E-scooters, Dr Bike, and travel discounts: the latest from our Travel team

With the new academic year beginning, we caught up with Carrie Elmer from Sustainability's Travel team to get all the latest on travelling to our campuses sustainably.

What’s the big news about e-scooters?

We've been working with TIER e-scooters to create two new routes for their e-scooters on our Colchester Campus. You can travel from Elmstead Road or Clingoe Hill to the North Towers car park and leave your TIER e-scooter in one of three designated bays. Please remember that we can't allow privately-owned e-scooters on campus.

TIER discount scheme

Staff and student riders can benefit from a 50% off all trips for 6 months through the TIER "UK Access Scheme".

What about parking your bike?

There are many bicycle racks around our Colchester Campus, with another 211 cycle spaces to be installed later this year. You can find the full list of cycle racks online.

When does Dr Bike visit again?

Dr Bike visits weekly, from 8.30am to 2.30pm on Wednesdays during term time only. If you've not met them before, they offer a free bicycle check service, discounted repair prices, and refurbished bike sales whose proceeds go to the charity Re-Cycle. Find them in the marquee on the North Towers Causeway.

Are there any other perks for cyclists?

Yes! Cyclists can:

• freshen up in our showers and changing rooms (5N.3.4 and 5N.3.5) on Colchester Campus
• hire one of our fifty lockers
• patch up their bikes at with repair stations and bike pumps on the North Towers Causeway and under Square 5
• get a day’s free parking every month which can be accrued throughout the year and used at any time
• save money on new bikes and equipment through Cyclescheme: staff can deduct the cost from your gross salary to save up to 40%

Once kitted out, you can explore Cycle Colchester's route maps to our Colchester Campus and beyond.

How about schemes for other sustainable travel?

Bus travel

For Colchester, we've arranged the First UoE Bus Pass for heavily-discounted travel for staff and students in town and around the county. There's also the UniCard annual season ticket for travel within the Colchester region.

For Southend, Arriva have a Student Saver ticket for anyone in full-time education which is a cost-effective and flexible alternative to local authority tickets. We also offer Octopus tickets for staff and students, valid on buses run by several companies; availability is limited, so visit the Students Services Hub in The Forum between 10am and 4pm in term time to apply.

Train travel

Our staff can get a 10% discount on Abellio Greater Anglia monthly season tickets and on season tickets through the c2c Smartcard. Both options come with additional perks too.

If you get a season ticket for train or bus travel, the University can also help you spread the cost over 11 months of your salary through its salary advance scheme, open to all permanent staff.

Walking

It's easy to forget the original mode of transport! We encourage staff and students to walk to our campuses where possible. You can even make friends while doing it by joining our Walking Together mailing list.