Sustainable Commuting

Better choices for the environment

Sustainable Commuting Highlights

From riding on an Emory Shuttle partially powered by used cooking oil from campus and hospital kitchens to choosing to share a ride with a friend, Emory offers our community a multitude of options to reduce the environmental impact of getting to and around our campuses.

Emory received a perfect score in 2021’s STARS report under category OP-17: Support for Sustainable Transportation.

Sustainable Commuting Benefits

  • Keeping cars off the road reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution while reducing traffic and the need for expensive parking deck construction. Every month, about 240,000 rides are taken on the Emory shuttle system.
  • Encouraging telecommuting supports a healthy work-life balance, and walking and biking have environmental and health benefits.

How It Works

  • Emory Transportation offers a wide range of commute alternatives including Park-n-ride facilities at the Emory Decatur Hospital and South Dekalb shopping malls, information on vanpools and carpools, and other resources.
  • Staff enrolled in the smart commute program are eligible for a variety of benefits including free MARTA transit passes, and benefits are available to graduate students who use commute alternatives.
  • Do you carpool with other employees? If so, you can qualify for subsidized parking on the main Clifton campus. You can register for incentives or find a carpool buddy here. Emory subsidizes the cost of parking on the main Clifton Campus with two employees receiving a $33.75 per month total for an annual parking permit, and three or more employees receiving a subsidized annual parking permit.
  • Fuel-efficient vehicles on campus are eligible for preferential parking. There are currently four designated spots for electric carts in the Peavine lot. Elsewhere on campus, there are 13 spots reserved for alternatively fueled vehicles- 7 in the Michael Street parking deck, 3 in the Peavine lot, and 3 in the Starvine lot.
  • Emory supports biking to and around campus! Check out resources and support to help you get around on two wheels.
  • Use the South Peachtree Creek PATH trail system to get around campus. Recently, the PATH construction on the connection via Haygood and N. Decatur has been completed. Read more about the PATH system here and here.
  • Emory Fleet Services offers vehicle rentals for eligible faculty and staff starting at $25/day.
  • Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations are located at Starvine (3 spaces, level 4), Michael Street (5 spaces, levels 1 & 7), Fishburne (2 spaces, level 3), Gatewood (2 spaces, level 3), Peavine (4 spaces),  Clairmont Tower (2 spaces), and Oxford Road (Express Charger 1 space). Two EV charging stations are available on the Oxford campus in the Fleming parking lot.
  • Bikers and walkers looking to get around campus can take the South Peachtree Creek PATH trail system, which connects to Clairmont Heights, Medlock Park, Mason Mill Park, and the Leafmore neighborhoods. In 2021, construction was completed to expand the trail through Ridgewood Drive and Clifton Road. Future construction could block parts of the trail in the coming years