Reports & Statistics

Parking and Transportation Demand Management (PTDM)

Shuttle Bus

The 2003 PTDM Plan

As a major employer in Cambridge, Harvard is committed to reducing traffic congestion in Cambridge through programs designed to encourage car-pooling, increased use of public transit and alternative modes of transportation. The goal of Harvard's 2003 PTDM plan was to provide the City with an accurate baseline assessment of Harvard's current parking supply and describe TDM measures and strategies offered by the CommuterChoice Program.

The PTDM plan is an extensive report on Harvard's existing TDM programs, the University's Cambridge parking supply, and the total population of employees and graduate students who travel to the University. It was presented to the City of Cambridge in compliance with the requirements established in the 1998 Parking and Transportation Demand Ordinance.

The PTDM Plan describes a menu of transportation services and cost-effective financial incentives that Harvard has in place with the goal of reducing its single occupancy vehicle “SOV” rate from 27.4 percent to 24.7 percent. In addition, Harvard's aspiration to increase on-campus housing of graduate students from 40% to 50% by 2011 should further reduce transportation impacts by reducing the number of commuting students.

2003 PTDM Plan (PDF, 532Kb)

Progress Reports

In the Monitoring Section of the PTDM Plan, Harvard committed to providing updates to the City of Cambridge PTDM Officer. To date, three Progress Reports have been issued.

Highlights from the 2006 Progress Report

  • Harvard's Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) rate declined from 17% to 15% — significantly below the Middlesex County average of 73% (2004 Census).
  • Shuttle buses and other university diesel powered vehicles have been converted to run on a 80/20 biodiesel mix.
  • Approximately 85% of employees commute to campus using alternative modes of transportation (public transit, bicycling, walking) — an increase of 2% over 2005.
  • Harvard announced plans to increase the subsidy for MBTA passes from 40% to 50% starting in 2007.
  • Through a variety of initiatives to encourage bicycling, the number of bicycle commuters has increased by 15%.

2006 Progress Report (PDF, 136Kb)

2005 Progress Report (PDF, 124Kb)

2004 Progress Report (PDF, 331Kb)