Our mobility has already decreased considerably due to the new buildings and the concentration of all of Utrecht’s education and research in the Utrecht Science Park (USP). This has also led to a reduction in CO2 emissions. In recent years, the HU has carried out a wide variety of projects aimed at raising awareness, influencing behaviour and introducing new policies. We did this together with various partners in the USP and Utrecht-East, UU, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Princess Máxima Centre, a.s.r. and the municipality and province of Utrecht. By further reducing the use of cars for commuting to work, we achieve significant environmental gains. Cycling, walking and public transport are therefore our number one priority.
Sustainable alternatives to the car
We try to seduce our staff to use sustainable alternatives to their cars. Together with various partners, the HU regularly organises initiatives to encourage its staff to get out of their cars. Electric cars, e-bikes and staff bicycles are available for business travel. Bicycles and e-bikes can be reserved via our onsite rental service the ‘uitleenmuur’ (lending wall). The HU also offers a bicycle plan and a mobile bike repair service, provided by bike company the “Rijwielwacht”.
Parking spaces have already been increasingly moved to the outside of the area in recent years. In time, paid parking will be introduced all over the USP to discourage the use of cars and to improve accessibility.
Less commuting
The HU has signed a covenant with the province of Utrecht to further reduce commuting by means of blended learning and encouraging working from home. Video and roundtable conferencing, Skype for Business and VPN reduce the number of permanently occupied workstations and enable workstations to be shared. This will further reduce travel time and CO2 emissions. The ‘Uithoflijn’ express tram started running in 2020 and has greatly improved the Science Park’s accessibility by public transport.
Sharing ideas on improved accessibility & sustainability
Not only does the daily commute cause a lot of CO2 emissions, more and more people work at the Utrecht Science Park. Traffic jams occur more often at the USP, which does not improve the liveability of the area either. At the HU, we are thinking hard about possible solutions to create better accessibility and greater sustainability, and we invite everyone to help us by sharing their ideas with us.
The HU offsets the CO2 emissions of all business flights.
Arrangements for HU staff
Commuting arrangements
- Bike arrangement
- Commute allowance (link to SharePoint)
- Bicycle parks (open and closed)
- Shower facilities: there are showers available in each building
- Go-About bikes-to-share
- Donkey Republic bikes-to-share
- Public Transport (OV-)bikes Rijnsweerd & Uithof
- U-OV & Syntus busses
- Tram 22
Free means of transport
How do I get to work without a car?
For business-related travel, the HU offers the following means of transport for its staff free of charge
- Electric cars:
– We Drive Solar (electric cars)
– HU e-cars
– Cars-to-share, also for personal use
– E-car for business travel
– E-cars-to-share by We Drive Solar - Service bicycles on loan / Uitleenmuur bicycles / HU Loan bicycles / HU Loan e-bikes
- Transport application
Current developments
- Parking measures HU 2019/New rules paid parking USP
- Roadworks A27 & A28 as of 2022
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