Travel Subsistence

Introduction

Students may be eligible to claim some assistance with the costs of travel and subsistence as described below. This excludes students in receipt of a DfE bursary, following School Based or SCITT programmes or undertaking re-sit or Northern Ireland placements.

When a student in receipt of a bursary gives a lift to a student who is not in receipt of a bursary, the driver is eligible to claim the mileage indicated below.

Students are responsible for arranging their own travel to and from placements. However on some occasions it may be financially viable for the University of Cumbria to provide transport for trainees.

The University will not reimburse the cost of taxi fares. Students will be expected to use the most cost effective type of ticket. For example discounts are available for weekly or monthly travel by bus or train.

The information is approved for the 24/25 academic year and is currently under review for the 25/26 academic year.

Transport Provided by the University

When transport is provided by the University the following conditions apply:

The transport will originate from and return to the campus at which students are studying.
A minimum of 5 working days’ notice (Saturday and Sunday are not classed as working days) must be given by students for any requests to change or cancel transport arrangements.
Students will waive their right to claim a contribution to travel costs when they decline to use transport provided by the University.
Students who do not notify the University that they are making their own arrangements will be required to meet any costs incurred by the University relating to their travel.

Completing Travel Claim Forms

In order to claim a contribution towards the costs of travel, Education students will need to submit a Travel Claim Form, Health Students can submit their forms by clicking here. Students can claim weekly, fortnightly, monthly or at the end of placement.

All travel expense claims for the academic year 2024/25 must be submitted within one month of completion of a placement and no later than Friday 18th July, 2024.

Students claiming expenses for the first time, or if account details have changed since last making a claim for reimbursement must complete a student bank details form. Details of how to do this, along with the bank details form, can be obtained from our student finance page - Student Finance

Public Transport Claims Guide

All students (apart from those in receipt of a DfE bursary) can re-claim the cost of public transport to and from school. As well as completing the travel claim form, all supporting tickets must be scanned and sent to educationplacements@cumbria.ac.uk

Please sort tickets into date order and for large numbers of tickets, put scans into a single document (e.g. word) to submit. Ensure ticket dates and values match those in the travel claim to reduce processing delays.

Students based at the London campus intending to make claims must use a Transport for London Contactless and Oyster account to provide proof of journeys when travelling in London. Students may also purchase an 18+ Oyster Photocard when undertaking journeys via public transport which may save them additional monies.

When submitting travel claims paid for by contactless payments / oyster card in the London Area, the student must attach an electronic copy of a printout detailing the journeys they have made to and from placement.

Mileage Claim Guide

Please see the table below for eligibility to claim – match your student residence (term time address) with the address your placement travel is based from (ie. where you are staying for placement), to see what expenses you can claim outlined in the last column.

The information is approved for the 24/25 academic year and is currently under review for the 25/26 academic year.

Student Residence (Term Time Address)	Placement based on travel from this Address	Expenses That Can Be Claimed
On campus / address local to campus	Campus / address local to campus	Mileage from campus to school
On campus / address local to campus	Home address	Mileage from home address to school
Home Address	Campus or Home Address	Mileage from home to school minus mileage from home to campus

Student Residence (Term Time Address)

Placement based on travel from this Address

Expenses That Can Be Claimed

On campus / address local to campus

Campus / address local to campus

Mileage from campus to school

On campus / address local to campus

Home address

Mileage from home address to school

Home Address

Campus or Home Address

Mileage from home to school minus mileage from home to campus

To reclaim mileage, please complete the travel claim form. NOTE; If the ‘claim amount’ box turns red and a negative amount is displayed, this is because your mileage to placement is less than milage to campus. Please see table above to check your eligibility to claim and/or check your milage figures on the form.

Details of the amounts that can be claimed are:

Student's own car:

Driver only - 35 pence per mile
Driver plus one passenger - 55 pence per mile
Driver plus two passengers - 60 pence per mile
Driver plus three passengers - 65 pence per mile

Hire cars and cars where the driver is in receipt of a bursary:

Driver only - No contribution from the University
Driver plus one passenger - 20 pence per mile
Driver plus two passengers - 25 pence per mile
Driver plus three passengers - 30 pence per mile

Any student giving a lift to another student can claim mileage from the passengers pick up point to school at the hire car plus passenger rate of 20p for any journeys ineligible under the travel claim guide. Students must have the prior approval of the placement unit to claim this funding.

Passengers cannot claim for travel costs.

Travel Claims FAQs

Am I Eligible to Claim?

How / When Are Claims Paid?

All claims are paid by BACS to nominated accounts; students should register their bank details prior to submitting their first claim. To register bank details, students must complete a bank details form and send it to the University’s Accounts Payable Team at studentbank@cumbria.ac.uk

Claims will be paid into nominated bank accounts on a Friday. Although the Placement Unit endeavours to pay all claims within 2 weeks of submission, at peak times such as the end of placement, Public and Christmas breaks payments can be delayed.

If payment dates fall on a Bank Holiday, payment will reach accounts the following working day.

When Can I Claim?

Where Do I Submit My Travel Claim Form?

All claims are to be submitted in electronic format (Travel Claim Form) directly to the student’s campus Placement Unit. The Placement Unit is unable to accept documentation submitted in hard copy.

On submission, students will receive an automated email confirming receipt to their UoC email account.

Please do not send claim form(s) directly to the University finance department as this significantly increases the amount of time it takes to process and reimburse the claim.

I'm Having Problems Completing My Claim Form, Who Do I Contact?

I've Lost One of My Tickets for Public Transport, Can I Still Claim?

Placement Location

The University will base a student’s placement on either the student’s home address or the campus at which they are based. This is subject to the availability of a suitable placement.

When a student is allocated a placement based on their home address, but choose to travel from their campus address, they will not be eligible for the full cost of their travel. In this instance travel costs will only be reimbursed from their home address to their placement, providing this does not increase the costs of travel.

There will be some instances where it is not feasible for a student to get to a placement due to the lack of suitable public transport or any alternative. In this instance students should contact the University at least one week prior to the start of their placement, detailing the research they have conducted into travel solutions and asking for appropriate assistance. Assistance with transport arrangements will only be provided where the University confirms that there are no feasible alternatives.

Where Can I Find Information About My School and How To Get There?

Find a School in England - Locate your school and its details; all you need is its postcode or name.

Traveline - public transport journey planner

MARIO - Bus routes from Lancaster.

Stagecoach Bus Timetable

Google Maps - Car route planner.

National Rail

Travel and Subsistence