Author Archives: Miriam Sandiford

Travel Plan Survey now open- chance to win prizes       

The staff and student Travel Plan Survey 2017 is now open. Complete the survey and enter your University of Kent email address for your chance to win £100 cash card to use at the catering outlets on campus, or one of 100 hot drinks vouchers.

Let us know how we can improve travel to, from and around our campuses. The data from the survey helps shape various reports including the University Travel Plans and the Movement and Transport Strategy which feeds into the Canterbury campus 50 year Masterplan.

This is your opportunity to let the Estates Department know how we can improve travel to, from and around our campuses. Have your say on buses, cycling, parking, the Campus Shuttle and more.

The survey takes between 5-10 minutes to complete. There is also a “finish later” option if you need to return to complete the survey. The survey closes Friday 8 December 2017.

Car park disruptions

The following car park disruptions affect Canterbury campus. There are no known disruptions at Medway campus at this time.

28 October 2017- Giles Lane car park
On Saturday Giles Lane blue zone will be closed for the Gulbenkian outdoor screening. Please ensure your car is removed from Giles Lane car park by 22.00 Friday 27 October. The car park will be reopened on Sunday.

31 October 2017- Sports Centre car park
The blue zone and pay and display Sports Centre car parks will be closed for exhibitors at the Careers Fair, as requested by the Careers and Employability Service. Please ensure your car is removed from the Sports Centre car park by 22.00 Monday 30 October. The car park will be reopened on Wednesday.

1 November 2017- April 2018
Part of the KBS car park will be closed while a compound is set up, as requested by Estates. The compound will aid the Kent Business School refurbishment which commences 6 November until April time. This is approximately 16 spaces.

Check the transport events calendar for any further disruptions until the next newsletter email is sent out.

Discounted staff bus travel- introduction of smart card tickets

We work with Stagecoach bus company to provide discounted bus travel for staff and students. Staff can purchase a Canterbury Megarider ticket or a South East Megarider ticket.

We have recently moved over to smart card tickets for staff, which are similar to the student Unirider tickets. The smart card is loaded up with your ticket and becomes active the first time you use it. Staff with existing paper tickets will be contacted in the next couple of months to upgrade to the smart cards at no extra cost.

The price of the staff bus tickets has slightly increased to reflect increases in Stagecoach tickets. Kent staff still save up to 55% off the public price for the tickets.

Terms and conditions apply. Please see leaflet and salary deduction agreement for more details, or contact the transport team.

Campus Shuttle reminders

The Campus Shuttle is a free service exclusively for University of Kent students and staff, for travel between the Medway and Canterbury campuses.

The service is not to be used for journeys between Liberty Quays and Medway campus. If you want to travel between Liberty Quays and Medway campus you can catch the 191 bus, which is included if you purchase the discounted Arriva student bus ticket.

To guarantee a seat on the Campus Shuttle please ensure you book a seat online to guarantee your travel www.kent.ac.uk/campus-shuttle

If there are spaces available you can board the service without booking by showing your Kent One card.

If you no longer need to travel on the service, please cancel your booking online in advance so others can book onto the service. If cancelling on the day, contact the transport team.

Follow @CampusShuttle on twitter for service updates.

Changes and updates to parking

New parking database

The new virtual parking permit system launched at the end of September. All staff and eligible students are able to apply for a virtual parking permit.

Parking permits are monitored using hand held automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology, making it more efficient to manage unauthorised and incorrect parking.

Once your permit has been issued, you can log in to the permit system to:

  • Change, remove or add a vehicle to your permit. Students can only have one vehicle on their permit
  • Add a daytime telephone number so we can contact you, for example if you leave your car lights on
  • Check when your virtual parking permit expires
  • Purchase daily vouchers if you have been issued with a daily voucher permit

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust now have the ability to monitor virtual permits, which will enable them to identify (in real time) if a vehicle has a valid permit. Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust will charge you for parking on arrival if you do not have a valid University of Kent permit.

Thank you for your patience with us while we transition to using the new parking system. We hope the new system and changes to enforcement will improve parking on campus. Visit the transport FAQs for more information about parking system.

Parking disruptions

14 October- Medway Open Day
Medway campus car parks will be very busy due to the Open Day. A traffic management plan is in place. Christ Church University also have their Medway Open Day on the same day.

16 October- Pavilion car park
Part of the Pavilion car park will be closed for Kent District School Mini Soccer Tournament, as requested by Kent Sport.

18 October- Drill Hall car park
The Drill Hall car park will be partly closed for exhibitors at the Employability fair, as requested by the Careers and Employability Service. If the Drill Hall car park is full, permit holders can park in the Mast Pond car park at the Historic Dockyard.

21 October- Canterbury Open Day
Canterbury campus car parks will be very busy due to the Open Day. A traffic management plan is in place.

Check the transport events calendar for any further disruptions until the next newsletter email is sent out.

Welcome to the newsletter

Welcome to the transport team newsletter.

The transport team newsletter replaces emails to permit holders sent out via our old parking system. Instead, parking news is now a regular slot in the newsletter.

The newsletter also includes travel news relating to walking, cycling, buses, the campus shuttle, car share and more.

We are trialling sending out the newsletter twice a month.

In between newsletters please view the transport team events calendar to be informed of any events or disruptions to transport or parking.

We hope you enjoy the new format. Please send any feedback to TransportTeam@kent.ac.uk

Campus shuttle- larger shuttle

We are pleased to announce that the 29 seater shuttle will be replaced by a 49 seater shuttle for the following times for this term.

  • Medway to Canterbury 07.45
  • Canterbury to Medway 09.00
  • Medway to Canterbury 10.00
  • Canterbury to Medway 11.00

The booking system has been updated to reflect the additional seats available.

Book a seat www.kent.ac.uk/campus-shuttle

We will review the additional seats on the service at the end of term.

 

Arriva discounted bus tickets

We work with Arriva bus company to provide highly discounted bus tickets for students and staff.

The annual student and staff tickets allow travel on any Arriva bus all over Medway, Kent and East Sussex. The student annual ticket is £140 which works out as only 39p per day!

You can purchase the tickets online using the promotional code found on our website or from the Arriva bus on campus today (20 September 2017) outside the Student Hub.

Pick up timetables, ask any questions and purchase your ticket from the Arriva bus on campus next to the fresher’s fair.

See Arriva buses for more information.

Cycle hire on campus

Canterbury students can hire a recycled bike on the following dates:

  • Wednesday 20 September, 9.00-15.00 (Cycle Hub by the Pavilion)
  • Sunday 24 September, 11.00-15.00 (outside the Gulbenkian)
  • Wednesday 27 September, 9.00-15.00 (Cycle Hub by the Pavilion)
  • Wednesday 4 October, 9.00-15.00 (Cycle Hub by the Pavilion)

Hire a bike for £30/ term, which includes a good quality bike lock, lights and a bell.

You will need to pay a deposit of £50, £75 or £100 depending on the bike you choose.

Medway students can hire a bike from Liberty Quays accommodation.

For more information visit www.kent.ac.uk/transport/cycling

We’ve moved- Security and Transport Centre

We would like to remind any returning students and staff that the Transport Team relocated to the new Security and Transport Centre (map) with Campus Security in May 2017. The building is an extension of the current Campus Security building, located near to Santander on central campus.

The new building delivers an improved working environment for the teams and includes a reception area that has been specifically designed to improve customer experience. The new location also provides us with the space to expand of our team so we can process enquiries more efficiently.

The opening times for the Security and Transport Centre are as follows:

  • Transport Team: Monday- Friday 8.30- 17.00
  • Campus Security: always open

For all travel enquiries please come to the Security and Transport Centre.