We want all of our staff to think about their travel habits and we offer a range of incentives to encourage sustainable travel to, from and between our campuses. When you join BU, you’ll receive full details of any relevant schemes but for now, take a look at the options below.
Ways to travel to BU
Walking
If you are lucky enough to live within walking distance of the university you may be interested in applying for our interest-free travel to work loan, which can provide you with money towards footwear and waterproof clothing.
We have also negotiated staff discounts at Cotswold Outdoor and Go Outdoors.
Cycling
We want to make it as easy as possible for our staff to cycle to work, so there are secure bike storage areas, lockers and showers for you to use at both of our campuses, and we run free monthly Dr Bike maintenance sessions at both campuses.
If you don’t have a bike but want to start cycling, you can take advantage of our Cycle to Work scheme, which could see you save up to 42% off the value of a new bike and/or accessories; or you can loan a refurbished bike from us for a small annual fee.
You can even borrow an electric bike for a week, to discover the benefits of power-assisted cycling, or use an electric pool bike to travel between campus sites.
We are partnered with the local bike sharing scheme called Beryl Bikes and staff can access free bundles of minutes by emailing [email protected]
Cycling isn’t just a way of getting to and from work - we know that many of you enjoy hopping on your bike in your free time as well. Sign up to our BU bicycle user group and you’ll receive useful information about local cycling events. Email [email protected] to sign up.
Bus
We work with a local bus company morebus to provide a regular service between our campuses and our halls of residence. As a staff member, you will be entitled to free travel on the U1 route (which runs between campuses and the train station), as well as discounts on the other BU routes, and on many non-university services run by More.
If you will be using the bus regularly, you can sign up for an annual bus pass, which entitles you to subsidised travel on a range of routes. Find out more on the UNIBUS website and download the Unibus App. There are a range of subsidised discounts on annual travel or 10 trip passes. Full pricing details can be found here and are updated annually.
All new members of staff are entitled to a free 30-day travel pass for the morebus zone A network.
All staff can travel for a child fair by showing a BU ID card on any MoreBus route in the region.
Rail
If you will be travelling to Bournemouth by rail, you can apply for an interest-free travel to work loan to purchase a rail season ticket (up to £3,000 interest free). The U1 bus is free for staff members to use and it travels from the station to both campuses at regular intervals.
Driving
There are car parks available on both of our campuses, although spaces are limited. Any staff who live more than two miles from their usual place of work are entitled to apply for an annual car parking permit, with this being paid for this through a salary deduction scheme.
The cost of these permits varies depending on your salary.
When you start work at BU you will receive your BU username and password. You can then apply for an annual permit online. You can find the latest prices within the application system.
If you only want to drive to work occasionally, you can apply for an occasional use e-permit. These currently cost £2.70 per day and you apply using the same system. Once registered the cameras will detect your car registration and charge you for each day you are on Talbot or Lansdowne campuses automatically.
To arrange parking for your first day, please email [email protected] in advance.