« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
One Introduction
An overview of the benefits of Travel Plans and the reasons why organisations develop them
Introduction
Travel Plans can help reduce costs, increase productivity, improve the well-being of staff and will reflect positively on your organisation's commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
A Travel Plan is a package of measures that are tailored to the transport needs of individual sites. The overall aim is to promote more sustainable travel choices and reduce reliance on the car.
Walking could replace those 20% of all car journeys that are less than one mile - the equivalent of a 20 minute walk.
As an organisation you may already be doing a lot of the right things - encouraging car-sharing, providing loans to purchase season tickets and using telephone or video conferencing in place of face-to face meetings.
However, developing and implementing a formalised Travel Plan will allow your organisation to reap the maximum benefit from these and other measures, with all the benefits that positive change in this area can bring.
Travel Planning is a dynamic process that should develop with time, adapting to the changing circumstances of your organisation and the environment in which it works. It is not a one-off event to be undertaken and completed or a document to be produced and put on a shelf. Rather, Travel Planning is a valuable management tool.
Plans can cover a single site or a cluster of organisations such as a business park. For larger organisations, an overarching Travel Plan can standardise measures across many sites for all staff. In general, they are about providing choice and encouraging a blend of travel modes and working patterns. They are also about introducing and promoting a travel hierarchy with walking, cycling and public transport at the top.
Cycling to work can save on car parking costs - more than 6 bikes can be parked in just one car space.
The important thing is to make a range of alternative options to car use available and attractive, as well as supporting and encouraging the decision to change. Measures should be tailored to not only the site, but to groups of individuals within an organisation, providing a wide range of measures and options to suit everyone. The Travel Plan should inform the infrastructure requirements when developing new sites.
Successful Travel Plans, those that continue to be relevant to the organisation's needs, are developed through consultation and reviewed on a regular basis. They must have senior management support, a dedicated resource to provide ongoing momentum (ideally a Travel Plan Co-ordinator) and clear objectives and targets that are monitored on an ongoing basis. Where possible, Plans are best delivered in partnership with other organisations and should incorporate a communication and marketing plan.
This guidance is intended to give an overview of why your organisation should consider developing a Travel Plan, highlighting the benefits of introducing one and providing you with assistance in developing your own Plan.
The amount of work and level of detail in a Travel Plan will be proportionate to the size of the organisation. Smaller organisations will benefit from using this framework on a less formal basis, for example providing information to customers and suppliers on how to access their sites by all modes of transport or from reducing business travel expenses.
This document and the supporting website - www.chooseanotherway.com - also describe many measures that larger organisations can benefit from, which promote, facilitate and encourage more sustainable and active travel.
Why create a Travel Plan?
Travel Planning makes sound business sense - no matter what kind of activity your organisation is engaged in. Even small organisations and sole-traders can reduce costs and improve productivity by shifting to more sustainable transport options.
Above all, Travel Planning can help safeguard our environment, our health and our communities.
Benefits to businesses and other organisations
Regularly active employees take 27% fewer days sick leave, have improved productivity and higher morale. Physical Activity Task Force, 2003
Here are just a few of the ways in which organisations of all sizes can benefit from Travel Planning:
Reduced transport costs
With fuel costs rising, reducing transport overheads is becoming increasingly important for many organisations.
Increased productivity
Easing congestion around busy sites and reducing working time lost during at-work journeys boosts productivity.
Reduced need for parking facilities
Travel Planning can help you ease parking problems around your premises or remove the need for expensive parking facilities altogether.
Reduced absenteeism
Where staff shift to more active modes of transport - walking or cycling - the knock-on benefits to their health and well-being can also reduce rates of sickness absence.
Cyclists are more likely to arrive at work and appointments on time, as they don't often get stuck in traffic!
Demonstration of corporate social responsibility
Having a good Travel Plan shows leadership and demonstrates your commitment to environmental issues, making your organisation more attractive to potential customers and new recruits. Promoting walking and cycling can also improve the health of your employees show that you take such issues seriously. Meanwhile, a reduction in traffic levels around your site can enhance your standing with neighbouring communities and other nearby organisations.
Environmental Accreditation
A Travel Plan will help in gaining environmental accreditation such as ISO14001 and help you meet Corporate Climate Change Commitments and Carbon Management Plans.
Meeting planning obligations
When developing new or existing sites - especially for larger proposals - having a detailed Travel Plan in place is often an essential part of planning applications.
Aiding staff recruitment and retention
Many measures that encourage more sustainable transport choices - such as flexible start and finish times - have added side-benefits for employees. Not least, they can help your employees save money and time. By making your premises more accessible, you may also widen the pool of potential recruits and attract and retain individuals who value active travel as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Enhanced partnerships
The process of developing and implementing a Travel Plan can help develop closer working relationships with neighbours, public transport operators and local authorities
Delivery on other commitments
Travel Plans are also able to help deliver on a number of other agendas including, Equal Opportunities, Sustainability, efficiency savings, Health and Safety, Investors in People and Healthy Working Lives.
Benefits to individuals
The benefits Travel Planning can bring to individuals are considerable. By shifting away from the car and walking or cycling for all or part of the way, people can help improve their health and well-being.
Walking for half an hour uses an average of 140 calories, driving uses just 55.
Sharing vehicles can reduce wear and tear on private cars and save money on fuel and other running costs. The same can be true of using public transport, walking or cycling.
Individuals may also save time on commutes and enjoy more journeys without having to worry about traffic. Environmentally conscious individuals will gain satisfaction from knowing they have been able to reduce their carbon emissions. Others may appreciate an enhanced work-life balance and the option to walk or cycle more regularly a part of an active, healthy lifestyle.
Environmental and community benefits
In Scotland in 2005, we travelled over 43 billion road kilometres, accounting for 19% of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the need for travel, and in particular reducing dependence on the car, are key to safeguarding the environment and protecting all our futures.
Latest forecasts suggest road traffic in Scotland will grow by 22% between 2005 and 2015 (figure from Scotland's National Transport Strategy, Scottish Executive, 2006). Doing nothing to reduce traffic could result in a number of our communities experiencing further congestion, parking chaos, noise and pollution.
Conversely, Travel Planning can aid development of our public transport network, walking and cycling routes to the benefit of everyone. Reducing the need for all types of travel, especially car use, promises a cleaner, quieter, healthier and more accessible future for all.
About This document
This guidance outlines the key steps in developing a Travel Plan but will also be of value to those wishing to encourage more sustainable transport choices without a formal Plan.
Chapter 2 provides a detailed overview of the steps involved in delivering a Travel Plan, including advice on effective monitoring and promoting plans.
Chapter 3 discusses the various types of measures you may consider implementing.
The Annex provides a list of contacts that can provide valuable additional information.
Smaller organisations may wish to use elements of this guidance, especially Chapter 3, to implement measures on a less formal basis.
Each section includes guidance on the process, and details of where to find further information.
It can be either used as a stand-alone document, or you can use it in conjunction with the guidance, case studies and tools that are available on the supporting website www.chooseanotherway.com.
« Previous | Contents | Next »