Hi all, what qualifies transit options as having commuter service only? My project is located near a train station that is mainly used for commuting, but we also have 2 bus lines with about 30 trips per day each. We are 2 total trips short for weekend service to achieve any points using the main option. Since the train is primarily for commuters, can we go with option 2 for commuter rail only? It just seems so difficult to achieve this credit when we have a majorly used commuter rail and 2 bus lines but not enough trips.
Can you fall into option 2 ONLY if there is commuter rail, or does having a couple bus lines automatically disqualify us and therefore we cannot achieve any points?
Thanks!
Marilyn Specht
Vice President & Managing Principal, US SustainabilityIntroba
LEEDuser Expert
51 thumbs up
August 28, 2017 - 11:50 am
Hi Rita, good points and I agree this is a challenging credit for some projects.
Does the bus service run all day or just during certain peak hours? If it runs all day, I would say Option 1 seems appropriate, albeit frustrating. Perhaps you can reach out GBCI and discuss your case with them further to see if there is any opportunity here for your project?
Glenn Haydu, AIA, LEED AP
Senior Associate, Director of SustainabilityMinno & Wasko
1 thumbs up
May 7, 2018 - 4:24 pm
Leilanie,
I'm having a similar question in regards to my project. Were you able to obtain further clarification from GBCI?
Credit language intent: "To encourage development in locations shown to have multimodal transportation choices or otherwise reduced motor vehicle use, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and other environmental and public health harms associated with motor vehicle use."
It seems disadvantageous to have multiple modes of transportation (bus + rail), when rail alone offers more points for the credit. How is it that providing more is less? Seems a bit ambiguous. Anyone else having this confusion. Thank you
Calie Gihl
Design EngineerLEEDuser Expert
19 thumbs up
May 31, 2018 - 2:14 am
Hi Leilanie and Glenn,
The first clarification I can see here is that there aren't two options to this credit, unless you are under the Schools NC rating system. I agree that the titles on Tables 1 and 2 are misleading. From my interpretation, the text says "the transit service at those [referring to both options previously listed] stops and stations in aggregate must meet the minimums listed in Tables 1 and 2" and therefore it isn't an either/or scenario. You should combine the number of trips you get from both the commuter rail and the bus and use table one to calculate the points for the threshold you meet.
Table 2 is a slightly more lenient number provided if you're in an area with only one major transit option - buses typically rack up the trip count very quickly.
Petra Holoubkova
2 thumbs up
March 21, 2022 - 8:37 am
Hi all,
did you get any feedback on this topic? I have a project with commuter rail only..therefore I wonder, whether we can claim points based on Table 2 only? Or we are not eligible as we do not have multiple transit types to comply with Table 1 as Calie´s interpretation suggests?
While the credit language says "the transit service at those stops and stations in aggregate must meet the minimums listed in Tables 1 AND 2", the the Step-by-step section states "Refer to Table 1 (for multiple transit types) OR Table 2 (for commuter rail or ferry only) of the credit requirements to determine the number of points earned". So to me, it is a bit unclear..