Travel Plans Flashcards
Travel plans are not themselves a TDM instrument, they are…
(and 3 things they are trying to promote)
A delivery mechanism or strategy for transport-focussed measures tailored to meet the need of individual sites/ aimed at promoting:
1) Geener, cleaner travel choices
2) Reducing reliance on the private car
3) It may also seek to, or inadvertently, bring about health benefits
Who initiates a travel plan?
They can be initiated by either an organisation on it’s own accord or when told to do so by the government.
Why are travel plans formulated by individual organisations and not government?
It is believed that individuals are better influenced by their employers than local authorities.
Furthermore, it’s politically unpopular for government to restrict mobility.
There is also no cost to the government as the organisation has to do all the work!
Which sort of organisations typically have travel plans?
Organisations with a large number of employees, typically in urban areas.
Eg, retail parks, shopping centres, hospitals and universities.
7 typical elements within a travel plan
1) Provision of bike sheds, showers, etc.
2) Car sharing scheme (websites and good spaces)
3) Subsidised public transport (or dedicated transport solutions such as GSK, BSkyB)
4) Parking cash-out
5) Encourage home working
6) Flexible office locations
7) Flexible working hours
Examples of four organisations with travel plans
1) GSK, Brentford
2) Sky TV, Isleworth
3) Rolls Royce, Derby
4) Loughborough University
4 reasons why an organisation would make a travel plan
Roby (2010) found:
1) 68% of organisations had a travel plan to gain planning permission
2) 31% of organisations had a travel plan because they faced issues with car parking capacity and congestion
3) 28% of organisations with travel plans cited CSR and environmental concerns as motivators
____
4) Cost savings, it costs ~£800 p.a. to maintain a car parking space!
3 things about the effectiveness of travel plans
1) Good for commuting / education and business trips as there is a strong organisational influence and the frequent and peaked nature of journeys. It’s also effective for large scale planned events such as Glastonbury
2) At site level, they may reduce up to 30% of drive alone trips if there is strict enforcement and implementation of well designed measures
3) At a UK network level, they contribute to just a 0.75% reduction, this may be because not all organisations have travel plans and not all trips are work related.
5 reasons why organisations may not have travel plans?
1) It takes up resources - businesses exist to make profit, not to manage local congestion issues.
2) They might not care!
3) Hostile employee reaction (and issues of staff retention)
4) There is no regulation requiring a travel plan, organisations will only make one if they have to
5) Poor alternatives of public transport - particularly if the business is in a rural area
Mnemonic for making travel plans better
MOTSIE
What’s the overall concept behind re-orientating travel plans?
It needs to be sold more as a hassle-free concept which can help businesses increase profits.
What 4 things should the future of travel plans be?
1) They shouldn’t be a niche product anymore.
2) They have potential to become a powerful tool to deliver local transport solutions
3) The government and industry need to better support travel plans
4) Travel plans need to be re-orientated to be more relevant to organisations.
