Cycling

Cycling is a great way to get fit and save money at the same time. The Whiteknights campus offers an ideal green environment for cyclists to explore the natural beauty the campus has to offer. We welcome responsible cyclists who follow our guidelines for sharing the space safely with other cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.

The University provides a number of facilities for cyclists:

• Free cycle skills sessions for all levels from complete beginner to quick refresher, and information and help for those new or considering cycling 
• Dr Bike free maintenance sessions 12:00 -14:00 every Wednesday in the Palmer Quad during term time
• Over 1,800 cycle parking spaces across our campuses, including lockable cycle compound, as well as additional secure cycle sheds provided at the Halls for students to bring their bike with them to University
• Check out the sustainability team's cycling webpages to learn how to keep your bicycle secure. There are also good quality bike locks, as well as bike lights, that are available to purchase from the Security Services online store to help keep your bike safe and secure 
  
• Unicycle bike recycling scheme loaning low cost, safety checked bikes to students through Reading Students' Union
• The campuses also have plenty of showers on campus if you have cycled or walked to campus and feel the need to freshen up. Check out the Whiteknights shower map / London Road Shower Map

Make sure to also check out Reading Borough Council's Cycling in Reading map for cycle routes, a map of the cycle parking facilities available across Reading, and cycle safety advice. 

We are constantly working to improve our facilities for cyclists on campus. If there is a particular improvement that you'd like to see implemented, please email us to have your say.

Walking 

Walking is a great way to get about, whilst keeping fit - and it's also carbon neutral! 

If you're planning on walking to campus from the train station, the sustainability website has lots of great advice, route maps and guides to help you find your way to our campuses. (Please note, if you're travelling from Henley Station to our Greenlands campus it isn't possible to walk on foot as there is no public footpath, however the 800 and 850 buses do go past the entrance.) 

Whilst you're on campus, there's also some scenic walking routes so you can spend time outside enjoying nature, or taking a break from your studies. Maps of our Whiteknights campus, London Road campus and Greenlands campus are available on the sustainability website to help you plan your route. 

Buses 

Reading Buses provide a frequent and reliable bus service which makes travelling by bus around Reading really easy. Your main routes connecting campus to the town centre is the claret route 21 and the white knight 20 (express service between Whiteknights campus and Reading Station). Between these two routes the semester time frequency of buses running between the town centre / station and campus will be every 7-8 minutes. 

The night buses run 24/7 and buses run up to every 10 minutes during term term. Check out the Reading buses website for details of all the bus stops located on campus and halls of residences, and the bus routes. 

Reading Buses now operates ‘tap on, tap off’ , which is currently the cheapest way of paying for ad-hoc tickets. Simply tap your card or payment device on and then again when you exit the bus. 

All students are also eligible for Reading Buses BOOST fares which work out cheaper when travelling regularly. You can buy these via the app or from the bus shop in St Marys Butts. 

If you are a new student, you can also get 2 free trips on Reading buses. 

Free Mereoak Park and Ride Service 

The University provides a free Park and Ride service from Mereoak (junction 11 of the M4) to Whiteknights and London Road campuses for staff and students. 

To use the Park and Ride service: 

Further details of this service and other travel options can be found on the Sustainable Travel pages.

Train 

All three of our campuses can be reached by train, followed by a short bus journey, cycle trip or walk. Whiteknights is accessible from both Reading or Earley train station, London road by Reading train station and Greenlands can be reached by Henley train station. Please see the train travel page on the Sustainability website for further information about getting to the University's campuses from the train station. Don't forget that all full-time student and all aged 16-25 are eligible for a railcard for 1/3 off train travel.

Co Wheels 

You can hire a car from two sites at the University for periods as short as 30 minutes a day from Co-wheels, our car club provider. This minimises the need for people to own cars, reducing expense, emissions and for parking.  

Free Mereoak Park and Ride Service 

The University provides a free Park and Ride service from Mereoak (junction 11 of the M4) to Whiteknights and London Road campuses for staff and students. 

To use this free service: 

• Simply show your University of Reading campus card to the bus driver
• Free parking at Mereoak is provided, no permit is needed
• Use the Christchurch Green stop for Whiteknights campus and the Royal Berkshire Hospital stop for the London Road campus 

Lift share 

The University offer a Lift Share scheme to help connect you with other people to share your commute.  


Parking 

Car parking spaces at the University are severely limited, so parking is restricted to those with a valid parking permit. Before bringing your vehicle onto campus/Halls of Residence, please ensure that you have applied for and obtained a parking permit.  

Blue badge holders do need to apply for a University of Reading parking permit and these are issued free of charge. 

Designated motorcycle parking spaces can be found at the following car parks: CP1, CP5, CP6, CP12, and AMS, and these parking areas are in addition to parking spaces available for both cars and motorcycles on campus and at halls car parks. 

Parking at halls is also limited and controlled by a separate permit system. If you are a student living in Halls and you do not have a permit to park, you must not park on residential roads within one mile of the campus. 

We will begin to process applications for the 2024/25 academic year as follows: 

1 July for Halls parking. Complete the online form to apply for a halls parking permit 

1 August for Campus Parking. Complete the online form to apply for a campus parking permit 

The deadline for student parking applications is 11.59pm on the Friday of Welcome Week (Friday 27September 2024).  Apply for your parking permit by completing the online form. Applications received after this time will only be considered if you have had a significant change of circumstances. Please note that the qualifying criteria still apply. For more information, please visit our Student Parking Website. 

When applying for parking you must attach the relevant and requested evidence to support your application. You will receive an auto generated email confirmation when you successfully submit your application.  If you do not receive the email then we did not receive your application. The University is under no obligation to offer parking to late applicants so please ensure your application is submitted in time. 

For more information about parking: 

• Student Parking Website
• Campus parking permits
• Halls parking permits
• Parking regulations 

.

Cars and international students

The law relating to driving in the UK as an international student is complex. For a full explanation of the current position, you should visit the DirectGov pages on driving in Great Britain on a foreign licence. If you have any questions about driving in the UK, please email int.adv@reading.ac.uk.