Surveys

Survey to measure patterns in UW campus transportation mode use

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The week of February 2, randomly selected groups of UW–Madison students, UW employees, and UW Hospital and Clinics employees will receive a personal invitation to participate in the 2025 biennial transportation modes survey.

This survey is administered every two years and has been conducted since 1979.

Survey responses will help UW Transportation Services understand the current “mode split,” or which travel modes are used by students, faculty, and staff to access the UW-Madison campus.

The data is used to support programming decisions to ensure campus is accessible to users of all travel modes.

Members of the survey groups will receive an invitation to take the survey from Qualtrics software. Responses are anonymous.

What happens to the results?

Survey results will be analyzed and compiled into a report. The report will be posted online along with feedback surveys and transportation modes survey reports from prior years on the Transportation Services website.

2024 campus parking and transportation survey launch

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The 2024 campus parking and transportation feedback survey has launched!

Sample groups of UW–Madison students, UW employees, and UW Hospital and Clinics employees will receive a personal invitation to participate in this feedback survey.

Survey responses will help UW Transportation Services understand how well its products and services support campus commutes, access, and mobility for all community members.

The survey can only be taken once and should take about 3-10 minutes to complete. Responses are anonymous. Survey invitations will be sent from uwmadisonts@explore.wisc.edu.

Those who have questions about the survey or have trouble completing the survey can contact Transportation Services Marketing and Communications at lauren.hawley@wisc.edu.

What happens to the results?

Survey results will be analyzed and compiled into a report. The report will be posted online with feedback surveys and transportation modes survey reports from past years. Transportation Services survey reports are located on our website.

2023 biennial transportation modes survey results published

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Results of the 2023 Biennial Transportation Survey are now available on the Transportation Services website.

Transportation Services has conducted the biennial transportation survey since 1979. It studies how UW employees and students get to and from campus.

Download Survey Results

Snapshot of Results

The 2023 survey shows that on good weather days:

  • 41% of students walk to campus.
  • 29% of students ride the bus (including campus routes 80, 81, 82, and 84).
  • 17% of faculty and staff ride a bicycle.
  • 57% of faculty and staff drive alone.
  • 6% of UW Hospital and Clinics employees ride a bicycle.
  • 79% of UW Hospital and Clinics employees drive alone.

On bad weather days:

  • 20% of students walk.
  • 60% of students ride the bus (including campus routes 80, 81, 82, and 84).
  • 18% of faculty and staff ride the bus.
  • 56% of faculty and staff drive alone.
  • 5% of UW Hospital and Clinics employees ride the bus.
  • 80% of UW Hospital and Clinics employees drive alone.

According to County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a program of the UW Population Health Institute, the national drive alone rate is 73%. In the state of Wisconsin, the drive alone rate is 78%. This is based on data from 2017-2021.

Accessibility Improvements

The 2023 survey incorporated several important changes to ensure its accessibility.

  • Translated surveys were offered in the non-English languages recognized by UW (Spanish, Hmong, Tibetan, Chinese, and Nepali).
  • Paper surveys were offered to employees who do not have regular access to computers at work.
  • The survey was reviewed for plain language, accessibility, and mobile friendliness.

Past Surveys

Biennial modes survey results from 2013 to 2023 are available on the Transportation Services website.

For more information, contact the Commuter Solutions team at tdm@fpm.wisc.edu.