Complete the University’s Travel Plan Survey by midnight on Friday 22 November for the chance to win £100 Amazon voucher.
The Travel Plan Survey is essential to enable us to report the carbon emission data as well as gathering your feedback so we can work to improve your travel experience.
The survey only takes 5-10 minutes to complete.
Complete the Travel Plan Survey now or use the QR code below. If scanning the QR code on mobile, you will need to select ‘continue to browser’.
Complete the University’s Travel Plan Survey by midnight on Sunday 29 October for the chance to win one of our £25 vouchers for your KentOne card.
The Travel Plan Survey is essential so we can report the carbon emission data as well as gathering your feedback so we can work to improve your travel experience.
The survey only takes 5-10 minutes to complete.
Complete the Travel Plan Survey now or use the QR code below. If scanning the QR code on mobile, you will need to select ‘continue to browser’.
It is that time of year where the Transport Team are working on developing a New Travel Plan and we want to hear from staff and students about your commute to and from the University and travel within the local area.
By completing the survey, you help us plan our future transport strategies, understand what current services are working well, what improvements or changes Staff and Students would like to the current transport options provided, and help us with our carbon emissions research.
Plus complete the survey for the chance to win £150, £75 or £50 added to your KentOne card.
The survey has been extended to 11:59pm on Monday 21st November 2022.
Students Survey: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/VJXA2S/ Staff Survey: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/YVTNS2/
There are some disruptions to Southeastern train and Arriva bus services planned for October which may affect your travel to Canterbury and Medway Campuses, details of which are provided below.
If you are travelling during this time, we advise that you plan your journey prior to travelling and check our Campus Travel updates page.
Southeastern have announced that there will be strike action taking place on the rail network on: Saturday 1 October, Wednesday 5 October, and Saturday 8 October. For full details please visit the Southeastern strike action webpage.
Train Strike Days:
Saturday 1 October and Wednesday 5 October: No Southeastern train services will be operating. Please do not attempt to travel by train on this day. For alternative transport options visit Traveline.
Saturday 8 October: A limited service will be operating and some routes will be closed. Southeastern have advised to only travel if absolutely necessary and if you are travelling to expect severe disruption and plan your journey ahead of travelling.
Days following the train strikes:
Sunday 2 October: Some trains will not run before 07:00.
Thursday 6 October: Southeastern expect a normal service to operate.
Sunday 9 October: Services will operate later in the morning, with no trains running before 07.00.
Arriva bus company have announced that there will be further industrial action taking place across Northfleet, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells on the 6th, 7th, 10th and 11th of October.
Update (11/10/2022): Arriva have announced another 13 days of industrial action taking place on the 19th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th October, as well as, the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th of November.
Please visit the Arriva Kent industrial action webpage for full details on the Arriva bus disruptions during this time.
M20 closure between junction 10A and 11: This closure will be in place from 21:00 on Friday 7th October until 06:00 on Monday 10th October. There will be a diversion route in place using the A20, A261, A259 and A2070 to go London bound and the same roads in reverse order to go coast bound.
3 way road works on the junction of University Road/St Thomas Hill: At peak times there may be some delays and we encourage you to plan your journey prior to travelling.
St Stephens Road Closure, Canterbury: This closure will be in place from 22:00 on Thursday 20th October until 06:00 on Monday 24th October.
There are some new Highway Code rules which will be coming into effect on the 29th January 2022, to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. These changes will create greater responsibility for drivers. Three of the biggest Highway Code changes have been explained below.
Rule H1: New Hierarchy of Road Users. Drivers of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce danger to others.
Rule H2: New Priority for Pedestrians at Junctions. At a junction, drivers, motorcyclists, horse riders and cyclists should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. You should give way to pedestrians waiting to cross a zebra crossing (currently you only have to give way if they are already on the crossing), and to pedestrians and cyclists waiting to cross a parallel crossing.
Rule H3: New Priority for Cyclists When Cars are Turning. You should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse drawn vehicles going ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane. This applies whether they are using a cycle lane/track, or riding ahead on the road and you should give way to them. Do not turn at a junction if to do so would cause the cyclist, horse rider, or horse drawn vehicle going ahead to stop or swerve. You should stop and wait for a safe gap in the flow of cyclists if necessary.
It is vital to stay up to date with the Highway Code and it is easy to keep updated online:
Following the updated Government guidance in response to the new Covid-19 variant, there are some changes to the rules in the UK.
From Today (Tuesday 30 November 2021):
University of Kent Links:
Useful Transport Links:
The following links explain what the travel providers are doing to keep their services COVID-friendly and what is expected from passengers during this time to ensure that you can travel in confidence.
Government Guidance Links:
We would like to encourage our students and staff to interact with @unikent_travel on social media. Therefore, we have created a Transport competition with prizes.
The prizes include vouchers for various food outlets on Canterbury campus and the winner will be announced on Friday 17 December 2021.
After many months in development, we are proud to announce that we have a brand-new transport website! Our new website offers everything you need to know ranging from bus timetables to applying for a parking permit. The sleek yet simple design ensures that all of our useful information is accessible and easy-to-read so you can plan your journey with ease.
We would like to give a big thank you to Sami Bakaitis, a Student Work-Study Associate who worked with us on this new project. His developing knowledge on building websites and his eagerness to implement sustainability into our new webpages made him the perfect candidate for this role. Despite working from home, the Transport Team, the Web & Learning Development Team and Sami were all able to work together seamlessly to create a fluid and functional website.
“I am proud of Sami and Kelsey Laidler-Symes (Sustainable Travel Operations Coordinator) for having produced a website that supports the University Travel Plans aim to reduce single car occupancy, carbon emissions and provides information about Commuting Smarter around Kent.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank them both and others who have given their assistance to enable them to achieve this. In particular, the support from Gill Brealey (Traffic Operations Coordinator), the technical expertise from Jonathan Thirwell (UX Developer) and the guidance and help from Mark Fendley (Web and Learning Development Manager)
We welcome feedback on your thoughts or ideas on how we can improve our webpages to ensure they continue to work for everyone.”
Teresa Curteis- Head of Traffic Management & Travel
Cycling is good for health and fitness; it’s beneficial to the environment and is a quick, cheap mode of transport in urban areas.
The Staff Cycle to Work Scheme offers employees the opportunity to purchase a brand new bike and accessories from a range of participating local stores at a discounted rate. You will also save on Income Tax and National Insurance contributions, against the cost of the bike, and can even spread the cost over a 12 or 18 month period.
In order to qualify, you must use the bike for at least 50% of your journeys to and from work. To find out if you are eligible visit the staff finance page.
The cycle scheme provided by www.cyclescheme.co.uk means the purchase hire value has been extended above the previous £1,000 limit. This change in scheme enables employees to continue enjoying the benefits of a cycle to work scheme arrangement with the opportunity to hire a bicycle plus relevant safety equipment up to the value of £3,000 as a tax-free benefit, through a salary sacrifice arrangement; employees take a reduced gross salary during the hire period thus making savings by paying reduced income tax and national insurance contributions.
Some common FAQ’s can be found on the Employee answers – Cyclescheme Knowledge Base
Please also remember if you are cycling to, from, or around the campus be bright and be seen. Make sure you are visible to motorists. For more information, hints and tips check out the roadwise website.
Will you use a car?
Consider why you think you need a car and how often those trips are required whilst you are living in Kent. You may be thinking that you will use a car for grocery shopping once a week; but have you considered that there are shops all around the local area (including on campus) or you could share the cost of a food delivery with your household? Will you really need to travel home during term time, or maybe to a weekend job? Consider if this job will continue whilst you are studying and living the student experience and establish how much your earnings are or what that job will do to enhance your CV. Does it cover the cost of owning a car and your expenses, support your studies or improve your CV?
Tip – to make a true assessment consider everything, even the likelihood that you may become a designated driver that your friends want you to drive to further away destinations for nights out because you have a car. Don’t forget your road safety and if you have been out drinking the night before you are unlikely to be able to drive the following morning to your 9am lecture as you may still have alcohol in your body system and be over the illegal driving limit!
How will I travel without a car?
Consider what alternative options you have to using the car to travel. There are many other options available to you and when considering these options look at the travel discounts you are entitled to whilst living in Kent as a student. We are fortunate in Kent to have direct access to and from London where you can link easily to travel all over the UK. We also have highspeed trains, as well as Eurostar and ferries to France nearby. We have excellent public transport, walking and cycling routes around Canterbury & Medway to shops, beaches, culture, restaurants, countryside and nightlife.
Tip – check out our Commute Smarter and Planning your Journey webpages and the travel discounts you have available to you as a student.
Access to parking
Research where you can park your vehicle. Are you entitled to park in these locations, will you be eligible for the permit to park in that area? There are costs to parking a vehicle on some local streets, as well as within car parks. Now calculate how much that parking will cost you, against the frequency of how often you will be using car parks throughout the whole time you are living in Kent.
Tip – look at the local council webpages for Canterbury or Medway (depending on where you will be living) and see if you require a permit to park in your street or where you are eligible to park. Note that parking on campus may not be available to you if you live within the University’s local exclusion zone.
Time
You may be thinking that travelling around by car will save you time. You could be right; but calculate the whole time you will be driving for at Kent. Ensure you calculate the time it takes to get in the car, drive to the car park and then walk to your destination for all the times you will be driving. Remember much of the term time is during the winter months when adverse weather occurs. You may need time to de-ice the car before you can drive (meaning you have to get up earlier). The frequency of bus services between the bus station and the university can be up to every 8 minutes. If you travel by bus or train, consider the time you gain as you wouldn’t have the stresses of being stuck in congestion and you could use the time to use the Wi-Fi available on board to do that last minute studying or catch up with your friends.
Tip – Canterbury City and Medway Towns can become congested with traffic during peak travel times. This means what may be a usual 20 minute journey could become a 40 minute journey; so you will need to get up earlier to give yourself extra time for travel and if you need to be on campus for 9am it may become a stressful journey! So do plan your journey for all eventualities and consider your health and wellbeing.
Neighbours and the local community
University of Kent prides itself with working and supporting our local communities. We are always disappointed to occasionally receive complaints about the number of cars that a household of students have or students who have inconsiderately parked such as blocking access to a drive or path. Do you have a driveway where you are living when at university? Will you be parking on the driveway? If yes will your housemates be parking on there too? Will you need your housemate to move their vehicle so you can get out in your car? You will need to all park on the driveway if this is what you have all told your insurance company, so consider if it is practically possible to park on the driveway and if you are parking on the road consider the local residents parking and don’t block access for others.
Tip – Remember when considering where to live off campus look at the public transport options to and from university, and other places you like to go on a regular basis, so you can choose a place to live where you don’t need to have a car.
Ozone
We all have a responsibility to help reduce our carbon emissions and the University of Kent wants everyone to reduce their travel by single car occupancy and travel by sustainable or active travel where possible. This commitment is demonstrated in the success of our active Travel Plans. Since the plans introduction in 2006, students have supported the initiatives and have reduced travel by car to the university significantly. We are proud of our students and we would like you to help continue this commitment to protect our environment, improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions by not travelling by car, where it is possible to do so.
Tip – You may have a low or no emission vehicle, but your vehicle will contribute towards congestion if you drive during peak times of travel; and that in the bigger picture means that other vehicles stuck behind you will produce more emissions (remember not everyone can afford to buy a new electric vehicle, at the moment). So where you don’t need to drive then please support our Travel Plan and help us to help the environment and become more sustainable. If you do need a car then consider if you each need a car in your household – can you share a vehicle and take it in turns to be designated driver or share the costs?
Cost
You may be thinking that travelling around by car will be cheaper. Owning a car is not cheap, if you don’t already have a car think about how much buying a car will cost you. If you already own a car and know you are not going to need it during the time you are studying at Kent, then consider the money you would get towards your student experience if you were to sell it or SORN it. We recommend you calculate the cost of fuel for all the trips you will be doing. Do you think you will end up being the designated driver for your household and friends as they may not be bringing their car? Consider the cost of changing the insurance (you need to notify your insurance where you will be living), the MoT and tax. Don’t forget to include vehicle recovery costs (ensuring you have the most appropriate membership to ensure you can return home safely) and the cost of any ‘wear and tear’ repairs. Hopefully you won’t have repair costs; but if you are spending money on having a car whilst at university, it wouldn’t be cost efficient if you are then not able to afford to repair it if it goes wrong or replace a tyre if you puncture it.
Tip – Check out the hugely discounted bus passes you are entitled to as a Kent student; see how far and often you can travel on the buses. Plus, if you don’t have to bring a car then you don’t need to remember to insure, MoT, tax etc on time- and that is one less thing to worry about!
Active travel
Not having a car may mean you could consider incorporating walking or cycling within your commute to/from the university. This could formulate part of an exercise routine or just keep you active to stay healthy. The University supports this by providing showers, cycle parking and other initiatives that may help you.
Tip – If you are too far to walk or cycle direct from home, then why not plan your journey and do what others are doing and make active travel part of your journey to/from the train station or bus stop.
Recreation and wellbeing
Not having a car means you may have more money to spend. It could also means you can socialise with others or spend time on the internet. There are plenty of places to visit in Canterbury and Medway during you time at Kent. Not having to drive is also good for your health and wellbeing as you don’t have the stress of being stuck in traffic or remembering to insure your car or even having to always be your friends designated driver!
Tip – If you are unsure if you need a car then try leaving your car at home for a few months. Maybe family or friends can be insured to drive it whilst you are at university or consider saving money and SORN the vehicle. If you give this a go but you are finding it difficult to travel around then you still have your car, at least you can say you tried! However, if you find you don’t need the car then you can consider your options if to keep the car or sell the car.