The Challenge

When Connor started working at the University of Sussex as a Transport Supervisor, he was commuting by bus from Hove for a couple of months. He has been using one bus in the morning which got him into work 20 minutes early, but there were no other alternatives, and the timetables weren’t ideal for his working hours. Getting home always took him over an hour as he needed to change between two buses. This has been quite frustrating for him, besides the fact that it was also expensive to pay £5 a day for transport, which he didn't find reliable and took a lot of time.

All the above made him think about alternative options. Connor didn’t have a car and didn’t want to buy one, as he is environmentally conscious in all his aspects of daily life. When he expressed his frustration to his colleagues, one of them who has been cycling to work, suggested that as an alternative.

The Solution

‘When sitting on the bus, I often looked out of the window and could see cyclists who were overtaking the bus, plus I realised that there was a dedicated cycling lane all the way to campus’

This was enough incentive for him: getting to work faster, saving money and cycling on a safe cycling route. He looked up the route, and as he was already a confident cyclist, he bought a second-hand bike and started his commute.

Benefits of cycling

Besides the obvious physical and mental health benefits to cycling, he started to feel a lot fitter, and had more energy.

‘The biggest thing for me is how cycling gives me a good transition from work to home. It clears the mind, you get fresh air, and especially if you are sitting all day at work, you don’t want to sit on the bus on the way home.’

Would you suggest this to others?

‘For people who haven’t done it before, it can feel overwhelming, however, it only takes a couple of times to create a new habit. The route is safe, there are cycling lanes all the way, and I have never seen any accidents. If you are thinking about it, I can only say, give it a go, change into cycling a couple of times a week, buddy up with someone and you won’t regret it!’

If you want to give cycling a go, and reduce your carbon footprint while getting fitter, get in touch with Monika, our Sustainable Travel Adviser: m.farkas@sussex.ac.uk