Intermodal Center FTE Calculation

Typically, the Core & Shell Appendix 1 in the BD&C Reference Guide is a good starting place for estimating FTE for employees and transients based on building use or space type. It gives you occupancy ratios per sf for the office, restaurant, and retail spaces, but not the concourse.

For the concourse, you could probably work backwards from passenger counts that were presumably used in planning the facility. It's okay for the project team to provide their best estimate of FTE as long as it's reasonable and can be supported in some way.

You'll probably not want to use the "code occupancy" as this is the maximum number of people that could be present in the building in the most extreme cases, and is best left for planning fire exits and floor loads... not "typical use."

Thank you for some suggestions on the best way to determine the concourse. Ridership is 16,500 outbound and 14,500 inbound each day. FTE staff is 15. Retail space is very small. I tried using your suggestions and estimated my city agency client needs 10 showers. They are not pleased. They want me to provide some specifics from other Transit Hub projects that meet this credit. I can't find anything within the USGBC's case study links. Does anyone know of other sources I can use to help with rack and shower calcs? Thanks in advance. Blair

I'm a little confused - is the concourse for the people using the transportation hub? Thinking of Philadelphia's main transit center with restaurants, offices, and public transit, I'm thinking they're just Transients and therefore do not need access to showers. Or ???

People who are there just for the transportation would be transients. Office space would calculate FTEs like David said above based on Core & Shell appendix, as would restaurant and retail. (Although you could make a case for the restaurant and retail that their transients will somewhat overlap with the transportation transients to reduce your numbers a little...) Transients do not need showers, but they do need bike racks.

There was also a LEED Interpretation about bike racks for an airport a long time ago. It's not quite the same for this location, although it is for people "passing through" (i.e. arriving on public transit and departing on public transit (ex. arriving by local bus and transferring to Amtrak) -- can your city agency estimate what percentage of the inbound and outbound ridership is the same person vs. someone who would potentially come here by bicycle (or foot or car)). You might want to take a look at that LEED Interpretation for some more ideas... (And then feel free to post further thoughts/questions...)

You also might want to consider submitting a project specific CIR to make sure your approach to determining your FTE & Transient numbers is justifiable for the various credits they will effect (ex. bikes, water use, etc.)

Thank you. Getting the counts for the people that are passing through versus parking, walking or riding their bikes would be extremely helpful. I think that would provide me with the knowledge to calculate the showers. I have since found some information on the Bonneville Transit Center in Las Vegas. They reached LEED Platinum and met this credit.

Just for clarification, are you expecting people who ride their bikes there to be staying there for work or are you expecting them to get on some form of transit until they come back through later in the day?