OXFORD Brookes University has received another award for its green credentials.
The university was named the third greenest in the UK in the People and Planet Green League in early 2009, and was the first UK university to receive a Gold EcoCampus Award.
Now it has received an Oxford City Council Green Travel Award for its work in reducing the impact of its transport links on the environment.
Sustainable travel co-ordinator Mary Horan said: “I’m delighted Oxford Brookes has been recognised for its hard work.
“We are very proud of our Brookes Bus service and the low number of students and staff who travel to the university by car.”
A recent survey found 15.6 per cent of staff and 47.4 per cent of students walk to the main Headington campus, 21.3 per cent of staff and 12 per cent of students cycle, and five per cent of staff and 17.7 per cent of students take the Brookes Bus – a subsidised service which links university sites and key Oxford locations.
Less than a third (33.2 per cent) of staff and 7.9 per cent of students drove to campus.
The remaining students and staff used park-and-ride services, other Buses and trains.
Sustainability manager Harriet Waters said: “There has been a concerted effort in improving what we do. We include a Brookes Bus ticket in halls of residence fees so our students become used to using sustainable transport options, and the idea is that students link alternatives to cars with being in Oxford.”
There are now 2,500 cycle racks at Brookes and 43 bike lockers. On site shower facilities and a weekly visit from cycle mechanics both aim to get people on their bikes.
Representatives from Oxford Cycle Workshop visit the Headington campus once a week during term time and carry out checks and repairs on bikes, with the only cost to students and staff being parts.
There is also a car-sharing scheme, and 11 new low emission Brookes Buses were recently launched.
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