Free shuttle bus for Marsh!
LiverpoolSU lobbying pays off as university introduces free shuttle bus to I.M Marsh
Travel and parking issues surrounding the IM Marsh campus have been an ongoing issue for students for a number of years now, and students, as well as university teaching staff, have constantly flagged this up as an area of their university life which could be improved.
Liverpool City Council recently announced new parking restrictions would come into place from the beginning of March, affecting the area surrounding the campus, meaning some areas where students currently park would be for residents only.
LiverpoolSU realised this would have a massive impact on a large number of students who study at IM Marsh, and as a result we consulted students about the proposed parking restrictions, and asked how this would impact upon them and how do they think this issue could be addressed. Through our Have Your Say campaign at IM Marsh in January, we received a large amount of student feedback, and many of those felt a shuttle bus service from the city centre to IM Marsh would go some way to addressing this issue.
As a direct result of YOUR feedback, in collaboration with the Acting Dean for the faculty of Education, Health and Community Phillip Vickerman, we took a paper to university senior management team and following this, LJMU has announced that a FREE shuttle bus service from the city centre to IM Marsh will commence from the beginning of March.
Dan Cole, Vice President Community Engagement at LiverpoolSU said:
Over the last few years, IM Marsh students have consistently identified travel and parking to be a major issue that affects them. It is absolutely fantastic that LJMU has listened to student feedback, and this is an important win for our students. Students now pay £9,000 tuition fees, so it’s not unreasonable for them to expect decent transport and parking facilities. Whilst this is great news, there is still much more work to do. We are currently working with Merseytravel to address travel issues across Merseyside and whilst they have pledged to reduce the cost of transport for young people, we will continue to work to make sure that discounts and travel passes meet the needs of students' lives. We are also working with LJMU to try to identify alternative parking at IM Marsh for those who drive.
The new shuttle bus service will operate weekdays between St George’s Hall in Liverpool and IM Marsh campus, beginning at 8:15 am, with the last service leaving IM Marsh at 5:30 pm (apart from Weds when the last bus will be at 12:15).
The service will be free for all LJMU students, and the full timetable can be accessed here http://ljmu.ac.uk/immshuttle/
