Travel Plan 2025-2030

The 2025-2030 travel plan aims to support University operations and development, and encourage and enable sustainable transport choices to and from our campus.

We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our sustainable travel work is linked to the following SDGs: Goal 3 Health and Wellbeing, Goal 11 Sustainable Cities, Goal 13 Climate Action and Goal 17 Partnerships for the Goals.

Reducing and eliminating carbon emissions is a key strategic objective for the University and we have a strong track record for reducing single-occupancy car journeys made by commuters, as well as increasing the use of public transport and active travel.

We have invested in our campus and infrastructure to support modal shifts by upgrading our cycle paths, cycle storage, shower facilities and bus station facilities. We have also made improvements to our internal signposting (through Maze Map) to ensure that all the facilities available to staff and students are identifiable.

Our campus now has modernised arrangements for parking management and has supported the introduction of electric vehicles with the provision of charge points.

Existing links with local public transport providers have been maintained through Partnership Agreements and bus use supported with provision of discounted ticketing arrangements.

The University has continued to work closely with local authorities on transport planning and to improve the site and district transport arrangements

Travel Plan objectives

Supporting the travel plan is our revised business and academic travel guidance which applies a more rigorous and consistent application of the sustainable travel hierarchy, challenging the need to travel in the first instance, prioritising overland travel before air travel, and taking direct economy class flights where air travel is unavoidable. Unless in exceptional circumstances (caring responsibilities, EDI considerations etc.), domestic air travel is banned.

We will do this by:

  • Continuing to reduce single occupancy vehicle travel by facilitating use of low carbon and sustainable travel modes.
  • Measuring travel related carbon emissions to understand further measures needed to help achieve overall strategic goal of carbon net zero by 2035
  • Continue to manage and enhance campus transport infrastructure to support sustainable travel and control parking effectively.
  • Work with local authorities, public transport providers and other interested parties to develop off-campus infrastructure that supports low carbon travel modes, improves local air quality and is economically and environmentally sustainable.
  • Develop approaches to enable the offset or capture of residual travel carbon emissions.

Transport carbon emissions

Carbon emissions from staff and student daily commuting have reduced by 50% since 2005. A breakdown of our transport-related carbon emissions (tCO2e) in the 23/24 academic year can be seen in the chart.

17.2% Student commuting
9.9% Staff commuting
0.2% University vehicle fleet
0.3% Grey fleet
17.3% Business and academic travel
1.9% Student travel start/end of year - UK
53.2% Student travel start/end of year - International

An improved Lancaster University Bus Station

Lancaster University Bus Station, located in the Underpass, has undergone an extensive redevelopment process throughout the summer of 2023, with a comprehensive series of works completed to improve the user experience. These improvements include resurfacing of new and existing flooring, new and improved lighting, improved drainage, and a comprehensive redecoration process. These developments followed the previous works to extend the passenger area, creating more space and leading to an improvement in air quality.

Cycle Parking

The University has over 1500 dedicated bicycle parking spaces, across more than 80 locations on campus. Most cycle shelters are open access. Secure shelters are generally managed by the department or college in which they are located. A programme of improvements to cycle routes and new bicycle parking facilities are some of the key driving factors towards the existing five year strategy to improve and expand bicycle parking spaces.

More information is available on the Cycling page.

Someone cycling on Campus.

Travel Plan monitoring and review

Progress on the Travel Plan objectives and targets is reviewed annually. The Travel Plan itself will be reviewed and an updated version produced at the end of this reporting period.

Comprehensive staff and student travel surveys will be undertaken every three years, with surveys planned for Spring 2026 and Spring 2029. On a more frequent basis the University will conduct other more limited surveys and sampling on a need’s specific basis. Certain aspects of travel may also be subject to internal and external audits as part of the ongoing operation of the Facilities ISO 14001 Environmental management System.

Policy owner/author: Sustainability Team - Dr Georgiana Allison (Head of Sustainability)

Version number: 1.0
Approved by: Sustainability Steering Group and Professor Simon Guy (Pro-Vice-Chancellor Global (Digital, International and Sustainability)
Approved Date: 25 June 2025
Date last reviewed: June 2025
Date of next review: June 2026