, like in LEED 2009?

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 participate 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.)

Do we have to collect home zip code data in our 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.)

The LEED Reference Guide says we need to account for seasonal variations in commuting behavior. What should I do?

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.)

My building has fewer than 100 occupants. What should my sample size be?

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.)

6/10/2016Updated: 6/10/2016
Form Update
Description of change:
Updated 6/10/2016 to v02
Clarified note in cell B20 of Calculator tab
Corrected formula for "Total number of actual trips (factoring in absences)"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes

LEEDuser expert

Dan Ackerstein

Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC
Principal

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about EBOM-v4 LTc1