Over 300 new and experienced cyclists have benefited from the Cycle Safety Project which has been run at the University by training experts Avanti Cycling in conjunction with Sustainability Services.
Over 70 different events have been held; attracting staff and students to take part in a range of activities from cycle based training; maintenance sessions; ride leader workshops and various awareness events - including "light up campus" giving away bike lights to encourage all cyclists to be seen.
Cycle based training has helped beginners learn to ride; developing others confidence and improved road skills of regular commuters. A number of complete beginners have now progressed, gaining enough confidence to cycle to work which is a great success. Many others are now more confident on roads and some have taken ride leader workshops so they can go on and help others.
We have checked and fixed over 100 bikes at maintenance sessions run by Dr Bike and Reading Bike Kitchen adding to the project's overall impact.
Carrying on in all weather - snow, rain and sunshine...
Here’s an update on changes to bus services and routes for Whiteknights and London Road campuses over summer.
21a stops for summer on 8 June
A quick reminder that term time only bus service 21a will stop for the summer from Friday 8 June. Therefore the frequency of the bus service between Whiteknights Campus and the Town Centre will be reduced. Please check timetables on Reading Buses website.
21a will additionally run on 16 and 17 June for Open day. It will then start again for Welcome Week on 24 September.
Both bus stops on Whiteknights campus closed over summer due to works on Queen’s Drive
Queen’s Drive needs resurfacing so this work will take place over summer, closing the section near Whiteknights House starting on 18 June.
Vehicles will not be able to use the route so both campus bus stops will be closed during this time, between 18 June to Wednesday 1 August. For those seeking to use alternative stops please ensure you read...
The results of the 2018 University Travel Survey are now in
A massive thank you to everyone who took part back in January (832 staff and 734 students). You've provided some excellent feedback that we will use to update our Travel Plan Action Plan (to be published in October).A brief summary of the findings is provided in this blog - please see the full results in our Travel Survey 2018 results report (includes a 3 page summary), and our Travel Plan and Monitoring page for further details.
The all important prize draw winners
The student entries prize draw was won by Raagulan Umashanker a first year student of English Literature.The staff entries prize draw was won by Tom Woolmer in Global Recruitment and Admissions at London Road.They each won an iPad. Congratulations and thanks for taking part :-)
How do staff and students travel to the University?
The overall (combined staff and student) modal split for commutes to the University in 2018 is shown below.
The...
If you need to pump up your tyres or make a few minor repairs to your bicycle while you’re on Whiteknights or London Road campuses you’re now in luck. We have two new locations where DIY bicycle maintenance equipment is available to borrow on campus, and improved equipment available in the Chaplaincy.
Equipment is now available to borrow (for you to use on campus) from:
The Chaplaincy
Security Services in Whiteknights House
Security Services at London Road.
The Chaplaincy location is already marked on our campus Shower Map, and this will be updated to show the other locations soon.
You won this!
The equipment has been purchased using the prize money from the University Team’s great successes in last year’s BikeSmart cycle challenge.
The University overall won first place out of large organisations Reading, and the Sustainability Services team came first out of smaller groups. These team prizes were in addition to many fabulous individual prizes won by staff and students accross the University. We...
Travel Survey 2018! – Let us know your views and suggestions - win an iPad
It’s time for the University’s biannual staff and student travel survey. Take the travel survey
We really hope you take the opportunity to let us know how you get to our campuses and your views on what we can do to improve this for you. You could win one of two iPads by taking part!
Your views are important to monitor how we are doing against the University Travel Plan, and to develop the action plan for the next couple of years. See what we have done as a result of your great responses to previous travel surveys on the Sustainability Services Travel Plan pages. Recent actions included the widening of the shared route between Friends Bridge and Agriculture, and installation of a larger bus shelter on Chancellors Way.
It’s quite a detailed survey, but only a few of the questions are compulsory so you can skip most areas...
Learn to fix your own bike
Reading Bicycle Kitchen is an excellent initiative run by volunteers who will show you how to fix your own bike in exchange for a donation.They will be holding some fix it sessions at the University - see below for details.Please see their website for more details about how they work.
...
The University is working with Avanti Cycling in a bid to encourage staff and students to ensure you have the right knowledge, skills and equipment to keep yourselves and others safe while cycling on campus and on the roads.We’re offering free cycle training at a variety of different levels – from complete beginners who need to learn to ride a bike safely, through road tips for experienced cyclists, to experienced foreign cyclists who may just need a top-up on UK road laws. We’re also offering free cycle lights to everyone who takes part!
Most people’s thought when they hear ‘cycle training’ is ‘that’s for kids’ or ‘for people who can’t ride a bike’, or ‘boring’. Please let us prove those thoughts wrong! We promise you if you’ve never taken cycle training as an adult you will definitely learn something, and have fun at the same time. What have you got to lose? We’ll even throw in a set of cycle lights...
Once again we’re going to be hosting our great ‘On Your Bike’ event, our one stop shop to get you up and cycling in Reading at the start of the academic year.
This year we have our very own tent, next to the main Reading Experience Event dome, opposite the Hopkins building, so come along between 12:00 – 16:00 on Wednesday 27 September for any help you may need to get on your bike.
*Newly added - Cycle Republic selling new bicycle packages designed for students.
Confirmed attendees include:
By a second hand bike from Recycle Your Cycle
Unicycle hire a bike for the term (limited numbers available)
Readybike – Reading’s excellent on street hire bike system with discounts and offers.
Buy discounted lights and locks from our very own Security Services
Free bike maintenance from our Dr Bike
Reading Bicycle Kitchen – bicycle maintenance and volunteering
Cycle skills training from Avanti cycling
Thames Valley Police providing bicycle security advice
Wokingham Road safety...
As you will have seen if you’ve been to the Earley Gate side of campus recently, we’ve been making some improvements to the shared paths there. Widening them to allow more space for cyclists and pedestrians to share space safely. The improvements in this location are a direct result of your feedback in previous Travel Surveys, that this was the spot that concerned the largest number of respondents.
This work forms the start of a programme of improvements to routes on campus. We hope you managed to view and comment on our proposals for Campus Routes and Quads development in the consultation earlier this year.
Why not segregated paths?
We have opted to widen paths for shared use, rather than provide segregated routes. This decision was based on recommendations from our consultants, based on an assessment of the usage levels of the routes, and is in accordance with current guidance for heavily used routes. (See below for links).
Reports suggest that while people often...
