Tag Archives: Canterbury campus

Planning your commute

It is important to plan your journey, especially at the moment to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Here are some tips from the University’s Transport Team.

Plan all your journeys before leaving your house.
Make sure you bring a face covering (unless you are exempt) and hand sanitiser with you. The Government has also provided a useful checklist that includes questions to ask yourself and what
to take with you before leaving home.
Be prepared for travel disruptions. For example, due to lower capacity, the bus you were expecting to catch may be full and you may need to wait for longer than anticipated.
Ensure your vehicle/bicycle is serviced regularly.
Social distance and follow the travel providers’ rules.
Ensure you know what payment methods travel providers require.
Be familiar with and follow the Government travel guidance.
Avoid travel during busy times, if possible.
Keep up to date with the latest advice from your travel service provider. See the list below for up to date guidance on public transport.
Remember to be kind and support each other – there are health reasons that mean not everyone is able to wear a face covering or may need to use a particular route that others are not able to use.

If you are travelling via public transport, it is important to ensure that you are familiar with what is required to travel with the service provider. For example, you are required to wear a face covering (if you can) when travelling on public transport or Campus Shuttle service. Some travel services may request card payment only and/or bookings only.

The travel providers have published some guides to explain their journey planning, social distancing and how to pay for travel:

Stagecoach: guide to travelling safely by bus.
Arriva Buses: coronavirus safer travel advice.
Campus shuttle: travel in confidence.
National Express: safer coach travel guidance.
Southeastern: coronavirus travel advice.
National Rail: coronavirus travel advice.
Eurostar: coronavirus information.

For more information, please visit the COVID-19 travel webpage and the coronavirus information webpages.

Campus Shuttle Updates

The Campus Shuttle service will begin operating again on Saturday 19^th September 2020. This is a free service between Medway and Canterbury campus that runs 7 days a week during term time and takes approximately 50 minutes. See timetable online.

During this time, some safety measures have been put in place to ensure you travel in confidence. This includes operating the service at 50% capacity to maintain social distancing. As a result, booking a seat on this service is essential and can be done at https://uok.mymobiletickets.com/webapp/login.aspx up to 30 minutes before you travel. If you are a student who requires a carer to sit next to you whilst travelling the Transport Team are available to assist with your booking.

If you are not travelling before the departure time please ensure you cancel your booking. This enables us to keep track of who has travelled on the service and allows others to book a seat at that time.

Face coverings must be worn at all times. All drivers are temperature checked prior to beginning their shift and all passengers are required to be temperature checked prior to boarding the Campus Shuttle. In the unlikely occurrence of a high temperature, please cancel your booking to travel (if possible) and contact Campus Security on 01227 823333.

Please check the @CampusShuttle twitter feed (which can also be seen on the Campus Shuttle webpage) for regular service updates.

Getting to and from the Campus

With the campus reopening it is time to start thinking about your journey to University. Due to the current COVID situation knowing the best way to travel can be tricky. Whatever the situation, the Transport Team’s Planning your Journey page is here to help you.

Alongside the Government safer travel guidance, we encourage all staff and students to walk and cycle to and from our campuses, where reasonably possible during this time.

Kent recommend before leaving home you plan for all journeys you will need to make before returning home and remember your journey may be disrupted due to COVID. Be prepared by always carrying with you face coverings and hand sanitizer to use in accordance with Government and University of Kent guidance, travel providers restrictions and

to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

To help you plan your journey, here are some useful links:

Kent’s Transport & Travel main page information about travel to Kent for staff and students.
Kent’s planning your journey page guidance to assist with planning your journey including useful web links, mobile apps and tweets to follow.
Kent’s COVID-19 Travel page information relating to University of Kent Coronavirus travel updates.
Government safer travel guidance page guidance from the Government on how to travel safely during COVID-19 restrictions.
How to use Kent’s buildings information relating to University of Kent Coronavirus updates.

Top tips:

Be prepared before leaving home and plan your journey. Including the journeys you need to make in between and the journey home.
Ensure you have everything you need, such as appropriate clothing for weather change.
Be prepared for travel disruptions. For example the bus you were expecting to catch may be full and you will need to wait for longer than anticipated.
Ensure your vehicle/bicycle is serviced regularly.
Ensure you are familiar with what is required to travel with the service provider. For example you are required to wear a face covering (if you can) when travelling on public transport or Campus Shuttle service. Some travel services may request card payment only and/or bookings only. Visit our COVID-19 travel page for more information on what is expected from you when travelling.
Social distance and follow the travel providers rules.
Ensure you know what payment methods travel providers require.
Be familiar with and follow the Government travel guidance.
Avoid travel during busy times, if possible.

Stagecoach Staff Discounted Tickets

The University of Kent works in partnership with stagecoach to bring our staff and students the best value accessible bus travel in Kent.

We are currently the first to be trialing the new Stagecoach mobile corporate app, which enables you to gain exclusive access to the latest discounted bus tickets. As a University of Kent or Kent Union member of staff you receive a 25% discount!

The discounted ticket range includes weekly (7 day) and monthly (28 day) tickets for the Canterbury local travel zone or the whole South East area, for those travelling a bit further to work.

Buying bus tickets on the mobile app means you can pay conveniently on the go using card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and you can use your ticket straight away! What’s even better is there aren’t any restrictions on when you can use your ticket. So whether you’re commuting to work, nipping out for the evening or exploring local hidden gems at the weekend, you can get there for less.

Of course, COVID safety is at the top of the agenda at the moment and Stagecoach has published a guide to travelling safely by bus – https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/covid-19-travelling-safely. With extensive measures to make their services COVID-secure all their local buses are accredited with Visit Britain’s “We’re Good to Go” official mark, recognising the measures they’ve taken to meet government COVID guidelines, keep buses clean and aid social distancing.

Remember – it’s mandatory to use of face coverings on all public transport and social distancing should be maintained at the bus stops and on the buses.

To get discounted bus travel now, download the app or for more information visit our bus travel webpage.

See our COVID-19 travel webpage for regular COVID updates and @UniKent_travel twitter feed (also displayed on our Transport news webpage) for regular service updates.

Dr Bike is back!

In line with the University’s Green Travel Plans and the developing University Masterplan Framework, the Transport Team are always trying to find ways to encourage sustainable travel. To encourage walking ad cycling we provide many initiatives across our campuses including; cycling and walking routes, cycle hire, free bicycle checks, and discounted bicycle repair works to staff and students.

Dr Bike:

We work in close partnership with Dr Bike, at Bycycle, an experienced bicycle mechanic to provide bicycle maintenance, repairs, adjustments, and safety health checks. Dr Bike carries out checks and minor adjustments free of charge. Additional repair work is also available and will always be charged at a special University of Kent reduced rate.

Bicycle repairs will be conducted on a first-come-first-served basis and we generally aim for same-day service but this is less likely if you arrive late in the day!

Canterbury Campus:

The service is available to all University of Kent students and staff.

When and where is Dr Bike at Canterbury:

Dr Bike is on the Canterbury campus every Wednesday, during term time between 08:30 and 16:00.

Find Dr Bike at the Kent Sport Cycle Hub outside the Pavilion, on Park Wood road.

Medway Campus:

The service is available to all University of Kent and University of Greenwich students and staff.

When and where is Dr Bike at Medway:

Dr Bike travels to the Medway campus once a month during term time between 12:30 and 15:30. His dates for the 2020/2021 academic year are:

Thursday 8th October 2020.
Thursday 12th November 2020.
Thursday 10th December 2020.
Thursday 21st January 2021.
Thursday 11th February 2021.
Thursday 11th March 2021.
Thursday 13th May 2021.
Thursday 10th June 2021.

Find Dr Bike outside the Deep End Student Hub on the Pembroke Campus.

For any enquiries regarding bike hire or servicing, contact ByCycle on chris@easybycycle.co.uk or telephone 07842 636597. For more information see our cycling webpages.

COVID Safety:

To ensure this service is COVID-friendly Dr Bike has introduced enhanced cleaning regimes and will be using a track and trace system. It is also essential that you should not enter the workshop or storage areas unless absolutely necessary and when you do you maintain social distancing and wear a face covering. Please also try to avoid busy times, such as during lunch breaks.

For more information visit our travelling during COVID page.

Note: During this time our shower facilities are unavailable.

How gritting works

The University of Kent’s Landscape Management team are always up early and working hard to keep the campus safe and serviceable for all. During icy weather, they grit the campus roads and footpaths to reduce the risk of accidents to staff, students, and visitors.

What many people do not realise is, there is a fine art to gritting. Timing is everything. If you go too early, you waste the grit, because it lands on a dry road and is blown away by the displaced air as vehicles drive past. If it is raining heavily then it just washes away. Ideally the grit goes down on a damp surface and starts to stick, but if you are too late the surface is already frozen and the salt has to work harder to be effective but it will prevent big sheets of ice forming.

The salt is hygroscopic which means that it attracts moisture from the air and it only becomes activated when it is ‘trafficked’. When the grit is driven over the salt grinds down and mixes with the moisture it attracts and becomes the ideal brine, a salty water, which is when it is most effective.

Similar to how local authorities manage gritting, the Estates department will grit all University of Kent roads and main footpaths before starting on other areas across the campuses. For more information see the University’s Snow and Ice Policy.

New year, new commute?

Happy New Year from the Transport Team! As it is the time of year for resolutions and trying out new things, why not try a new commute for the New Year? There are many different ways to travel to and from campus, which may be cheaper, easier, more social, and environmentally friendlier.

To help, we have put together a guide to some of the transport links the university has below.

Train Travel

Both campuses are served by good train links.

Canterbury is served by two train stations: Canterbury East and West. Both are on the Uni bus routes or if your New Year’s resolution was to get fit, why not try walking from the station to the campus a couple of times a week. It is a great way to fit in your steps before work!

For Medway, there are two train stations near the campus: Chatham and Gillingham. Both have regular services running in to them from most of the county. They are accessible via bus or a short walk.

There are many options to help with the ticket costs. For those who travel more than three times a week, season tickets can work out a lot cheaper, giving you unlimited travel of the route. For more information, please see the SouthEastern Rail website.

There are also plenty of railcards which can save you up to a third off all rail journeys: 16-25, Two Together, and Network railcards to name a few. These can be used on any journey you make across the country, and could end up saving you a fortune!

To see if there is any easy train route for your commute, use the rail journey planner now.

Bus Services

Canterbury:

From Canterbury bus station, there are buses travelling far and wide across the region. To see the nearest route to you, use the Stagecoach route planner. A quick journey on the Unibus service (running every 8 minutes during peak times!) brings you up to campus from the city centre, stopping at multiple stops around campus.

The Unibus 1 and 2, Triangle (serving Herne Bay and Whitstable), 4, and 6 services come directly on to campus. For those of you lucky enough to live along one of those routes, you will not even need to change buses in Canterbury.

To help make bus commutes affordable for all, the university works with Stagecoach to offer staff discounted tickets with the option of paying via salary deduction to spread the cost. For more information, please see our webpage.

Medway:

The Medway campuses are served by a number of different services coming from across Medway, which can be seen on our webpages.

As with Stagecoach, the university works with Arriva to offer discounted bus travel to staff. For more information, and to download the promotional codes, please visit our webpage.

For more information on routes and timetables, please see our website.

Car Sharing

Still need to drive, but want to make it cheaper and more social? Why not try car sharing?

We have teamed up with the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University to develop a private online car share scheme for staff and students via LiftShare.

On the Canterbury campus, we even have dedicated car share bays in the Estates car park, allowing those with a car share permit to park with ease in a central location.

You don’t have to Liftshare every day, even sharing once a week with someone makes a big difference. You’d be surprised how much the benefits add up over time; we’re talking financial savings (drivers can make back up to 100% of their fuel costs by sharing), as well as reducing your carbon footprint and decreasing congestion and parking pressures. Plus you might make some great new connections!

For more information on car share permits, please see our webpages.

Cycling

Cycling can be a cheap, quick, and healthy way to travel. To help with the initial costs, the university offers staff a cycle to work scheme, which enables you 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. For more information on how to sign up, please see the staff finance page.

On both campuses we offer secure lockable cycle shelters, lockers, and showers in various locations.

Walking

If you live nearby, why not try walking to work a couple of days a week. There are many benefits of walking; it is good for your physical and mental health, as well as saving money and helping the environment. Why splash out on a gym membership when you can get your daily dose of exercise on your commute.

Campus car parks and roads updates (7 January 2020 to 22 January 2020)

The Transport Team want to make finding a place to park on campus as efficient as possible. To do this, we endeavour to keep staff and students updated on any known car park changes within this newsletter.

At all other times, you can visit our Traffic Management Events Calendar and our Twitter page (@unikent_travel), which are updated regularly.

This section of the newsletter also includes ‘Other Traffic Management News’, to highlight any information that may be of importance to drivers.

Car Parking Changes:

Canterbury Campus

Start Date	End Date	Location	Number of Bays	Reason	Requested By
07/01/20	09/01/20	Rutherford Car Park	70	KMMS Interviews	KMMS
10/01/20	10/01/20	Sibson Car Park	21	Kent Business Summit	Kent Business School
		Chipperfield Car Park	39
		Oaks Car Park	Closed
		Pavilion Car Park	50
16/01/20	16/01/20	Giles Lane behind Woolf	30	Applicant Day	Enrolment Management Service
22/01/20	24/01/20	Central Visitors Pay and Display	30	Theatre Performance	Gulbenkian
23/01/20	23/01/20	Giles Lane behind Woolf	30	Applicant Day	Enrolment Management Service
25/01/20	25/01/20	Sibson Car Park	20	Applicant Day	Enrolment Management Service

Medway Campus

There are currently no known car park disruptions at the Medway campus.

Other Traffic Management News

Park Wood Car Parks:

Please note that on Friday 10 January 2020, 300 extra cars will be on campus during the Kent Business Summit. These cars will only have parking permits for the Park Wood car parks. Therefore, parking in Park Wood may be busier than usual. Please see our interactive parking map for alternative parking locations.

Stagecoach release further Unirider discounts

For those who missed out on the discounted Unirider tickets in September, or who have just started at Kent, you are in luck. Stagecoach are releasing a further discounted Unirider ticket on 11 January. Their Term 2 and 3 Unirider ticket runs from 11 January 2020 to the 14 June 2020 and costs £195. That works out at just 79p per day!

As well as allowing you to commute from Canterbury to campus, the Unirider ticket covers the whole of Kent and East Sussex- so you can explore all the region has to offer.

To purchase a Unirider ticket, either visit the Stagecoach website or the Travel Shop at the Canterbury bus station.

Campus Car Parks and Road Updates (26 November – 10 December)