Bicycles

Bicycles are the preferred form of transportation in Cambridge. Indeed, finding a spot to park a bicycle downtown or next to university buildings is often a struggle. Nearly everyone bicycles and in all weathers. Consequently, fluorescent green jackets are perhaps the most common ‘fashion accessory’ in the dark winter months.

• Bike maps can be found here and here.
• Good advice on buying, maintaining, and keeping your bike from being stolen (a common problem) can be found here.
• A local advocacy group, CamCycle, has lots of useful information for newcomers.
• Cambridge university staff can pay for bikes pre-tax (resulting in a hefty discount) using the Cycle to Work scheme.

Cars

Owning a car in Cambridge can be more trouble than it's worth! Cars are not permitted in the centre of town and parking is extremely limited. For those who want to lease electric cars on a monthly lease, on.to is a good option.

Buses

Cambridge has several excellent bus services (yes, more than one bus company operates here). The U bus, in particular, connects the train station with downtown, West Cambridge, and Northwest Cambridge. It offers discounted fares to university staff.

Trains

Extensive train connections are available both to London (such as to King’s Cross, Liverpool street, and Blackfriar’s) and to the rest of the country. If you take the Eurostar, you can reach most major cities in Europe. Trains can be crowded and expensive, especially on weekdays during rush ours: advance purchase is necessary to obtain a discount. Off-peak travel (approximately after 9 am and before 5) and super off-peak travel (weekends and bank holidays) is heavily discounted.

Three train operators serve Cambridge: Great Northern, Greater Anglia, and Thameslink. Confusingly, tickets on these trains can be bought not only directly from them but also from a very large number of retailers. It is often easiest to buy a ticket from a aggregator such as National Rail who can find the lowest fare from amongst the various operators.

Airports

For those who like to fly, a half hour non-stop train ride to Stansted will get you to most of Europe. Public transit can be taken to reach both Heathrow (Cambridge → King’s Cross → Paddington → Heathrow) and Gatwick (Cambridge → Gatwick) airports.