Transportation and Parking

Parking Options

Alternative Transport Options

Carpooling, riding the train or bus, taking rideshare, bicycling and walking to campus offer many benefits to PAU students, staff and faculty. Alternative transport reduces PAU’s greenhouse gas emissions, helps PAU be a good community member, and saves students, staff and faculty money on gas and vehicle maintenance. Carpooling specifically helps build stronger connections among PAU community members.

Alternative Transportation Options by Campus

Allen Calvin Main Campus

1791 Arastradero Rd., Palo Alto

Main option: carpool

Mountain View Campus - Opening Soon!

Stanford University Medical Center

401 Quarry Rd., Palo Alto

Main options: Caltrain, buses, carpool, bicycling

Caltrain schedule
VTA 22 (from San Jose)
VTA 522 (from San Jose)
VTA 35 (from Mountain View)
ECR (from San Francisco)
Santa Clara VTA bike maps of Silicon Valley
Bikemap route planner

PAU CommuteSmart Program - Save the Planet, Meet New Friends & Earn Rewards for Your Commute

Finding your way to campus just got easier. PAU CommuteSmart is PAU’s commute management platform where you can help cut down on carbon emissions, meet new people and earn $5/day up to $100/month for using alternative transportation from your home to campus. Click here to learn more and sign-up to start earning rewards.

If you have any additional questions, please send an email to Lori Thomas at lthomas@paloaltou.edu.

Guaranteed Ride Home

PAU has a Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) program for infrequent situations in which a student, staff or faculty member needs to return home quickly. PAU will reimburse a student, staff member or faculty member of the Palo Alto University community. The maximum allowable GRH reimbursed trips per 12 month period is six (6). Click here to download the reimbursement form.

The terms are simple:

Participants are eligible to use guaranteed ride home as long as they have used a commute alternative on the day they need assistance.
PAU will accept reimbursement requests for trips using: taxi, rental car, rideshare technology apps (Lyft, Uber, etc.), or public transit. For taxis, taxi fare plus a 15% tip is admissible. For rental cars, GRH will reimburse for a one-day, economy class rental car.

You will be reimbursed for the trip home if:

You or an immediate family member suffers an illness, injury, or severe crisis
(for staff) You are asked by your supervisor to work unscheduled overtime
Your ridesharing vehicle breaks down or the driver has to leave early for an emergency
You have a break-in, flood, or fire at your residence

The Guaranteed Ride Home MAY NOT BE USED FOR:

Personal errands
Pre-planned medical or dental appointments for participants or commute vehicle driver
Business-related travel
Working overtime without a supervisor’s request
Non-emergency side trips on the way home
Ambulance service
Trips to work

For more information, contact Lori Thomas (lthomas@paloaltou.edu)