Rideshare Program for Employees

For more information, email commuter.services@csun.edu

The campus is served by the AVTA Express bus, the Metro bus, and the Metrolink train system.

CSUN employees who opt to use the bus, rail, or train to campus may be eligible for a discount of up to 60% off the cost of the monthly transit pass.  The total monthly discount will not exceed $100. 

Eligible employees must first register to participate in this program. The deadline to submit a new registration for the upcoming selling period is the 15th of the month.  For example:  March 15 is the registration deadline to buy a discounted April pass. 

TAP CARD PROCEDURE:

Metro bus and AVTA Express bus users need a TAP card to ride the bus.  After an employee enrolls in the Public Transit Subsidy Program, additional instructions are provided so that the employee's TAP card can be loaded with the appropriate bus fare.  Enrolled employees who need only the basic bus fare are instructed to come to the Parking Office to pre-order their TAP cards for the following month.  The "selling period" ends on the 15^th, or in the event of a holiday or campus closure, on the last working day prior to the 15^th.    TAP cards ordered through the Parking Office by the 15th are available for use starting the 1st of the following month.  (Example:  TAP cards ordered by August 15th are available to use starting September 1st.)  

METROLINK "ROCK-N-ROLL" CARD PROCEDURE:

Metrolink train users need a special access card called a "Rock-n-Roll" card to obtain their pass each month.  The Rock-n-Roll card is not the pass, but is the access card accepted by the station ticket vending machine (TVM) to dispense the monthly pass.  The deadline to pay for a monthly pass on Metrolink is the 15th of the month. After payment is made for the upcoming month, the employee can go to the TVM beginning the 25th of the month to have the monthly pass retrieved.  The last day to retrieve a monthly pass for the current month is the 5th.  After the 5th, the Rock-n-Roll card will not work to retrieve that pass.   

ENROLLMENT:  

Employees may request an enrollment application by contacting the Transportation Program Office by (information located on the left side under "Contact Us."  The discount is applied at the time of purchase, therefore, the transit pass must be purchased on campus. Employees are allowed only one discounted purchase of a transit pass per month, which must done by the deadline.  

The CSUN Vanpool Program is available for employees who meet the starting locations and work hours of an existing CSUN vanpool; or who meet the criteria for starting a new vanpool group. There is a registration process. Vanpool program participants pay a monthly cost to participate.  

To start up a new CSUN vanpool, the original group must have minimum of 4 and maximum of 9 persons who commit to the shared commute arrangement.  Of the 4 to 9 employees, we suggest having more than one certified driver.  

For more information, please contact Pamela LaRussa at  

Bicycling is a great way to work-out on your way to and from the workplace. The campus has made adjustments to its infrastructure to accommodate bicycling as a commute option with the opening of the Matador Bicycle Compounds that offer a sheltered location to park bicycles.  Employees may also be eligible to receive up to 4 "Rainy Day" permits per year for use during inclement weather.  

If bicycling appeals to you as a commute mode, but you live too far away to bicycle the entire distance to campus from home, you might consider combining the use of Public Transit with bicycling for the commute.  Many transit buses and trains have convenient bicycle storage on-board where you can cycle to the transit stop, store your bicycle on-board, ride to your destination, retrieve your bicycle from the storage area, pedal to your location on campus, and secure the bicycle in one of our Matador Bicycle Compounds.  

Employees may exercise their option to carpool to campus to help clean the air, reduce pollution, alleviate traffic congestion and become better stewards of our precious environment.  

2-Person Carpools:  

One or more days per week, try sharing the ride with at least one other CSUN employee. There are limited parking spaces in faculty/staff lots designated as "Rideshare/Carpool" parking spaces. Not only will you contribute to the reduction of traffic congestion, but you will save on the number of miles you put on your own personal vehicle if your carpool group can share driving responsibilities.

HOV Parking Program:  

CSUN employees can apply to have a specially-designated HOV Parking space assigned to them for use.  The requirements are as follows:  

• All participants of the group must register with the Transportation Program, and
• The registered carpool group is comprised of 3 or more CSUN employees, and
• The registered carpool group does not qualify for other incentives provided by the University's Transportation Program (i.e., CSUN-sponsored vanpool group), and
• The vehicle has at least three of the registered CSUN employees in it when it pulls into the space upon arrival at the beginning of the workday.

Employees registering a vehicle for use in the HOV Parking Program must have a valid CSUN parking permit.  

There are options available for employees that do not require registration through the University's Transportation Program.  Some of these options (i.e., Compressed Workweek, Telecommuting) do require pre-approval through the employee's department or division.  

The Guaranteed Emergency Ride program is designed to assist faculty or staff who are registered participants in the University's Rideshare Program for Employees.  The intent of the Guaranteed Emergency Ride (GER) program is to provide free, emergency transportation to participating employees on an "as-needed" basis.  Employees who need to make a single, 1-way trip to respond to a sudden personal emergency or to complete the home-bound commute after the rideshare partner of the registrant has had a sudden personal emergency.  

Faculty and Staff registrants are eligible for the GER on any workday they commute to the University by registered carpool, vanpool, or public transit (bus/train).  If the emergency arises on a day the registered employee drove alone to the campus, the Guaranteed Emergency Ride program may NOT be used.  Only "sudden" emergencies will be considered.  No GER will be granted for situations the employee was aware of prior to coming to the University that workday.  

"Emergency" defined for this application:  Sudden, personal crisis involving an employee's home, family, or health.  This may also include the home, family, or health of the registered rideshare partner.  Sudden, unexpected UNIVERSITY-RELATED overtime of a registered employee or his/her registered rideshare partner.  

State full-time and part-time employees assigned to work on campus and eligible to accrue benefits through their employment on campus;

Non-state employees working on the CSUN campus during the current semester whose employment is set through a commercial vendor (i.e., food services provider, bookstore, etc.) that is currently affiliated or recognized as being currently affiliated with Cal State Northridge.

Applicants may be required to provide additional written documentation of their employment status prior to enrollment in this program.  In addition, non-state registrants may also be required to resubmit periodic verification of their continued employment status with the University. 

For employees who are registered in the University's Public Transit Subsidy program and who have a “bill-payment” feature through their financial institutions, purchasing a monthly Metrolink pass or reloading a TAP card is very easy.

Instead of bringing a payment to the Parking Office each month, just have your bank or financial institution do it for you. Many financial institutions offer this as a “free” service to account holders. Using this method to purchase the monthly Metrolink pass or to reload your TAP card means you can control when the payment arrives at CSUN through your banking institution.  You can opt to skip a period of time (i.e., leave of absence, summer, etc.).  As long as you set up the payment calendar correctly, there is no need to make a special trip to the CSUN Parking Office to pay for (order) your transit pass. “Just set it and forget it.”

Employees opting to do this should ensure the following when setting up the online profile:

Checks are made payable to: CSUN (or CSU Northridge Transportation)

If your financial institution REQUIRES an account number to be assigned for the payment, use the 16-digit number printed on the back of your Metrolink Rock-N-Roll card or your TAP card.

One last thing: Set the “delivery date” to be ON or BEFORE the deadline for your pass.  Metrolink train and TAP are both due by the 15th.  

The mailing address is:

CSUN Transportation Program
Parking & Transportation Services - 8297
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8297

Metrolink passes can be retrieved from the ticket vending machine at any Metrolink Station between the 25th of the month and the 5th of the new month; follow the instructions on the screen, enter your PIN and, after verifying the pass is the one you ordered, print your Metrolink pass.  

TAP cards loaded by the deadline are available for use starting the 1st of the new month.