Travel Survey 2024 results to inform Travel Plan

More than 1,200 members of staff completed the latest Travel Survey, revealing that more than a third of colleagues regularly commute to the University using sustainable transport.

The Travel Survey is conducted every two years to improve our understanding of the travel choices of staff and students and to gather opinions and suggestions on how low-carbon transport options could be made more appealing.

Including students, a total of 1,700 responses were collected this year. The feedback will be used to shape our new Travel Plan, being developed currently.

Results

Among the findings of the survey were:

• 38% of colleagues typically commute using low-carbon methods, such as walking, cycling or public transport.
• Bus travel has become more common, with 10% of colleagues now saying they take the bus compared to 8% in the previous two surveys.
• A third of colleagues (34%) said they drove to campus during a typical working week. However, as a percentage of journeys to campus, nearly half (47%) were by single occupant vehicle, with 4% lift shares.
• More than half (53%) of students said they walked to campus, with 4% cycling – a decrease compared to previous years. A total of 30% of students use public transport – significantly more than previous years - while 11% said they drive, compared to 6% in 2022.
• Asked what would persuade them to switch from driving, respondents suggesting better and safer cycling routes, more secure bike storage, more reliable and direct bus routes, more electric vehicle chargers on campus and more help to find lift share partners.

This year’s survey also aimed to provide a clearer picture of how colleagues’ working patterns have changed since the Covid-19 pandemic.

It found that 58% of colleagues now work from home at least once a week, compared to 11% in the 2020 survey, which was conducted pre-pandemic. This has been a factor in reducing the number of car journeys to campus, although needs to be balanced with our identity as a campus university and need to provide in-person services.

See the Sustainability webpages for a blog on the survey findings, and the full results report.

New Travel Plan coming soon

The results of the survey is being analysed and will help form our new five-year Travel Plan, due to be published this summer.

The Travel Plan will include new support and incentives from the University to encourage and help colleagues to choose greener travel methods.

This supports our environmental sustainability ambitions, including becoming carbon net zero as an institution by 2030.