Students who have had their fair share of waiting for buses that never turn up can now bike it to the University where bicycle racks, lockers and shower facilities have been upgraded.

As the number of those opting for the more environmentally-friendly means of transport increases, the University has nominated a number of ambassadors to promote cycling. Six ambassadors were chosen following a call at the beginning of the scholastic year by the Green Travel Plan coordinator.

The University’s GTP committee was set up to raise awareness and implement sustainable mobility measures. Among others, the GTP has been encouraging more staff to use public transport.

“But the most recent and, we hope, the most important initiative is that of providing customised travel information to all our staff, students and visitors,” the director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Maria Attard, who chairs the committee, said.

Cycling is being promoted as one of the options to travel to and from the University.

A survey conducted by the GTP in 2010 showed that only 2.4 per cent of the sampled student population cycled to University. However, the GTP has observed an increase and is planning on conducting another survey to gauge the situation now.

“We have started by looking at the infrastructure on campus, so the first year was really about taking stock of what is available and what is necessary. We have improved the facilities on campus and provided all the information about cycling racks and showers online,” Dr Attard noted.

Cycling to campus is promoted with the help of the Bicycle Advocacy Group. BAG’s Jim Wightman, who has also noted an increase in the number of cyclists at the University, told this newspaper that those who did not want to get sweaty on their way to campus could opt for electrically-assisted bicycles, known as pedelecs.

The Custom Travel Information website, which provides information on how to get to and from the University of Malta by different means of transport, is available at www.um.edu.mt/iccsd/greentravel/cti.