Sustainable Travel
UON travel plan
All university sites are easy to access by public and sustainable transport, something the university actively promotes through its Sustainable Travel Plan. Our Travel Plan has recently been updated to reflect the achievements since 2018 and future goals for the University. This Plan was submitted to Northampton Council in summer 2022 and has been given high praise.
With over 2,000 staff and 10,000 students, travel is a key issue for the university to manage and the Travel Plan exists to reduce the impact of our student, staff and visitor travel to our sites and to provide viable and accessible sustainable travel options instead, which results in a reduction of carbon emissions, Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) pollution and congestion. Overall, the target is to reduce single occupancy car journeys to our sites by 20% in five years, in order to ensure we are a sustainable university.
To achieve this, the university is working hard to ensure it supports sustainable alternatives, including: a partnership with Stagecoach to offer a subsidized bus service, a park and ride facility on the edge of town and excellent cycling and walking routes.
Northampton town has become an Air Quality Management Area and the university are on board with the Borough Council’s strategy to improve the air quality, this includes limiting town centre parking, promoting sustainable transport and supporting electric vehicle use. View the Borough Councils AQMA.
Staff and Student Travel feedback and preferences are captured through annual surveys, the feedback and results are used to drive new initiatives and improvements in our sustainable travel options. The analysis from the 2021/2022 survey can found in the buttons below:
We regularly promote and encourage participation in local and national campaigns to encourage active travel for example, Living Streets National Walking Month, Clean Air Day, and other sustainable recognition days.
We also hold free Dr Bike sessions for staff and students twice a year and previously funded Cycle Seminars with Outspoken.
Staff can save up to 42% on a new bike and accessories for their commute through the Cycle to Work scheme with payments made through salary sacrifice over 12 months. Because the deductions are made from gross salary it means less tax and NI is paid, saving 32%-42% (depending on tax banding) on a bike of your choice and/or safety accessories. In line with Government Guidance the university has just increased the purchase limit from £1000 to £3000, meaning staff can now purchase an eBike or a more expensive folding bike. The scheme is not open to students, however the provider, Cycle Solutions, do offer students a discount on anything on their website.
UON’s Travel Choices Hierarchy
The University of Northampton promotes sustainable travel for staff, visitors, and students when it comes to booking events such as meetings, a conference, or a trip. We created a Travel Hierarchy (PDF, 159KB) which demonstrates the forms of travel that have less impact on our individual carbon footprint so people can make booking decisions prioritising low-carbon options and avoiding high carbon travel modes such as aviation. With the recent surge in virtual meeting technology, it means our travel needs have been greatly reduced, but we understand sometimes people do need to meet face to face.
Our Staff Journeys To Work
Some of our staff have written blog posts about their green journeys to work (staff username and password required).
Car Sharing at the University of Northampton
The university currently has a Liftshare account for staff and students. Sharing your journey to work with a colleague, will help to cut CO2, save money and help the university to manage its car parking spaces.
You can enter your postcode into the website and select your university destination, the website will show you any ‘matches’ – without sharing your personal data. It is completely free to sign up and use, if this is of interest please sign up on our lift share website.
- Email travelinfo@northampton.ac.uk for more information.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our travel plan and sustainable transport initiatives are linked to the following SDGs:
Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Find out more about our impact on the SDGs