Mason Staff Senate

Updates from Parking and Transportation: Feb. 2020

Reminder: Valid Mason ID Needed on Mason Shuttles

Parking Services Building at Fairfax Campus. Photo by Creative Services/George Mason University

Mason Shuttles moved to an all Mason ID check with the start of the spring semester. While the all ID check officially began on Tuesday, January 21, enforcement began on February 3. The ID check will be in place for all routes and all stops except the West Campus route.

In addition to the ID check, Parking and Transportation introduced a $4 all-day shuttle pass for the Mason to Metro routes only (Sandy Creek and Global). We initiated the visitor shuttle pass and the all ID check because we want to provide an option for Mason visitors to use the Metro to Mason shuttles, and we also want to ensure that the shuttles are used by Mason community members or those with business at Mason. For details on how to purchase a shuttle pass, direct visitors to shuttle.gmu.edu.

Love to Bike? Winter Bike to Work Day

Winter Bike to Work Day coincides with Valentine’s Day! Join us on Friday, February 14, for a little bike love. Stop by the Merten Hall Lawn between 7:30 and 10 a.m. with your bike for a hot beverage and some biking-related giveaways.

Vanpooling Drop By: Transform 66 Incentives and Free Commuting Options

Are you commuting along I-66 outside the Beltway to get to and from Mason? Traveling from Winchester, Front Royal, Haymarket, or other western locations?

Traffic on this corridor has been greatly impacted by an important transportation project, Transform 66. With project construction increasing, Mason employees need solutions.

Consider vanpooling. On Wednesday, February 26, from noon to 2 p.m. at Kiosk F at the Johnson Center, and 4 to 6 p.m. at the Sandy Creek Transit Center, representatives from Parking and Transportation and the I-66 project will be on hand to share vanpool information and sign up those interested in forming a vanpool.

As background, there are financial incentives for full-time faculty and staff to vanpool through the Commuter Choice Program and Transform 66. You might not be able to avoid heavy traffic, but you don’t always have to be driving! This is a great time to get started.

For additional information, visit the Parking and Transportation website.

Guaranteed Ride Home

If you are a faculty/staff member who bikes, carpools, vanpools, uses mass transit (e.g. bus, metro) or walks to work at least two times per week, Parking and Transportation wants you to know that you always have a ride backup with Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH).

Sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, it’s free to sign up and free to use. Once you register, you can use GRH up to four times per year. If a qualifying emergency arises, call Commuter Connections and they will arrange transportation for you (e.g. taxi, car rental, transit).

It’s a good idea to sign up before you need it. Conditions apply; for details and to register, visit transportation.gmu.edu/grh.