The University's work within CoAction to promote a carbon-neutral Lund, as well as the previous project on sustainable mobility at Lund University, have now resulted in a document that summarises the way forward in terms of sustainable commuting to work and studies The Green Travel Plan is one of several instruments to develop the most sustainable campuses possible, in collaboration with our property owners.
Facilitate increased commuting by bike
The Green Travel Plan emphasises, among other things, the importance of working with our property owners to create more secure bicycle parking, as well as charging and storage facilities for e-bikes. The University wants to promote commuting by bike at our campus locations and help them become even better cycling cities. The long-term goal is to become Sweden's most bicycle-friendly university through the measures in the Green Travel Plan. This will require improvements in many areas.
The benefits of increased bike commuting are not only reduced environmental impact and less need for car parking. This in turn can provide space to further develop our campuses as well as providing health benefits. This was evident among last year's test cyclists on the Södra Sandby-Lund supercycling route, where most of the test cyclists improved their fitness and sleep after just six weeks of cycling at least three days a week. This was true for both regular and electric bikes.
Since many of the measures in the Green Travel Plan are currently unfunded, further discussions will be necessary to find solutions for the development needs of the years to come. Some universities have solved this through climate cross-subsidy. Uppsala University, for example, funded a multi-million kronor investment in bicycle parking over a period of ten years through increased car parking fees.
In 2023, Kammarkollegiet, which provides insurance for the premises of government authorities, issued a ban on bringing lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles, electric scooters, etc. into our buildings. The Green Travel Plan therefore points to the need for further work to develop more secure bicycle parking facilities, as well as improving e-bike battery storage and charging opportunities. Some of the existing fireproof rooms will soon be remodelled for storing and charging e-bike batteries at the School of Economics and Management and LTH, among others.
Further information
The Green Travel Plan and a variety of information about travelling sustainably to work: Green Travel Plan
Read more: CoAction Lund (select Translate)
For any questions, please contact project manager Nina Nordh, LU Estates: nina [dot] nordh [at] bygg [dot] lu [dot] se (nina[dot]nordh[at]bygg[dot]lu[dot]se)