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City employees are driving less and using more alternative forms of transportation, according to a survey unveiled at Thursday night’s Transportation Commission meeting. 

Drafted by Associate Transportation Planner Kara Vuicich, the survey was sent to 1800 city employees between May 24 and June 17. A total of 327 staffers responded, an 18 percent rate of return. 

“The survey indicates significant improvements” in employee commute behavior, Vuicich wrote, with most of the positive changes correlating with the implementation of the city’s EcoPass and Commuter Check programs. 

Between 2001 and this year, the rate of city staff responding to the poll who drive to work alone dropped from 47.4 to 36.4 percent. The drive-alone rates for city workers are well below the rates for all Berkeley workers, with a 54 percent drive-alone rate, and far lower than Alameda County workers in general with 71 percent. 

BART commuters rose from 12.9 to 19.7 percent responding, while bus riders jumped from 6.2 to 13.8 percent. Bicyclers rose from 4.9 to 6.8 percent and walkers from 4.7 to 6.5 percent. 

The only drop was seen in car- and van pool commutes, which fell from 12.8 to 7.7 percent. 

The survey also offered a look at where Berkeley city employees live. 

Of those responding to the poll, 39.4 percent live in the city, 14.1 percent live in Oakland, 5.8 percent in Richmond and 5.5 percent in San Francisco, followed by Albany and El Cerrito at 4.9 and 4 percent respectively. 

The others are distributed throughout the Bay Area, ranging from Alameda, American Canyon and Antioch to San Pablo, Vallejo and Walnut Creek. 

Of the total, 70 percent live in areas served by AC Transit, and 40 percent live in the same ZIP code as a BART station. 

More than one in five employees lives within two miles of work, while 19.9 percent live 20 or more miles away, with the rest falling in between. 

Nearby residents favor bicycles and shoe leather (or rubber) for commuting, while distant workers rely the most on car and van pools and BART. 

Nearly half of the workers (46 percent) use the city’s $29-a-month transit subsidy. 

Approximately 240 employees regularly use the EcoPass program, up from 189 in 2002. 

The top three reason for workers who drive are: 

• Because alternatives would lengthen their commute times (59 percent). 

• Because they work late or irregular hours (58 percent). 

• Because it’s too far to bike or walk (55 percent). 

Half of the drive-alones said they’d be willing to try BART as an alternative, and 48 percent said they’d consider using a bus, while 31 percent said they’d be willing to try telecommuting. 

Asked what incentives would encourage them to consider other modes of transit, 68 percent said financial subsidies would be a stimulus, 61 percent said a boost from the $20 now available for BART would do the trick and 59 percent said free bus passes would do the trick. 

Based on survey results, Vuicich listed seven possible city measures that could encourage higher rates of alternative transit uses: 

• Continuation and expansion of current programs and policies. 

• Consideration of expansion of the EcoPass to include BART along with utilization of TransLink smart cards that would apply to both buses and BART. 

• Increased subsidies to workers who use transit systems other than BART and AC Transit. 

• New incentives aimed at drive-alone employees who live less than five miles away. 

• Improved storage facilities and other incentives to encourage more bike ridership. 

• New van and carpools for workers who live 20 or more miles from work. 

• Better publicity for existing programs, focusing on the city’s Guaranteed Ride Home program, 511 ride-matching, carpool parking discounts and the city’s bicycle fleet pool. 

Copies of the survey are available in the third floor offices of the Transportation Division of the Public Works Department at 1947 Center St.