The University of Cambridge is committed to developing and improving our sustainable transport initiatives for staff, to reduce emissions and improve connectivity across sites.
A key initiative has been our collaboration with leading micro-mobility company Voi on the ‘Travel at Work’ pilot project, which won the ‘E-Mobility Project of the Year’ award at the 2023 Sustainable Travel Awards. The initiative, which enables staff to use free ‘ride credits’ for e-bike and e-scooter business journeys between sites, promotes sustainable travel and reduces our carbon footprint. In its first year, staff made 1,200 trips across 16 Departments, reducing both business travel time and emissions. With plans to extend the initiative until May 2026, this award-winning scheme is transforming travel across the University.
In 2023, we also introduced a new and improved all-electric Universal Bus service. After one year, the service has seen a 5% increase in users, with over 720,000 passenger trips made. Overall user satisfaction rose by 9%, with significant improvements in reliability, user information, and bus cleanliness. Complaints were minimal, with only 60 reported in the first nine months, equivalent to one complaint for every 9,540 passengers.
Beyond staff travel, our commitment to sustainable transport extends to residential communities. Eddington is our newly developed sustainable community in West Cambridge, designed with environmental sustainability at the forefront, with renewable energy systems, rainwater harvesting, innovative waste management and sustainable transport infrastructure throughout. In June 2024, Eddington's residential travel plan received a ‘very good’ rating from the national travel plan accreditor, Modeshift STARS, at our Sustainability Showcase. This follows the 'Good' rating awarded to the University's Primary School in 2022. The Environmental Sustainability Team reported that in 2023, 89% of Eddington’s residents use sustainable commuting methods such as cycling, walking and public transport, and 76% of students at the Primary School choose low-carbon options to travel to school. Through initiatives such as the Cycle Loan scheme, cycle training, the Universal Bus and parking management, we continue to support Eddington as it develops into a sustainable community.