Sustainable travel: your questions answered
21 February 2023
Improved bus services and cycle lanes were among the University’s green travel ambitions covered during a recent all-staff briefing.
The University’s Sustainability Services team is continuing to engage with authorities such as local councils and Reading Buses to make bus services more regular and incentivise public transport use, as well as supporting the development of dedicated two-way cycle lanes on Shinfield Road.
New sustainable travel principles informing the development of a new University policy were discussed at December’s all-staff session, where many colleagues asked questions in the Q&A about how these changes will work in practice.
There were more questions on sustainable travel than could be answered during the session, so we have pulled together responses here from Professor Mark Fellowes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and environmental sustainability lead who presented at the session, Dan Fernbank, Energy & Sustainability Director, and Matt White, Director of Campus Commerce.
Also discussed at the session were the University’s research partnerships, work to improve our rankings performance and the Portfolio Review Pathway. Colleagues can find out more about the latter on our dedicated web pages and at regular breakfast briefings.
Sustainable travel Q&A
| Question | Response |
| It is a very worrying trend with the new UoR travel policies that may potentially lead to reduction in our physical participation in scientific conferences. This may lead to reduction in international collaborations and also in a drop of citations of our publications. | We are committed to international collaboration and understand the importance of face-to-face interactions. What we would like to encourage is that when travel is necessary, colleagues make the most of that journey by networking, arranging meetings and taking opportunities to showcase Reading's strengths during the visit. Decisions on travel should consider this question of balancing benefits from trips against our commitment to reduce our contribution to climate change – Mark Fellowes |
| I hope the University plans to intervene if Reading Buses do go ahead and cancel the number 3 bus, as they plan to come March, as this will completely cut off Shinfield and Wokingham. The bus from Mereoak was an appreciated gesture, but practically Mereoak is a 40 min walk for me! | We have raised concerns with Reading Buses about changes to the No.9 service, but have not previously heard of threats to the No.3 service. We will raise concerns with Reading Buses - but would welcome further comments/detail at sustainability@reading.ac.uk – Dan Fernbank UPDATE: We have now been in touch with Reading Buses and Wokingham Borough Council regarding the No.3. To date, this service has been subsidised by WBC, which is coming to an end, but Reading Buses have confirmed they will continue to operate the service on a commercial basis after 31 March 2023. - Dan Fernbank |
| With the new travel principles, could showers on campus be opened earlier in morning to allow for those that cycle but start work at 8am? Also, is there any plan for more showers to be available on campus in large buildings that don’t currently have any…such as the Edith Morley Building? |
The forthcoming 5-year Travel Plan will be looking at opportunities to improve facilities to encourage lower carbon forms of travel and will be building on the new travel principles from the working group that convened in early 2022. A review of shower/changing facilities will be included. The suggestion of earlier opening of showers is a welcome idea which we can explore further – Dan Fernbank |
| Our office have an automatic light, while this might be more energy efficient but during the we have the light on all the time (at least when we are in). It is a shame this could be another way of saving more cost. | There is always a balance to strike between relying on human or technology interventions - but we are happy to take a further look at this if you drop us an email at sustainability@reading.ac.uk – Dan Fernbank |
| More of us would travel to Reading by train if the bus service to campus was more frequent. Could the university consider running a shuttle bus to/from the station? | We successfully lobbied Reading Buses to increase the frequency of the 21/21a to London Rd/Whiteknights from 9 Jan 2023. We are also in discussions about bringing the No.19 onto the Earley Gate side of campus. A dedicated shuttle bus is likely to be cost-prohibitive if the University had to pay. We meet with Reading Buses and Reading Borough Council regularly though - and there is some support for the idea of 'fast track' services – Dan Fernbank |
| Is the university considering 4 day working week? Surely this cuts down on travel for staff helping with cost of living and the environment | We are open to conversations about flexible working and there is already a process where colleagues can apply for this. Many will be aware of the research Henley Business School has conducted into the benefits of a four-day week, and we realise there are environmental sustainability benefits to this as well. There are currently no plans to implement this across the Business School or University, but we'd encourage colleagues to consider flexible working among other options to reduce their carbon footprint, if it works for them and their teams – Mark Fellowes |
| Is it also possible to provide some hanging space for wet cycling clothes/lockers to store kit for people who have taken the sustainable option of cycling to work? There's definitely buy-in to taking more sustainable travel options, but it's not always practical at the moment because it's not matched with the right facilities on campus for staff. | The forthcoming 5-year Travel Plan will be looking at opportunities to improve facilities to encourage lower carbon forms of travel and will be building on the new travel principles from the working group that convened in early 2022 - but we always welcome any specific feedback to sustainability@reading.ac.uk – Dan Fernbank |
| Can the University offer purchase of electric bikes and scooters using it's ability to offer tax relief through wages as it has done for other items as these represent a very high initial outlay for some? | E-bikes are already available through the Cycle to Work scheme. E-scooters are not currently road-legal in Reading or permitted to be used on campus – Dan Fernbank |
| Will the University pay more for eg. train travel as this is typically more expensive than flying? | There’s no doubt that travelling greener can mean a more expensive journey. Travel will therefore be prioritised based on the value of the trip and the emissions generated, not price. It's important to also say that this policy will not prevent colleagues who are unable to use sustainable transport for their journeys due to, for example, caring commitments or disabilities, from travelling – Mark Fellowes |
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To continue the conversation around Reading Buses, there are several occasions where buses are cancelled last minute, and now we are outside of term time (meaning that there is no more 21A service), it means that travel to campus is often unreliable as the buses are spaced so far apart (time wise). Could the university help to lobby Reading Buses for more buses at peak times, such as 0700-0930 and 1600-1800? |
We have indeed lobbied Reading Buses and services have increased from an average of every 10 mins to every 8.5 mins from 9 Jan 2023. We will be actively monitoring bus queues, but welcome any further specific feedback to sustainabilty@reading.ac.uk – Dan Fernbank |
| The free bus is fine if you can drive - if the number 3 bus is cancelled then I won't actually have a sensible way of getting to work | We have raised concerns with Reading Buses about changes to the No.9 service, but have not previously heard of threats to the No.3 service. We will raise concerns with Reading Buses - but would welcome further comments/detail at sustainability@reading.ac.uk – Dan Fernbank |
| Does the University get involved in discussions about cycle path provision with the Local Authorities as they plan for the future? | Yes - we meet regularly with Reading Borough Council, though have not established the same level of travel connections with Wokingham Borough Council currently. The current Shinfield Rd cycle lane is intended as RBC's first 'exemplar' facility that they hope to emulate elsewhere in town - but we regularly lobby for further and faster improvements and would encourage individuals to do the same – Dan Fernbank |
| Are there any plans to re-launch an Electric Vehicle Initiative for staff members? Also, are there any plans to add any additional car charging points throughout campus? | We will be reviewing schemes to help enable colleagues to lease or purchase an electric vehicle, considering the benefits to staff, likely participation, and required resource to administer. This review is not expected to start until next year. Additional electric car chargers on campus is something we are investigating – Mark Fellowes |
| If we are serious about supporting staff and students to reduce their carbon costs due to travel then we need to radically rethink timetabling to enable consolidation of teaching into fewer days for individuals. Is this being investigated? | I am always pleased to see colleagues thinking about solutions to support the University's commitment to sustainability, and this is a good suggestion. Clearly changes like this require a lot of thought and not inconsiderable work by colleagues to implement them. It is certainly something we will consider as a longer-term change – Mark Fellowes |
| Why aren't catering providing crockery, glass and cutlery that can be washed and reused? If they could provide this equipment, it could be catered more sustainably and reduce plastics and waste. We continue to use paper cups that are lined with plastic, plastic bottles of water, coke bottles etc. I appreciate Hospitality have promoted that schools can provide tap water, if they've the facilities, but that is a cost being pushed back to schools to buy their own equipment. Catering is a service we should be able to buy into. | Crockery is provided by the Catering team if it is ordered and paid for to cover additional costs in delivering it to venues. All our disposables are recyclable and in some cases their use is necessary due to health and safety regulations – Matt White |
| Mereoak is great to publicise as long as it is convenient to get there. For me I will be driving in the wrong direction when I am already in the right direction to University. I often pass number 3 bus on my way so driving is more convenient. | We hope to extend this to Thames Valley Park (end of A3290) Park & Ride too but first need to encourage Wokingham Borough Council to reduce their parking fees. The overarching aim of our Travel Plan is to reduce single-occupancy car use to our campuses - which is a planning requirement – Dan Fernbank |
| It is now more difficult to get a driving test date. While it's important to reduce carbon emission, driving for staff members who need car(s) to meet the essential needs can not be compromised. Of course, the use of electric cars is increasing throughout the country. What is the University doing to help some staff members in this category? I think family needs should be prioritised over individual needs. Thanks | The overarching aim of our Travel Plan is to reduce single-occupancy car use to our campuses - which is a planning requirement. Parking will continue to be available on our campuses. We will look to improve options for car sharing, lift sharing and electric vehicle charging as well as park & ride connections for those that need to drive regularly/occasionally – Dan Fernbank |
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