University of Cambridge staff include the highest proportion of employees opting to cycle to work of any Cambridge organization, a recent survey has found.

The ninth annual Travel for Work survey was conducted in Cambridge over a seven-day period last October.  A record 10,700 people took part, including 74 organisations.

Results for individual employers showed Cambridge leading the way, with nearly 39 per cent of all staff members choosing to cycle to work. This compares to an average of 17 per cent across all the Cambridge workplaces surveyed.

Moreover, among Cambridge staff only 22 per cent of journeys were made by driving alone to work, much less than the workplace average of 50 per cent.

Paul Milliner, Senior Planning Officer for the University’s Estate Management Department attributed to the results to the University’s sustainable policies.  “The University continues to support sustainable travel, and a cycle-to-work scheme was introduced in 2009, as well as discounts on train season ticket fares.”

He added, “The Travel for Work Survey results show that our measures are effective.”

Megan Bradley, a student at the University said, “I’m not surprised the University did so well. Cycling is part of the “Cambridge” experience.”

The survey did show, however, that over the entire city, driving to work remains the most popular choice, with over 45 per cent of the city’s workforce choosing this form of transport.

The remaining figures showed 21 per cent saying they got to the office by bike, 9 per cent opting for car-sharing, 7 per cent choosing to walk, 6 per cent travelling by bus, and 4 per cent arriving to work by train.