UWE Travel Plan – Consultation

All you need to do is read the Travel Plan Consultation below, take an opinion, print out the 'Consultation Key Questions' document, fill it in and return it to your Students’ Union Campus office ASAP.

(Paper copies of the Key Questions document needed to be filled in are available from your Students’ Union campus office upon request)

1. Introduction

Over the last 25 years, the University has grown substantially. UWE now provides work and learning opportunities for over 31,000 people, with its four major Bristol area sites generating considerable travel demand.

UWE’s Frenchay campus is also now the largest organisation in the ‘North Fringe’ area of South Gloucestershire, with more people based at this campus than at the MOD, Hewlett Packard, Bristol Business Park and Parkway Business Park combined. Therefore while transport conditions in the area are primarily a responsibility of the local authority and transport providers, the University recognises that its activities can influence these conditions considerably.

About This Consultation

You are being asked your views on how UWE should improve transport and access to all four Bristol area campuses. The results will be used to decide how we proceed.

Part 2 of this document looks at what improvements you have been asking for;

Part 3 outlines the strategy for improvements to UWE’s transport network;

Part 4 outlines the options we are asking you to consider.

UWE’s Responsibilities

The University’s responsibilities include:

1. Ensuring that all students, staff and visitors are able to travel to campus safely, easily and reliably;

2. Avoiding disproportionate negative impacts from its activities on the local transport network;

3. Being a responsible neighbour to the communities it serves and operates within;

4. Encouraging more sustainable travel patterns and mitigating the contribution of its activities to climate change.

UWE therefore recognises the need for investment to fulfill these responsibilities.

2. What you have told us

Student Satisfaction

Improving the student experience is one of UWE’s Strategic Priorities. The graph below demonstrates that in the past students have rated transport poorly at UWE. In addition 16% of staff have cited transport as a factor when resigning from UWE. Therefore improving travel and access is a top priority.

We are now seeing major investment take place, the largest item of which is UWE’s new bus network, Ulink. This growing network, together with new systems for managing car parking, underpinned by a strong sustainability focus, are aimed at addressing previous areas of dissatisfaction, including:

• Bus services – quality, frequency, reliability, price, lack of information, lack of services outside core hours;
• Car parking – existing car parks oversubscribed, surfacing, lack of alternatives to the car, congestion in and around campus;
• Sustainable travel – concern at environmental impact of current travel patterns, need to promote greener travel, personal safety concerns.

3. Proposals for Improving Transport at UWE

Ulink Service Development

Ulink is the University’s new high quality bus network. Currently approximately 3,000 students in UWE managed accommodation have the cost of unlimited travel included within their rent. Additionally all other UWE students and staff are able to purchase a range of tickets and passes offering travel at very low prices.

Four options for development of this service have been identified. Whichever option is chosen, our top priority this year will be on improving the reliability of journeys on Ulink. We will continuously review the timetable to ensure students and staff are able to get to work or study on time.

Base case – Existing Routes

This option would see the frequency on all existing routes maintained at every 30 minutes, resulting in a departure between Bristol City Centre and Frenchay Campus on average every ten minutes.

Parkway Extension

This option would see services U3 and U4 extended to Bristol Parkway station, resulting in both of Bristol’s major railway stations being served by Ulink.

M32

This proposes an increasing the service from Victoria Street to Frenchay Campus to every 30 minutes via the M32. This would be expected to result in reduced journey times, although not during the peak hours of 08:00–09:00 and 17:00–18:00 and this route may be affected by the opening of Cabot Circus in 2008.

Clifton Down / Redland

Introduction of a new route from Temple Meads to Frenchay via Park Street, Whiteladies Road and Southmead Road, linking Bristol University, Filton College, Southmead Hospital and UWE with further major student destinations.

Cycling and Walking Environment

We want to see significant investment in facilities for people who could walk or cycle to UWE. We aim to use revenue from car parking charges to support walking and cycling. As a minimum we want to see an increase in cycle security, lighting, covered parking, more continuous footpaths, better information and cycle training to help people get back on their bikes. We want to look at cycle parking and access at Glenside and St Matthias; promoting routes between campuses; and safer access to Bower Ashton. We will also consider dedicated parking/lockers for motorcyclists, who will continue to be exempt from the requirement for a parking permit.

We would also like to consider major investment in a cycling hub at Frenchay, with changing, storage, parking and servicing facilities all in one site. However, this level of investment could not be justified if the average car parking permit price remains at its low current level, as there will be little incentive to leave the car at home.

Car parking and charging

UWE is severely restricted by the local authority on how much parking it can build, yet there are already insufficient spaces for current demand. If nothing is done, the increasing size of UWE will inevitably lead to worsening traffic and parking problems.

UWE has invested considerable sums in parking. We recognise that further investment would improve the quality of many parking areas. However, while the current parking permit is £15 per annum, this represents only a very small proportion of the cost of maintaining and administering our car parking and is far less than most UK Universities charge. Nonetheless, we will continue to develop genuine alternatives to the car in advance of any decision on parking permit charges from September 2008 to which UWE will itself contribute significant funding.

Furthermore, all revenue raised from car parking will be used to promote and provide for sustainable transport (buses, cycling, walking) as well as car parking (including car sharing). We estimate that every extra £3 on a parking permit would allow us to run an additional evening bus.

We are currently investigating the possibility of charging for parking on a pay-per-visit, rather than an annual permit system. It is envisaged this would be based on Smart Cards (similar to London’s OysterCard). The aim would be to collect the same average revenue over a year as if it were paid in one lump sum. We may also wish to consider whether those living in the BS1 postcode area should have automatic access to UWE car parks given the range of alternatives available to BS1 residents.

4. Investment Plan and Options

The table below shows three options that have been identified following our initial consultations.

Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
Option One Continuing with existing funding structure.	Parking investment remains close to current level. No additional support for buses. Limited investment in cycling possible	Difficult for buses to compete financially with the car; No extra money for cycling/walking; Significantly worsening parking conditions; Pricing according to income not realistic due to low permit price; No extra money for car park improvements; Jeopardises relationship with local communities due to high parking demand/congestion.
Option Two Moderate Investment.	Parking discount can be offered to those on low incomes; Less competition for parking space; Some reduction in congestion; Resurfacing, upgrade and reconfiguration of car parks (approx. £40k); One option for Ulink development implemented (approx. £200k); Large number of minor cycling improvements will be implemented (approx £32k)	These items are estimated to require the following supplement to annual parking costs compared to Option One: Better quality managed car parks = £5 Cycling investment = £4 One of the four development options for Ulink = £30 However, average cost of parking permits would still be below UK Universities average. New parking permit price: £54
Option Three Further Investment.	As above, plus: Major investment in walking/cycling including flagship cycle interchange from 2008 (approx. £200k); Two options for Ulink development implemented (approx. £200k). Congestion and delay reduced. Car parking sufficient to meet demand.	These items are estimated to require the following supplement to annual parking costs compared to Option Two: Additional one of the options for Ulink = £30 Cycle Centre = £30 Potential for extra car parking ‘overspill’ to neighbouring streets would need to be addressed through working with local authority. New parking permit price: £114

What happens next

Your responses will be considered carefully to inform the options we have proposed above. These options will be developed from 2008. The results of this consultation will be circulated throughout the University once they have been fully analysed.

If you have any further questions, please contact travel.plan@uwe.ac.uk

Thank you for your time in completing this consultation.