Workplace Travel Plans
Investigating Workplace Travel Plans
What is a Workplace Travel Plan?
A Travel Plan aims to reduce the impact of work-generated travel on the environment and wider community and at the same time bring benefits to the employer and their staff.
Travel Plans are specific to individual employers according to circumstances, they need to adapt over time according to changes and results of monitoring.
They are not anti-car but aim to promote sensible and appropriate use emphasising alternatives when viable – in effect creating a level playing field for all staff.
- Assessment of current transport links and infrastructure.
- Comprehensive staff travel survey and postcode mapping.
- Management support and staff time devoted to the plan.
- Measures to promote walking – making sure the site is pedestrian friendly.
- Supporting cycling by provision of adequate cycle parking, lockers and showers/changing facilities. Consider loans for cycle purchase and payment of a mileage allowance to cyclists for business.
- Encouraging use of Public Transport – ensuring timetable information is widely available, giving loans or discounts for season ticket purchase.
- Promoting car sharing through use of a database – with priority parking provided to car sharers.
- Introducing a system of pool cars and /or pool cycles.
- Effective car parking management policies to ensure any parking is allocated according to need.
- Promoting flexible working practices – flexi time, compressed working week, and home working.
- Encouraging business mileage by Public Transport or cycling.
- Ensuring visitors have directions that include all forms of transport.
The above is not an exhaustive list of measures but gives an idea of some policies that are applicable. Many employers may initially be reluctant to adopt a full plan so implementation of any of the above is welcome and can help. Many of the measures can be introduced easily and can still have an impact. Travel Plans require only a relatively minor shift away from singly occupied cars to be effective.
Benefits to Employers by Adopting Travel Plans
- Reduced demand for car parking can enable the space to be put to more productive use.
- Employees who walk or cycle will be healthier and more productive.
- Reduced congestion equates to time and thus money savings.
- Savings can be made on business mileage costs and in addition, time spent on public transport can be productive.
- Help for employees who commute by means other than in a car on their own ensures all staff are treated equally.
- National planning policies now require comprehensive Travel Plans for new developments. – If your company is seeking to expand you will need to implement a Travel Plan to gain planning permission.
- Central Government could impose a workplace parking charge tax levy and compel authorities to charge for vehicles to enter town centres. Promoting alternatives now will ease the burden when this happens.
- As Travel Plans become more common, perceptive potential employees will expect employers to have measures in place to encourage sustainable transport.
- Adopting a travel plan will improve the environmental image of your organisation and create positive relations with the community by reduced adjacent on-street parking.
- Reduced congestion, pollution and an improved transport infrastructure benefits the whole community.
What you can do as an Employee?
- Evaluate how you travel to work and if you drive in a car on your own consider changing to another mode even if its only once or twice a week.
- Share your journey to work with a colleague or friend.
- Ask your employer if they have or are planning to implement a Travel Plan or measures to help employees who do not drive to work alone in cars. Many employers already have such policies but they are poorly promoted.
- Think how your health and stress levels could be improved if you are able to cycle or walk to work.
- Research alternatives – they may be easier and cheaper than you think!
Some Interesting Facts about Transport
- Traffic delays cost this country £15 billion a year – according to the CBI.
- 58% of car trips are under 5 miles and 25% less than 2 miles – giving considerable potential to change mode for some of these journeys.
- A 10% increase in the number of regular cyclists would save the NHS £200 Million a year – regular cyclists are as fit as non-cyclists 10 years younger.
- In a survey of organisations that have Travel Plans the average annual running cost per employee was £47 compared to the estimated annual running cost of a car parking space at £300-500.
Summary
Awareness of the detrimental effect of unrestrained car use on society and the environment is increasing and measures to help make alternatives more viable, such as bus and cycle lanes are becoming more common. Development of Travel Plans by employers can make a major contribution to reducing traffic growth and congestion – particularly at peak times. Travel Plans are not anti–car but aim to promote alternatives that are often more appropriate for the journey to work. This way our transport system can be freed up for all users making car journeys where there is no alternative easier. Roads Service has responsibilities to improve infrastructure to enable better transport but local employers need to evaluate how their employees travel to and at work for results to be achieved. The quality of our natural environment is one of Northern Ireland’s prime assets and the negative impact of traffic growth can only reduce the attraction of the Province as a place to live and work.
Presenting a business case
All businesses are affected by the effectiveness of their transport policy. This ranges from staff travel to product delivery. Changing the way we travel both to work and throughout the course of the day can have a positive impact on all employees. A reduction in single occupancy car use alleviates traffic congestion and pollution, improves air quality, increases the speed of traffic for necessary journeys and reduces stress to drivers.
If more sustainable modes of travel such as cycling, walking (even for part of the journey), and public transport were adopted, there would be less need to provide expensive staff parking. The land could be put to alternative commercial use, or used for recreation for the staff.
The final argument for workplace travel plans must be the morale and refreshed attitude of the staff. The travel plan process enables staff to have an input into the final plan. They are consulted and have mechanisms in which to relay their opinions and preferences.
THE FIVE KEYS TO SUCCESS
A Travel Plan will vary considerably between organisations but there are several
underlying principles which are vital to achieving success. These are:
COMMITMENT FROM SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Travel Plans involve changing established habits and working practices. It is essential
for your senior management to promote the objectives and benefits of the Plan and to lead by example.
CONSULTATION WITH STAFF
A Travel Plan will only be successful if your staff and their representatives support
it. Consultation is crucial in encouraging staff to have a sense of ownership of the changes being introduced.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
You will need staff time to implement and maintain the momentum of the Plan and
a budget will be required to cover the development and promotion of specific initiatives. The level
of your staff and financial resource will be dependent on your reasons for introducing a Plan. Remember
- over time the savings that you can make may negate the initial costs of the Plan.
PLAN PROMOTION
Your organisation needs to maintain the momentum of the Plan by continuously promoting
the individual initiatives and demonstrating their benefits and progress.
INTEGRATION INTO THE LONG TERM BUSINESS PLANNING
The development of your Plan is not a one-off event. The Plan will need to evolve
to take account of changes in the local transport situation and travel behaviour.
What can Travelwise NI do
to help?
Travelwise NI provides a range of services to help with workplace transport issues.
Site Specific Advice, access to the Travelwise NI Car Share database and help with the development of
a Workplace Travel Plan are a few of the options available.
To find out how Travelwise NI could help you and your Organisation, contact
the Travelwise NI Team on 0845 378 0908 or email info@travelwiseni.com
