Morning 'commuter hub' launched for students attending University of Limerick

TO SUPPORT the rising number of commuter students travelling daily to the University of Limerick, UL Student Life (ULSL) have launched a morning 'Commuter Hub.'

In a bid to offer students a place to shelter and chat, The Commuter Hub will run from 8-9am Monday to Wednesday and offer students breakfast fuel before they start their day.

The initiative was launched in response to the rising number of students being forced to commute due to the lack of accommodation available.

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Findings from a recent ULSL survey shows that over 35% of all University of Limerick students who still cannot find suitable accommodation are being forced to commute long distances, stay in hotels, sleep in cramped conditions, or find themselves homeless or in emergency accommodation.

Speaking on the launch of the Commuter Hub, UL Student President Maeve Rutledge commented: “The commuter hub provides a space for students to come in and relax, chat to others and have some breakfast before class. The feedback so far has been phenomenal, we even saw one student saying the Commuter Hub saved them from dropping out of college.”

Despite only launching last week, the Commuter Hub has seen a steady increase in the number of students availing of the initiative, tripling in footfall from day one to day three.

UL Student Communities Officer, Laura Corcoran, said: “We have spoken to students at the Commuter Hub who are commuting daily from as far as Mayo, they’re on campus as early as 7am and have nowhere to go. They might not have class until 12noon and can’t really afford to be spending money in cafés just to have somewhere to shelter.”

Over 47% of commuter students in the survey said they are doing so simply because they cannot find suitable accommodation, while nearly 27% said they were spending between €40-€60 a week on travel.

This comes as the University of Limerick hit a record of 18,500 students this term, the highest number the University has ever had.

To meet the demand from students, ULSL is hoping to expand the service in the new year.