Travel and Transport

There is now a free 360 bus service on Wednesday and Saturday nights to support students wanting to attend union event nights. This is a partnership initiative between RUSU and Reading Buses, with support from the University of Reading. The service operates up to every 11 minutes from 22:00 to 02:30 throughout term time. The 360 route includes the main off campus student residential areas (around Wokingham Road and Erleigh Road) and then back onto campus – enabling safe and convenient travel to and from Student Union events. The new bus service also has added benefits by providing a safe…

If you live off-campus in the Reading area, you may not know that re3 is responsible for sorting the recycling that the Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell local authorities collect from households on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. They have won and been nominated for awards for their facilities and technology. In addition to sorting the waste from household collections, re3 have recycling centres where you can take items that are not suitable for kerbside collections, plus recycling banks specifically for glass and textiles. To find out more, visit their website: https://re3.fccenvironment.co.uk/ Key takeaways: Recycling helps the environment, more than you…

The Sustainability Services team would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who participated in this years’ travel survey. The survey was completed in January 2020, before the COVID-19 outbreak took hold in the UK.  The responses have provided some great feedback, which will help to shape the proposed travel action plans for the years ahead. A brief summary of the key findings is provided in this blog. You can find the full results of the travel survey here. How do staff and students travel to University? The overall (combined staff and student) modal split for commutes to the…

Disappointing news from Great Western Railway (GWR) who has announced that they will no longer be offering 15% rail discounts to EasitNETWORK members for travel into Reading.   The company has agreed that it will honour discounts on any tickets and season tickets bought before 31 March 2020 by holders of a valid Easit card.  The University will remain a member of Easit, which will enable users who have bought a ticket or season ticket before that date to continue to use them until they expire.   We are extremely disappointed by this move and have written to GWR’s Managing…

If you’re living in private rented accommodation this year, you may well find yourself paying for gas, electricity and water bills for the first time. This can eat into your finances, so here are some tips to keep your costs down:   Saving energy Landlords are only legally allowed to rent out buildings which achieve at least an ‘E’ rating Energy Performance Certificate (A being most efficient, G being least efficient). Ask your landlord for a copy of the EPC to check they are complying. Switch off! The easiest and most obvious way to save energy is by not leaving…

Looking to travel more sustainably this month? This is what you have got to look forward to: On Your Bike Day We held our first bike event this term with Dr Bike, Reading Bike Kitchen and UniCycle. We sold 10 second-hand bikes and over 40 staff and students visit Dr Bike for a free Bike check.Our next scheduled Dr Bike is the 22nd May - come along and get your free bike check!   Free Cycle Skills Sessions every Wednesday! Whatever level of cyclist you are, we have cycle courses to improve your cycling 2-3pm "Back on Bikes" for those needing…

The University is committed to increasing the uptake of more sustainable travel methods to and from campus. There are many great reasons for you to not bring a car, including all the great travel offers. As a University of Reading staff or student, you don’t need a car in Reading because: Bus routes 21/21a operate every 7 mins and serves both Whiteknights and London Road campuses Cycle hire and lessons. Improve your confidence and skills at free weekly cycle skills sessions. Cycle maintenance tools (including pumps) are available from the Chaplaincy and Security from Whiteknights campus. Excellent trains, including season…

Creating skilled cyclists The 2018-19 academic year has seen a huge boost in participation in our programme of cycle skills sessions and events. These are aimed at helping University cyclists keep themselves and other safe while cycling on and off campus. Over 200 participant-sessions have been run since August 2018, with over 70 individuals now trained in safe road cycle skills. Some of these were complete beginners or hadn’t been on a bike since childhood and were offered support including use of loan bike and helmets along with additional sessions if needed to get skills and confidence up to cycling…