We are striving to tackle the cost-of-living crisis
UCL students face a challenging academic year due to the rise in the cost-of-living: UCL estimates essential living costs could rise to between £261 to £327 per week. NUS research found that one-quarter of students live off just £50 a month after rent and bills which can negatively affect studies and force students to use food banks.
In the past few months we have endeavoured to help UCL students at risk of financial hardship by adding more than £500k of funding to schemes for students: including our Hardship Fund, Emergency Funding, our Participation fund and a new Gender Expression fund.
As the cost-of-living crisis escalates, we recognise more needs to be done to help UCL students residing within London, so now we’re focusing on London-wide policy. These are our four key priority areas for the coming months which we believe will most benefit you:
We are campaigning for free bus travel for students in London. Students opting to travel on buses to save money are affected by longer journeys and increased travel costs due to inflation. We think that students should have access to free bus travel, (like those benefitting from Freedom Passes) as students are travelling to study, not work.
We are campaigning for the cost of all tube journeys to be the same as Zone 1 fees for students. Rising living costs in central London have forced many students to find accommodation in travel zones further from UCL. Whilst rent is cheaper in these areas, students are returning to full face-to-face learning this year, which means they must pay more to travel to university. The reality is that UCL students travelling from Zone 9 to Zone 1 pay £269.20 for a monthly 18+ Student Oyster travelcard, compared to £103 a month to travel in Zone 1 only. London Mayor Sadiq Khan says TFL Travel fees are expected to rise by up to 14% in 2023, therefore we feel it’s essential to act now.
We are campaigning for the Santander Cycles discount to be increased to 50% and for it to cover pay-as-you-go travel, monthly cycle hire, and annual cycle hire costs. Students who choose to travel more sustainably via Santander Cycles currently get a 25% discount off an annual pass. As a lot of students don’t reside in London year-round and don’t necessarily cycle every day, the Santander discount should reflect their needs.
We are campaigning for rent caps in London for private halls and homes. A recently introduced ‘rent-freeze’ policy in Scotland benefits students until March 2023 - where private landlords cannot increase rent. We are calling for a similar policy to be implemented in England, which will assist London-based students.
Education Officer Hamza Ahmed commented: “undoubtedly, the cost-of-living crisis is one of, if not the main issue facing university students across the country, with UCL being no exception. With soaring accommodation, travel, utilities and food prices, students are being hit especially hard. Students’ Union UCL has put together a plan to tackle these issues head-on, targeting areas that affect students the most. Whilst a lot of problems such as the lack of housing are out of our control, I hope that the short, medium, and long-term priorities outlined in this article help our students as much as possible. I am especially hopeful that our priorities targeting transportation costs help our students as much as possible”.
What can I do to save money in London today?
- You may be eligible for funding from us, please check our available schemes.
- Avoid travelling during peak hours (excluding public holidays, these hours are from Monday to Friday, between 06:30 and 09:30, and between 16:00 and 19:00).
- If you haven’t already, apply for a Student Oyster for London travel discounts and consider applying for a Railcard to get 1/3 off train travel. A Railcard can also be added to your Oyster to give you discounts on the overground.
- Invest in a bike and cycle where you can, or use cycle hire schemes.