Teams can earn a basketful of points based on the daily transit service available to their projects. If your building is located in a metropolitan area with multiple modes of transportation, and has functional entries within a quarter- to half-mile walking distance of transit stops, you’re likely to achieve this credit.

Walking distance is critical. LEED reviewers will want to see an accessible route, so don’t try to cross a highway with no crosswalks.

Projects located in commuter hubs are not forgotten by this credit. Projects with commuter rail or ferry service only can still earn up to three points with sufficient minimum daily transit service and a walking distance of a half-mile to transit stops.

What’s New in LEED v4.1

• There is now only one table for calculating points based on the number of trips, rather than one for multiple transit options and one for rail and ferry.
• There are now five thresholds in that table to earn five different point options.
• The minimum number of weekday trips still starts at 72, and the maximum is still 360, but there are also new thresholds for 100, 144, and 250.
• A trip no longer needs to go in two directions to count, and in calculating weekend trips, you can now just count the day with the highest number of trips.
• For those projects that have only commuter rail or ferry service, the effective minimum number of trips has increased significantly, from 24 to 72.
• “Rideshare” has been replaced with “informal transit,” defined as “a publicly available transit service that includes a fixed route service, fare structure, and regular operation. It does not consist of taxi, private shuttles or seasonal, on-call or on-demand transit.”
• A November 2020 addendum newly allows privately operated shuttles to earn points under certain circumstances.

Should I upgrade?

With the new tiers of compliance, you could potentially earn more points. But if you’re relying exclusively on commuter rail or ferry service, you’re going to find the old LEED v4 version of this credit much easier to achieve.