UWE Travel Plan 2008-09
The Context
Difficulties in accessing campus will seriously affect UWE's ability to attract and retain high quality
staff and students unless action is taken now. In particular while significant expansion of car parking
facilities is unlikely to be permitted on campus, demand continues to rise. Therefore parking is already a
scarce resource on all campuses and its provision is a significant cost to the University as well as a major
cause of student and staff dissatisfaction. We also know that many staff and students would like to use public
transport, to walk or cycle, but increasing investment in these areas needs to be made.
The principal stage in the travel plan annual cycle is the
Travel Plan Survey, which is performed in November-December each year.
What You Told Us
Recently staff and students were invited to give their views on travel at UWE through a
University-wide consultation — by email, in writing and in person. This
asked whether UWE should increase investment in transport, with a corresponding increase in parking permit
price as well as introducing more equitable payment methods.
Over 1,400 responses were received. The main points you made were:
- 15% of you thought that the investment and parking charge should stay the same; 36% thought there should be a
medium increase; and 40% thought there should be a large increase.
- 89% of you thought there should be an option to pay daily as well as annually for parking;
- 57% of respondents travelled to UWE by car.
- The main items you wanted to see investment in were more frequent buses, better links to train stations, new
bus routes, better car park and traffic management and more cycle facilities at all campuses, especially showers
and lockers.
We then weighted the responses to reflect the balance of staff, students and car users and by the population of each
campus. This still showed that the most supported option was for a large increase to £114. Even amongst car
drivers, the least popular option was for the price to remain at £15.
Car Parking
The new parking price of £79 reflects the majority of staff and student opinion that there should be a medium/high level of investment. There will be a discounted price of £15 for all staff on Grade D or below. This will only be payable through monthly salary deduction.
There will also be an option to buy parking tokens which will better meet the needs of part-time or temporary staff
and all students. These will be available pre-paid in sheets of 4 for £3. All monies collected will be invested in
transport at UWE.
Holders of disabled badges will no longer require a permit to park and neither will those working outside of the
hours between 09:30 and 17:30. Visitors (ie not staff or students) will not be charged.
This level of charge will still be below the average of comparable UK Universities.
| Institution |
Staff annual parking charge |
Notes |
| Oxford Brookes |
£55-£132 |
Staff < 3 miles from campus not given permits |
| Plymouth |
£660 |
|
| Portsmouth |
0.3% of salary |
|
| Gloucestershire |
£50-150 |
3 bands, depending on salary |
| Swansea |
£40-150 |
Annual increase of 60% |
| Cardiff |
0.75% of salary |
Maximum of £150 |
The increase works out at under 30p a day and is unlikely to be more than 2% of the cost of running a car.
Major investment areas 2008-09
The parking charges will all be used to fund a range of new investments this year.
Buses
Approximately £250,000 extra investment for new and existing Ulink bus routes and to
improve reliability. A new U5 route to Frenchay via Clifton is designed to meet the needs of those living in this area
of Bristol. All other routes will be expanded to a 'clock-face' service with eight departures an hour during the day. We
will introduce double deck buses on the M32 and free buses from Frenchay to the City Centre will run every 15 minutes
all weekend in 2008.
Cycling
A new system of hire bikes will
allow easy access between Frenchay, Glenside and St Matthias. St Matthias will get new facilities and those at
Glenside will be upgraded. Cycle training and maintenance will be offered free of charge.
Parking
The condition of existing car parks will be improved and their efficiency improved through signs and lines. The
'2+' spaces will be better protected for car sharers. Fixed penalty notices will be introduced in place of wheel
clamping for minor parking infringements and the abolition of student permits will lower administrative costs.
How do these proposals relate to best practice?
Guidance on parking and travel plans is produced by the Dept. for Transport who state:
"in terms of cost effectiveness, the most effective strategies [for travel plans] were found to be
financial incentives (such as transit subsidies) and disincentives (such as parking charges), cycling and walking
programmes or subsidies and parking supply management."
In relation to costs, the DfT notes:
"Mileage claims are only the visible tip of an iceberg. Under the surface there are the hidden costs of staff time
spent travelling on business, and a surprisingly high average annual cost of £400 to provide each
parking space".
Equalities Impact Assessment
The UWE Travel Plan is subject to a full Equalities Impact Assessment which was published in September 2008. This is a
document that will be continuously updated during the lifetime of the travel plan and aims to address potential impacts felt by
protected groups.
Documents
- Travel Plan Annual Report 2008 (PDF, 127Kb)
- Equalities Impact Assessment
Transport Services
Email: travel.plan@uwe.ac.uk
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