Travel

Your student funding package from SAAS or other UK funding body will not include a specific allowance for travel expenses to/from university, so it’s up to you to budget for this from your general living cost support.

If you face a shortfall in your overall living costs while you study then you can apply to the Discretionary and Childcare Funds for help. We include travel costs in our assessment of Discretionary applications alongside all other essential outgoings, but for most courses there is no funding available to help specifically with travel costs.

For courses that include placements, some Academic Schools will provide help with travel expenses. This is managed within the relevant School and does not involve Funding & Advice. If you have a placement as part of your course, please contact your School direct for more information on placement travel expenses.

If you don’t have your own car and are thinking about getting one, do your research and calculate how much it will cost you.

There are lots of different ways to finance the purchase of car, each with their own pros and cons depending on your circumstances. Make sure you do the research before making a commitment as the consequences of not keeping up with payments can be serious. You can find out more about the different ways to finance buying a car through the Money Helper website.

You also need to think about how much you will spend on fuel, road tax, insurance and parking - not to mention unexpected repairs or MOT costs. Compare this to the cost of public transport before making your decision.

This Car Costs Calculator is a good place to start.

You can also use websites to calculate how much you will spend on petrol.

It’s also important to shop around for the best deal on car insurance. You can do this on price comparison websites such as uSwitch, Compare The Market and Go Compare. Just remember that some insurance companies will not appear on price comparison sites.

If you already have your own vehicle and are planning to use it to travel to campus, you should remember to consider whether parking is available on campus, and the additional costs associated with this if applicable. 

If it is essential that you own a car, why not drive your friends to uni for a small fee? They could save money on their own travel costs and you could get help paying for the cost of running a car.

Public transport is the easiest way to travel to university and all UWS campuses are conveniently located close to rail and/or bus services. 

Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel (Scotland)

If you are 21 or under and living in Scotland, you are eligible for free nationwide bus travel. This means that you can use buses to travel to campus, part-time work, and further afield for placements, work experience and leisure – find out more here.

If you’re 22 or over and/or need to make use of other public transport options then you can take advantage of rail cards, or student tickets on the bus. You may also be better off buying weekly or monthly tickets, but check your timetable and travel prices carefully so you don’t end up paying for travel when you don’t need it.

You can check the costs and services available via ScotRail, SPT, First Bus, McGills Buses, and any other local provider in your area.