Travel for work and study at the University of Cambridge
Every day a high number of journeys into and around Cambridge are made by staff, students and visitors. The University’s sites are dispersed across the city and many of us have to travel between sites during the working day. The University wants to support sustainable modes of transport and to encourage staff to reduce the number of car journeys into Cambridge in order to improve congestion and minimise our environmental impact from transport. On these pages you can find out:
For guidance on business travel (i.e. travelling away from Cambridge on University business), see our Sustainable Business Travel page here.
Travel Surveys
The University conducts regular surveys of both staff and student travel to monitor progress towards delivery of our Transport Strategy and to help determine priorities for action and investment.
Staff travel survey
The survey will ask you questions about your travel during the week commencing the 10th October.
This year the survey will also collect feedback on the University’s car parking permit policy. All staff can provide feedback on the car parking permit policy, regardless of how you travel to the University. Even if you’re a cyclist or a bus user, it is important for us to hear your views. Your feedback will help to improve the policy and ensure permits are allocated to the staff with the greatest need.
Last year one in three staff members responded to the travel survey, and this year we are aiming to get half of University staff to complete it. The department with the highest response rate will get an exclusive Dr Bike session, and staff will be able to bring their bikes along for a safety check and free basic repairs.
The survey will be open from 17th October until 30th October.
Student survey
As part of our work to better understand the environmental impact of the University this year we are asking students how they travel to Cambridge to study. We will be using this data to refine our understanding of the University’s scope 3 carbon emissions which will support our mitigation work.
The college with the highest response rate will be offered a Dr Bike session.
The survey will be open from 20th October to 3rd November.
How we used the 2021 survey results:
- The modal split data was reported to the University Council in Lent term as part of the Transport Strategy update. It was also used to calculate our scope 3 emissions from transport.
- The data on vehicles using the A14 was reported to the local councils as part of the North West Cambridge Framework Travel Plan (a compulsory part of the planning process).
- The data was used to help us plan future investments in sustainable transport initiatives. Data on the level of interest in the electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme was used to support the business case for signing off the scheme at HR Committee in June.
- The survey asked staff for their level of satisfaction with the Universal bus and cycling initiatives, this data was used alongside other monitoring data to check its performance.
- The data was also used to inform our view and responses to consultations on local authority transport projects.
View results of last year’s staff travel survey here.