We’re on the road to a healthier and more sustainable community.
As Ireland’s largest University, we attract over 28,000 students from across the country and internationally. Add to this our academic, support staff and contractors who work in UCD and you start to get an impression of the large number of people commuting to campus daily.
The vast majority of students and employees commute to UCD from Dublin and its neighbouring counties. In total, this represents over 7 million journeys each year to and from the University.
As a community, we have to take responsibility for the impact of commuting, which is why we have prepared the UCD Travel Plan.
Furthermore, as a Smarter Travel Campus Partner in conjunction with the National Transportation Authority (NTA), our ambition is to be recognised as an exemplar in sustainable transportation.
The UCD Travel Plan is key to achieving more sustainable travel patterns associated with the University. It is also referenced as a specific objective of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCoCo) County Development Plan 2016-2022. The implementation of this Travel Plan will be funded by revenues raised from permit parking on our campuses.
Why do we need a Travel Plan?
Within the next decade, it’s expected that the combined student and employee population of UCD will grow to just under 35,000. That’s a lot of people – and a lot of daily journeys to and from the University.
Against this background, UCD is committed to the promotion of sustainable transport to, from and within our Belfield and Blackrock campuses. Our vision is to create a high quality campus environment which promotes sustainable, healthy and active lifestyles, while offering transport and mobility choice for the University community.
As a community we have already achieved some positive changes. For example recent commuting trends have seen the proportion of employees and students driving to Belfield reducing from 30% in 2010 to 23% in 2016. This didn’t happen by accident. The move away from car travel was encouraged by initiatives such as the UCD – DART shuttle bus, increased bus connectivity serving the campus, improved cycle parking facilities and the introduction of paid permit parking on-campus.
In addition, there has been a societal trend towards healthier lifestyles, which has resulted in increased rates of cycling and walking.
The UCD Travel Plan will build on these achievements by setting out a number of targets and objectives, proposing initiatives to help us achieve these, while providing our community with information on commuting options and the benefits of sustainable commuting choices.
This is our opportunity as a community to set out and commit to targets for sustainable travel to UCD. These targets can only be achieved with the engagement of the UCD community and our transport partners. This engagement commences with the consultation on the plan itself and will continue throughout its implementation.
Download the UCD Sustainable Commuting Map
Check out the commuting stats
Download the UCD Travel Plan
We encourage you to check out the Plan – and what it means to you. You’ll also get some ideas on how you can make your own personal contribution to a healthier and more active campus – and how you can travel in a more sustainable way.