As staff prepare for a return to campus, social distancing measures and flexibility in working patterns will continue to have an impact on the ways in which we all work.

To help staff manage their transport requirements, the University is introducing a more flexible approach to car parking charges when parking enforcement is re-introduced from Tuesday 1 September 2020.

To support more sustainable methods of travelling to and from our campuses, the University has also increased the value of the Cycle to Work scheme to enable staff to purchase bicycles up to the value of £2,000.

Car Parking
Since mid-March, the University has supported the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust and the Royal Derby Hospital by relaxing car parking enforcement and making spaces available to NHS staff.

As more of the University’s estate is re-opened, parking spaces will be released to staff and students and parking enforcement will be re-introduced on Tuesday 1 September 2020.

The application window for new parking permits has been delayed to commence from Monday 3 August 2020 to allow staff more time to consider their working patterns, individual parking needs or alternative modes of transport to travel to and from our campuses.

Recognising that colleagues will have differing campus return dates and to reflect more flexible patterns of working on-campus- and home-working, we are introducing greater flexibility in how you can pay to park on campus for the 2020/21 permit year.

• Full permits: full annual permits will still be available payable from 1 September 2020. Alternatively, staff or students will now be able to apply for a parking permit at any point in the year and only pay for the months remaining in the permit year. For example, if you apply in December, you only pay 9 months of charges.
• Occasional use vouchers: should you wish to use occasional use vouchers to park on campus for a few days each week, for example to accommodate flexible working or until public transport is fully restored, the cost of any unused vouchers will be refunded once you revert to your usual mode of transport. If you wish to upgrade to a full parking permit, the cost of it will be reduced to account for the amount you have already spent on vouchers.

For anyone typically needing to park on campus for fewer than 4 days each week, the occasional use voucher scheme offers the more cost-effective solution.

To underpin the sustainability commitments in our new University Strategy and reduce the loss that the University currently makes between parking charges and its commitments to Nottingham City Council’s Workplace Parking Levy (WPL), the cost of a parking permit will need to rise by 15% for 2020/21.

This works out as an annual increase from £60 to £69 for cars in the lowest emission and salary bracket and an annual increase from £673 to £774 in the highest emission and salary bracket. The average cost of parking is £258 – less than £1.12 per day based on 230 days use – and will therefore rise by £38.70.

Since the WPL was introduced, the University has paid more than £1 million to offset the difference between car parking revenue and our WPL obligations – this year’s increase will help offset the £169,000 shortfall for 2020/21.

We regret that staff parking permits for the remainder of the current academic year cannot be refunded nor rolled forwards, to help the University meet the financial savings required to meet the significant losses incurred by the impact of coronavirus.

Cycle to Work
Cycling to work offers a flexible, fit and sustainable way to travel between our campuses and elsewhere. The University offers a comprehensive Cycle to Work scheme accessible through the Employee Hub and has increased the value of the scheme to enable staff to purchase bicycles up to the value of £2,000.

You can order your bike from a huge number of independent bike shops, online stores such as Wiggle or popular bike suppliers such as Halfords, Decathlon, Evans, Rutland Cycles and many more.

Operated on a salary sacrifice basis, the scheme allows employees to hire a bike and equipment from the University for twelve months. After this period the employee may, at University and scheme provider discretion, be offered options to extend the hire agreement or take ownership of the bike.

The University is currently undertaking a review of cycle parking infrastructure and identifying locations for additional infrastructure for those travelling by bike.

Hopper buses
The University has continued to run a reduced number of hopper bus services over recent months to retain essential connectivity between our sites. In line with current government guidance anyone travelling on the hopper bus service is advised to wear a face covering.

The University will continue to monitor the latest guidance to ensure the health and safety of all passengers. Social distancing measures will inevitably mean that our services will need to operate differently, carry fewer passengers and make some changes to routes and interim stopping points.  These measures continue to be developed as we understand the impact of any new guidelines and we will continue to provide regular updates on services and timetables.