Living at home and/or commuting to campus
Many students choose to live at home or commute during their studies. The benefits of this include affordability, maintaining connections with family, friends, community and work colleagues and a helpful structure to your day and week.
Commuting to university builds multiple soft skills such as organisation, time management and resilience. There is a growing number of students, not just at Leeds, but across the UK, deciding that commuting is for them.
The University of Leeds now has a society dedicated to helping commuter/living at home students make new friends and enjoy inclusive social events that work around your timetable and commitments. Find out more about the commuter society.
General Travel Advice
1) Start by using Google Maps to assess your options.
Consider the different modes of transport available to you (bus, train, car, walking, cycling or a combination of these) and determine the frequency, reliability and cost of each.
- You can use apps/websites such as Trainline, First Bus, Arriva Bus etc. to find the frequency of your services and how much this might cost you (further details on cost below).
- If you want to drive, consider parking. There is very little parking space on campus, though there may be some provision if you require a disabled parking space. There are a few spaces on Clarendon Road outside Henry Price student accommodation, though these spaces will be taken early (around 8 am). Most students who drive, park in Hyde Park (which is where many students live). Be vigilant if you choose to park here, as vehicle crime is high, buy yourself a steering wheel lock and ideally park outside a friend’s house (ask first!).
If you choose to pay to park, Woodhouse Moor car park is a popular option, costing around £7 per day, many office workers use this car park so you may need to get there fairly early. Our best advice is to explore several options and have back up plans, leaving time if your first choice of a parking spot is taken.
2) Consider the cost of your commute. Explore various ticket options. It is vital that you do some maths! Consider how many days you will be travelling by looking at your timetable and whether this will be in peak times. On trains, peak time is before 9:30am and between 4:30–6:30pm and travelling at these times will make the cost of return/single tickets more expensive.
If you live in West Yorkshire and are commuting regularly (especially in peak hours and more than 3 days a week) it is probably best to get an MCard.
MCards offer discounted travel and are especially helpful for students who use multiple modes of transport e.g. train and bus. They can be topped up either weekly, monthly or termly with either train and bus or just bus travel (train only is not available). You can use your M-Card go anywhere within West Yorkshire and take as many trips as you like on your chosen mode(s) (using any operator) during the time your card is topped up. This is an excellent option for those students who require flexibility and is complete game-changer.
You can top up a physical MCard on an app if your phone has NFC and is Android, an iPhone version does not currently exist so you will need to top up at your local travel centre.
MCard has now launched a new app (Mcard Mobile), which removes the need for a physical card, allowing you to store your M tickets on your phone. The app allows you to buy weekly or monthly tickets or bulk buy daily M tickets for a discount. (Beware that you may still need to show proof of age on the bus or train.)
- MCards — information on all the different available cards
- Under 19 MCard — half price travel in West Yorkshire for under 19s
- 19 to 25 photocard — discounted bus/train travel in West Yorkshire for students, which can be topped up weekly and monthly
- Mcard Mobile — information on the Mcard Mobile app
If you are commuting from further afield by train, consider getting a 1/3rd off rail card for students aged 16–25 or 26–30. £30 a year for 1/3 off travel (for journeys over £12 before 10am or any journey after 10am). Or you can get the card for free with a Santander student bank account. This is most suitable for students travelling longer distances who may not live in West Yorkshire. It is also great to utilise if you travel to other places in the UK via train.
Northern Trains have a new `flexi` ticket, which you can purchase in quantities of 10. These are anytime day returns for a slightly discounted price of 10% off, which can be used within a 2-month period. This is suitable for students who travel on Northern and rarely need to travel to the University campus. It is not available for all stations and requires you to get a northern smartcard (which you can get online) but worth checking out.
Bus Travel
- First Bus offer many different ticket options, from student singles costing £1.40 per journey (only valid on some bus routes in Leeds) to yearly tickets for £440. If you regularly travel via First Bus, consider the yearly pass or monthly pass. You can use your ticket on any first bus in West Yorkshire, so it would be a great option to meet friends across the county.
- The M-Cards mentioned above allow you bus travel on any bus in West Yorkshire and you can buy weekly, monthly or termly tickets. Check out the links above. This is slightly more flexible than the First Bus option but depends on which bus companies serve your area.
- Finally, a great option if you want to travel in a group, either on a weekend or weekday for day trips. First Bus group tickets provide an affordable option, you can purchase a ticket so up to 5 people can travel, costing only £6 at a weekend and £8.75 on a weekday! We encourage all students to make use of this amazing deal, great opportunity to explore West Yorkshire on the First Bus Network.
- 3) When you are commuting make use of apps for real-time updates and purchasing tickets.
- · Many bus and train companies have their own apps. Our favourite is the First Bus App. It allows you to buy tickets (usually for a slightly cheaper price than on the bus) and track when your bus will turn up. You can save your favourite/most used bus stops and quickly click to see when the next bus will turn up, so you can walk out of the Laidlaw Library in style and at the perfect time! To minimize waiting around at the bus stop.
- · The MCard app is a staple for students using M-cards to top up their travel. If you have a phone with NFC enabled on android you can top it up easily, iPhone users they are working on this. You can also go to a travel centre to top up your card in person if you can’t on the app.
- · MCard has now launched a new app (Mcard Mobile), which removes the need for a physical card, allowing you to store your M tickets on your phone. The app allows you to buy weekly or monthly tickets or bulk buy daily M tickets for a discount. (Beware that you may still need to show proof of age on the bus or train.)
- · Trainline is a great option for tracking trains, checking for delays and buying tickets (beware they may charge you a booking fee!). It is sometimes cheaper to buy directly from the train company app you are travelling on.
4) Think about the bigger picture and your needs.
- Consider alternative routes if you are struggling to get onto a train/bus or if the service is cancelled. This is why getting an MCard is a great option.
- Keep up to date with the latest travel advice on things such as adverse weather conditions, strike action and protests/parades in the City centre.
5) Delay Repay Scheme Compensation
If your train is late by 15 minutes or more, you may be entitled to delay repay compensation. This is usually 25% of your ticket if your train is 15–30 minutes late or 50% of your ticket if 30–1hr late or 100% of your ticket if over 1 hour late at the time of arrival.
- You can apply online through the train companies’ website to get compensated. If you purchase your ticket through trainline they sometimes do this for you automatically.
- MCard users are not eligible for delay repay compensation. Season Ticket Holders, Single or Return Tickets are.
Social Advice:
- Leeds University Commuters’ Society is a great way to meet people who also commute.
- Have a look at the Leeds University Union Clubs and Society page and have a look at the timings each of the societies hold their events. A lot of them will be at times or locations that are not convenient for commuting students but if there will be some that are. Societies are a great way to meet people from different courses, so it is worth having a look at
- You may have to go the extra mile to meet people as you don’t have an “automatic” set of friends in your accommodation.
- High on life society is a great society to join if you want to enjoy non-alcoholic events.
Practical Advice
- Think about what you will be carrying on your commute, e.g. if you are about to purchase a new laptop, try to get one that won’t be too heavy to carry, same with books — try to utilise E-books via the Library.
- Fashion advice, dress in layers. Yorkshire has a fairly cool climate for most of the year, so be sure to invest in a thick coat, hat, scarf and gloves (you will really thank us!)
- Figure out where the microwaves are around the campus, LUU has microwaves in Union Square. Some schools also allow students to use the microwaves.
- Find out where the best study spaces are for you on campus and at what times of the day they are free. Currently you will need to book a study space if you plan on using the libraries.
We hope this information is relevant, useful and helpful, as we understand transport options and tickets can be incredibly overwhelming at first.
Written by the Commuter Society
