Travel

Timetable

Over Spring Break, the EdgeLink bus will temporarily be out of service. The last day of operation will be 23 March 2024, and service will resume as usual on 03 April 2024.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

Wednesday

Saturday

Holiday

Sunday and Bank Holidays – No service

Ticket prices

Free with staff or Student ID card or Edge Hill Sport membership card or wristband.

This service is financially supported by Edge Hill University and operated by Stagecoach.

You can track the bus using the Stagecoach app, which can be downloaded from the Stagecoach website.

Journey Assistance Cards

Journey Assistance Cards are available from Stagecoach to use on the EdgeLink and other Stagecoach services if you need a bit more help when using the bus. They can be shown to the bus driver to let them know what extra help you need, including for:

• Limited vision or hearing
• Difficulty in communicating
• Special educational needs
• Needing extra time or help to find a seat.

Find more information on how to apply for a Journey Assistance Card.

Route

The EdgeLink travels from Ormskirk bus station along St Helens Road where it stops at the Playing Fields stop if requested. It then enters campus via the Visitors’ Entrance and stops at the bus shelter between Palatine Court and Forest Court, before stopping outside Creative Edge. The bus then proceeds through Car Park C and exists via the staff and student entrance. It returns via St Helens Road to Ormskirk bus station.

Please note that the bus cannot stop for passengers to join or leave the service at locations other than those listed above.

To join the club, visit the store and purchase your £10 deposit.

Collect your BLUC key from the Facility Management (FM) Helpdesk in the Durning Centre, making sure to show the receipt for your deposit.

• Use the BLUC key to open any empty locker and reverse your bike in to the door. Lock using your personal padlock. Keep the BLUC padlock safe until you return. When you collect your bike, you must replace your own padlock with the BLUC padlock to allow other people to use the locker.
• The BLUC works on a shared use system, rather like a car park. The locker will not become your personal bike locker.
• You must always use your own padlock when your bike is inside one of our lockers. This ensures that no one else can gain access to the locker and more importantly to your bicycle
• When you have finished with the locker and you have removed your bike, you must put the Edge Hill University padlock back on the locker so that another BLUC member can use the facility when you are not using it.

• If you lose your BLUC key you will need to purchase a replacement via the online store.
• If you lose the BLUC padlock please report it to FM Helpdesk in person or call 01695 58(4455) so we can organise a replacement.
• If you leave your padlock on an empty locker Edge Hill University reserve the right to remove it. This will result in the withdrawal of your deposit and suspension of your membership.
• If you want to give up your membership you will need to return your BLUC key to the FM Helpdesk, Durning Centre. Once your key has been returned we will authorise the return of your deposit to the card you originally paid with (this can take several days).
• See our terms and conditions for more information about BLUC

• Season tickets like Railpass and the student GEMPass are some of the cheapest ways to travel on the Merseyrail network.
• Season tickets outside the Merseyrail network are also available for seven days or any period between one month and a year.  Annual Season Tickets save you the most money with 12 weeks free travel each year.  Use the National Rail Season Ticket Calculator to compare prices.
• Use your season ticket for leisure, as well as commuting, within valid purchased area.
• Staff can apply for an interest free loan from the University to help with the purchase of an annual Season Ticket.

The Merseyrail App is available to download from the iTunes App Store and from Google Play for Android.

• For off-peak travel after 9:30am there are some great value saver tickets which offer unlimited travel across the whole of the Merseyrail network.

Use Northern Rail’s Season Ticket Calculator to compare prices.

All Merseyrail and some Northern Line car parks are free to rail passengers.

Merseyrail have just opened 2 brand new free passenger car parks on the Wirral.  Both lines go directly to Liverpool Central & Moorfields where you can catch regular connecting trains for Ormskirk.  Save on tunnel and petrol fees, or shorten your journey time by avoiding the traffic.

• Bidston expanded to 197 spaces
• Birkenhead North with 256 spaces

Free, secure cycle storage at many Merseyrail and Northern line stations.

Merseyrail trains have designated areas for cyclists situated at both ends of the train. They advise against travelling with a bicycle during peak times due to congestion issues on board the train.

Northern Rail trains can carry a maximum of two bikes per train, allocated on a first come, first served basis. Conductors maintain the right to refuse entry if the train is busy.

Use the journey planning websites for help devising your route.

From Ormskirk train station you can get to the Ormskirk campus in a variety of ways:

Bus: From Ormskirk train station take the pedestrian walkway to Ormskirk bus station and connect with the Edge Link bus, from stand 5, for a direct route to Campus.

Walk: Turn right from the station and walk up the road you are on, Station Approach.  At the top turn left, then first right.  Walk along Stanley Street and Knowsley Road, across two junctions and turning left onto St Helens Road, until you reach the Campus. 

We try to manage our parking spaces fairly. Only members of staff and registered students may apply for a parking permit and eligibility criteria applies based on the distance travelled and the availability of public transport.

Our Car Parking Policy includes details of the eligibility criteria for parking permits, arrangements for disabled parking and other parking facilities in Ormskirk.

If you are a student coming to study at Edge Hill for the first time you will need to formally enrol on your course and receive your student number before you can apply.

Registered staff and students may check their eligibility and apply for a parking permit via Request parking permit- Edge Hill.

Edge Hill is one of only two universities that offers over 2,400 parking spaces free of charge to students and staff. Access to the car park on campus is provided through a permit system. To access parking on campus, all students and staff who are eligible for parking must apply for a permit.

Permits are issued by the Parking team and to access parking, all vehicles visiting campus must display a valid permit on arrival.

Students and staff can apply for a permit via our online portal.

The University has established a Car Parking Policy which is regularly reviewed and updated. This policy provides the framework for how traffic and parking will be managed effectively on campus. Review the full policy.

The North West Regional Parking Standards (Government Policy) set out the requirements for appropriate provision and dictate the provision of parking that any institution can create. Edge Hill University is categorised under D1 as a higher education institution, and as such is constrained to provide one parking space per 15 students and one per two staff.

In liaison with West Lancashire Borough Council, the University has successfully worked to increase the total capacity of parking spaces on campus and has created approximately 700 additional spaces above the limit (this number cannot be exact as the student population fluctuates each year).

The university provides free parking to ensure that all commuting students, staff who travel long distances to get to work, and those with mobility issues and special circumstances can access their education and workplaces each day.

Through benchmarking carried out with AUSCO, it has been identified that Edge Hill is one of only two out of 133 universities in the UK that do not charge for campus parking. In fact, many do not provide any parking facilities at all.

The University has carried out benchmarking with five other campus universities in the UK to see if best practice can be shared, and found that on average they charge approximately “£4.00 per day” for parking, with two of the five not permitting any students to park on their campus. At this time, the University are not considering the option of charging for parking.

To respond to an increase in demand across September and October in 2021, the University has created 150 temporary spaces within the overflow car park, resulting in an overall capacity of 400 temporary parking spaces. These spaces will provide additional parking while campus attendance is at its peak, and it is expected that attendance will reduce at the end of October (each year) when student Teachers, Nurses and other practice-based courses go out onto placement.

As per the planning conditions set out by West Lancashire Borough Council, the University must adhere to the operating measures set out within the approved Traffic Parking and Management Strategy (TPMS) for the campus which dictates how often the overflow car park can be used, and during which periods. West Lancashire Borough Council does not allow for any temporary spaces to be converted to permanent parking provision.

The University is not permitted to provide further parking over and above the allocation set out within the Parking Standards. This restriction means that the University cannot explore other options such as a multi-storey or underground parking provision.

Specifically under the Parking Standards, point 8.44 advises that “The limiting of (free) parking spaces can be used as a means to encourage a shift towards more sustainable forms of transport”.

The “West Lancs Local Plan 2012-27” is available to review on the West Lancashire Local Plan 2012-2027 webpage – further information on Parking Standards can be found on page 128.

There are a variety of alternative car parks available in Ormskirk which can be found using the West Lancashire Borough Council map.

Both staff and students can access the EdgeLink bus free of charge from Ormskirk bus station every 20 minutes or can choose to take the 15-minute walk to campus via Ruff Lane or St Helens Road.

The University is working hard to reduce their carbon footprint and believe that sustainable travel can help everyone on the journey towards carbon neutrality. With more options than ever, the University are supporting students and staff to utilise sustainable alternatives at every possibility. Whether its cycling, scooting, walking, car sharing or getting the bus and train, there is something for everyone.

To support all commuters with whatever means of transport they choose to use, the University has created a central hub of travel information for students and staff on parking, public transport, cycling, walking and more. This hub includes useful links, timetables and the University’s Travel Plan to encourage the Edge Hill community to utilise more sustainable alternatives on their daily commute.

Explore further sustainable travel options and view timetables on our Sustainability pages.