UCDSU Transport Update
Union work towards fair and accessible transport.
Transport is a priority for the Students’ Union, because it’s something that can make or break a student’s college experience. We know how important it is to have good, reliable and frequent transport routes as a student. This is why our team this year has been continuously advocating for students in this regard.
Meetings with the Smarter Travel Group.
The Smarter Travel Group is a group on Campus whose main goal is to work towards sustainable transport to and from UCD. Public transport is one of the items that gets discussed in these meetings, so we brought up several points made by students before the first meeting took place. We discussed mainly our concern over the new orbital routes set to replace the 175 and 75. We expressed how it could leave many students living in some areas near Tallaght locked out of education. After the meeting, this was raised by the Smarter Travel Group to the NTA (National Transport Authority), and the response we got from them is that the new routes would be more frequent and reliable than the previous buses, so students would be encouraged to bus-hop instead of taking one bus.
Development of the Shuttle Bus from Belfield to Smurfit
The SU implemented its initiative to have a Shuttle Bus to fix the transport gap between the Belfield and Smurfit campus. This was done in collaboration with other UCD stakeholders. You can read more about the shuttle bus service, how it started and its timetable here.
Meeting with UCD Estates over Parking on campus
As well as talking about the parking conditions on campus with the Smarter Travel Group, we had a meeting with UCD Estates to talk about how many students are struggling to go to their lectures because of limited parking spaces on campus. Since this is an issue that also affects staff, UCD Estates are also aware of it and we discussed possible solutions and plans moving forward. We believe that this should be a priority, since sometimes students spend so much time looking for parking in UCD, that they have to return home and can’t attend their lectures. We are looking into different solutions together.
Setting up a follow-up meeting with UCD Estates
This meeting is being set up to monitor the effectiveness of the new orbital routes replacing the 175 and 75 to take place before students return for semester 2. In this meeting, we will look at the feedback that the SU and UCD Estates have received so far.
Looking into alternatives to public transport
Some students who live close to campus have expressed interest in cycling. However, due to the cost of buying and upkeep of bikes, this is not possible for many of them. This is why we are supporting an upcoming project called the “Bike Library''. You can read more about this project, which is currently in its pilot phase, here. We’ve had meetings regarding how important it is that this project becomes widely accessible to students.
RDS parking and UCDSU shuttle service
We raised the issue of the increase in parking fees in the exam halls with the RDS but they would not alter their position. We continue to offer free shuttle buses to students from UCD to the RDS on a first come first served basis and are working on securing funds from UCD to help us expand these services to more students.
We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this as well, so please email them to campaigns@ucdsu.ie. We are also encouraging students to fill in the UCD Estates Commuting Survey, to get a good grasp on the public opinion of UCD Students and Staff. You can find the link here. If you fill in the survey and provide your email, you'll enter a raffle to win a selection of different prizes.
