Sustainable Travel Projects and Initiatives for Businesses Travel Plan Guidance for Businesses Produced by Sustainability Team October 2013
Introduction Buckinghamshire County Council s (BCC) Sustainability Team promotes all forms of sustainable travel to businesses, schools, developers and residents. The aim is to reduce single occupancy car use and encourage more sustainable forms of travel. There are a number of benefits to travelling sustainably, including: Reduced cost on employee expenses, travel, car parking Efficient use of Company Vehicles, i.e. Car share Reduce time staff spend travelling Happier more productive workforce Improve staff health Less congestion reduced travel time Corporate Image - environmentally friendly status Better relationship with community less parking issues, noise Provide transport facilities employee relocation more accepted. Reducing your carbon footprint Aid business continuity planning (enabling home working) This document has been developed to provide information for businesses about sustainable travel projects, campaigns and initiatives which they can become involved in.
1. Campaigns Buckinghamshire County Council aims to provide ideas for sustainable travel campaigns which businesses can run throughout the year. Information about campaigns will be communicated to each business named contact by BCC throughout the year, including ideas of how to promote the campaigns to your employees. Examples of campaigns include: Month January February March/April (dependent on where Easter falls) May (usually May, we follow the national week) June (usually June, we follow the national week) June (usually June, we follow the national week) September (usually September, we follow the national week) October November (usually November, we follow the national week) December Campaign A New Year campaign which may focus on taking a fresh look at your journey or Valentines car share promotion. Easter themed car share promotion. National Walk to Work Week includes a national inter-business competition. Green Transport Week - National campaign which encourages employees to leave the car at home and try a new green mode of travel. Bike Week - National campaign to promote cycling European Mobility Week - A week dedicated to looking at alternatives to car travel. Liftshare Week - National campaign to promote the benefits of car sharing and encourage employees to give it a try! Commute Smart Week - a national week dedicated to thinking about the work commute and promoting the use of sustainable travel on this journey. Christmas themed car share promotion. *Please note we may not promote every campaign each year. These are examples of the types of campaigns we promote or support.
2. Projects Buckinghamshire County Council is engaged in and runs a number of sustainable travel projects. Current or existing projects that businesses can be involved in are as follows Sustainable Routes The Sustainable routes project is aimed at businesses to help them reduce business travel costs (for business mileage only, not commuting). It has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Businesses can gain up to 1,000 part funding towards reducing business travel costs and this money can be spent on items such as: Video conferencing equipment Connecting to office servers from home Laptops to support home working Real time bus information Bike racks or shower facilities that enable you staff the cycle to appointments. Businesses are eligible for the grant if they are: A small to medium size enterprise with no more than 250 employees. Must be based in the South East (please see Sustainable Routes website for locations grant is available). The project runs until April 2013. For more information about Sustainable Routes please visit the website: www.sustainableroutes.co.uk/ Area specific sustainable travel projects BCC works not only with businesses to promote sustainable travel but also works with commuters, residential developments and schools to try and reduce car use. The projects below relate to initiatives which have been aimed at specific areas or communities. We would like to encourage businesses to become involved in these area wide projects and engage with the local community to try and reduce congestion and promote a healthy lifestyle in your area. Action for Aylesbury Action for Aylesbury is an area wide project encouraging everyone to take Action for Aylesbury. This includes thinking about: what we do with our waste reducing energy
using local producers where possible thinking about how we travel An Action for Aylesbury pack was developed as part of the project and this can be found on the web site www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport Walk Wycombe Walk Wycombe is a project designed to embed walking in the daily routine for those who live and work in High Wycombe, as a foundation to a healthier lifestyle. Other features of Walk Wycombe include Walkit.com, an easy to use urban walking route planner where you can get a route map between any two points, including your journey time, calorie burn, step count, and carbon saving. You can visit the website at www.walkit.com If your business wishes to promote Walk Wycombe we have a downloadable poster and pull banner available to borrow. Please email travelchoice@buckscc.gov.uk for more information. Change for Chesham Change for Chesham is a campaign focussed on encouraging people to leave their cars at home and try alternative modes of transport such as walking, cycling, car sharing and using public transport. The vision is for this campaign to capture the community spirit and encourage residents and those working in Chesham to make permanent changes.
3. Initiatives The following initiatives can be used to encourage active or sustainable travel. Car Car share There are a number of benefits associated with car sharing. These include: Saving money on fuel, car parking and running costs and business travel. Reducing air pollution Reduce road congestion You do not need a car to car share, you can register for car sharing as a passenger Having company on your journey. Car share is an easy way of reducing business mileage and also reducing congestion on the roads on the journey to and from work. Buckinghamshire County Council promotes car sharing through the website www.buckscarshare.co.uk which is hosted by company Liftshare. You can register your usual journey or one off journey on the website. You will then be able to view other making a similar journey at similar times. To register for Bucks CarShare please visit the website www.buckscarshare.co.uk Alternatively car sharing could be managed within your company. You may like to organise postcode coffee clubs in order for car sharers to get to know each other or keep an online system which details where employees can log journeys they are taking to meetings and others can contact that employee to link up journeys. To encourage car sharing you could also: Allocate priority parking spaces for car sharers Provide a guaranteed ride home for car sharers (ie. free taxi ride) Have regular incentives for car sharers e.g. free prize draws, car wash events, free MOT Car parking Car parking may be a contentious part of your Travel Plan but it is important car park management is included in a Travel Plan. It costs around 400 a year to maintain one car parking space (sometimes considerably more) and therefore it is in a business interest to have good car park management in place.
You could: Identify priority users of car park e.g. people with disabilities, shift workers, car sharers, those who need access to a vehicle through out the day. Introduce or increase charges for car parking and use money raised for travel plan initiatives Re-allocate car parking spaces for cycle parking Reduce number of car parking permits allocated Introduce an exclusion zone restricting car parking permits for staff living in close proximity to the site Provide sustainable transport allowances for staff who surrender car parking permits Review policy on providing parking permits for new staff Offer cash incentives for staff willing to give up parking permits Remove reserved car park spaces for senior management Low Carbon Vehicles In the last few months plug-in vehicle charging points have gone live in Buckinghamshire at locations as diverse as the National Trust s Waddesdon Manor to railway stations on the Chiltern Line. As a member of the Milton Keynes Plugged in Places scheme Transport for Buckinghamshire have worked with partners to facilitate new charging points across Buckinghamshire. The Plugged in Places scheme is one of eight government projects established to encourage the take up of electric vehicles, which bring many benefits not least improved air quality and lower journey costs, and currently the governments Plugged in car grant provides up to 25% of the cost of an electric vehicle up to a limit of 5000. Recently the Department for Transport announced that van buyers will be able to receive 20% - up to 8000 - off the cost of a plug-in van. For more information please visit the web page www.dft.gov.uk/topics/sustainable/olev/plug-in-car-grant A new web page has been created to provide further information and useful links and information on the location of the new charging points and how to gain access which can be found here www.buckscc.gov.uk/environment/sustainability/sustainable-travel/plug-invehicles/
Cycling The benefits of cycling include: Improving health of staff through active travel. It is recommended adults are active for 30 minutes a day, cycling to work could count as part of this 30 minutes. Reducing congestion Reducing your carbon footprint Cycle as a mode of transport is free, environmentally friendly and has health benefits. To promote cycling at your workplace you could: Provide: Maps showing cycle routes to the workplace (information about Aylesbury Gemstone cycle routes maps and county wide cycle maps please visit www.cycleaylesbury.co.uk) Showers and changing rooms Lockers for keeping a change of clothes Drying room/facilities Sufficient covered, well lit, secure cycle parking to meet needs Pool bikes Insurance cover for those cycling on work business Interest free loans for sustainable transport purchases e.g. bikes and their accessories Incentives for cyclists e.g. a cycle repair tool kit, discount at cycle shops, free fluorescent safety equipment, free wet weather clothing (the latter ideas could be branded) Access to adult cycle training Regular Dr Bike maintenance sessions Signage for cycle parking Develop/Establish: A bike Users Group A bike buddy scheme Regular cyclists breakfasts Lunchtime, weekend or after work cycle rides Introduce: The Government Cycle2Work initiative. (For more information about Cycle to Work schemes please visit the website www.cycleaylesbury.co.uk/page/cycle2work-scheme.php) A cycle mileage allowance Cycle couriers for local deliveries Occasional casual dress
Buckinghamshire County Council has also developed a cycling initiative which workplaces might like to be involved in. This initiative is called icycle. Details of the initiative are below. icycle icycle is an innovative way of encouraging staff to get on their bikes and cycle more. Staff can join an icycle team regardless of skill or confidence level and will benefit from the encouragement and team spirit that being an icycle team member will bring. icycle teams need a team leader someone who is enthusiastic about cycling and has the ability to motivate others to fit cycling into their normal, everyday lives. The team can be made up of anyone who wants to cycle a bit more, and there are guidelines available to both the team leader and team members so they get the most out of their icycle experience. Team members log their journeys on the icycle website monitoring their progress and seeing how many calories they are burning. They will be rewarded with prizes when they reach bronze, silver and gold targets. For more information please email travelchoice@buckscc.gov.uk Walking The benefits of walking include: Improving health of staff through active travel Reducing congestion Reducing your carbon footprint Ways to promote walking in your work place include: Providing maps of walking routes within feasible distance of our workplace Opening up short cuts for pedestrian access across our site` Providing showers and changing rooms Providing lockers for keeping a change of clothes Providing drying room/facilities Promoting parking away from the office and walking the remainder of the journey (park and walk). Employers and employees could try and negotiate a park and walk site to leave cars. Buckinghamshire County Council has also developed a walking initiative which workplaces might like to be involved in. This initiative is called Troopers. Details of the initiative are below.
Troopers Troopers is a walking initiative which is aimed at businesses and has been developed by BCC. It is an innovative way of encouraging staff to fit a bit more walking into their everyday life. Anyone can join the Troop regardless of fitness or confidence and will benefit from the encouragement and team spirit that being a Trooper will bring. Troops will need a Super Trooper a leader to encourage others. Troopers will create challenges for themselves and mark off the miles on a poster, celebrating when they have reached their goal. They also present their senior management team with the option of making a contribution to a chosen charity when they reach their target. Troopers keep a record of the distances they have walked in their own Trooper diaries, and Super Troopers also have their own guide to get things going. For more information about Troopers please email travelchoice@buckscc.gov.uk Walk It Walk It is a walking route planner website which generates walking route maps from specified locations to your destination. Both Aylesbury and High Wycombe are mapped on the Walk It website. Therefore businesses in both of these towns may wish to promote the website to employees. Please visit the following website for further information: www.walkit.com Public Transport Public transport may be a good alternative option to the car you could promote to those who perhaps live too far to walk or cycle to work. To promote transport at your workplace you could: Provide relevant bus and train timetables at work Post public transport information on the website as part of the visitor directions to the site Encourage public transport use for business travel Subsidise public transport passes Provide a company bus that links with existing public transport services e.g. a shuttle bus between work and railway station Provide an interest free loan for sustainable transport purchases e.g. season bus pass or Park and Ride tickets Provide links from web site to public transport journey planners e.g. www.traveline.org.uk
Working practices You could: Businesses may want to consider flexible working patterns or home working. More companies are now looking to help employees achieve a better work life balance. Incorporating flexible working practices may help to promote this. Flexible working practices will also help cut down peak time traffic. Allow flexible working regimes e.g. 9 day fortnights, flexible working hours, working day fitted to public transport times Allow home working when appropriate Provide appropriate technology for home working Provide video conferencing facilities Encourage phone teleconferencing Find out about any local telecentres If you are a small medium sized business (based in the Thames Valley area), you may be entitled to apply for a Sustainable Routes grant which could give match funding for this kind of technology (see Projects section). Promotion Promotion is an important element of any Travel Plan. Without informing your staff about any events, campaigns or initiatives they are unlikely to be successful. Ways in which you could promote your plan include: Using existing in-house newsletters to keep staff up to date with progress on the plan Preparing a leaflet detailing the travel plan for all new staff Preparing a sustainable transport display or stand Preparing a how to get here guide promoting sustainable transport choices tailored to the site Organising a promotional event such as a bike to work day or car free day Promoting health benefits of regular walking or cycling By demonstrating senior management/union support e.g. participating in cycle to work days or relinquishing parking privileges By introducing a travel plan working group By providing a dedicated travel plan notice board for posters By alternating the focus of the travel plan campaigns to prevent them becoming stale By creating dedicated web pages from the travel plan
By offering links to Traveline etc to all staff and visitors for personal travel plans Promoting National Sustainable Transport weeks and/or events Promote using a sustainable mode of travel once a week. You may also have other means of communicating and promoting initiatives to staff members, please feel free to use these avenues of communication to promote your travel planning work to staff.
Useful websites Some businesses have a travel page on their website or on a staff intranet page; these are good location to promote useful websites. In addition any promotional literature which contains directions to your business could point to useful sustainable travel information available. Here is some useful website you might like to promote to staff: www.sustrans.org.uk/ - Sustrans is a sustainable travel charity promoting walking, cycling and public transport. www.nhs.uk/change4life/pages/change-for-life.aspx - Change for Life is a national campaign encouraging people to make a change in their lifestyle, whether this is to eat more healthily or to get active. Walk4Life and Cycle4Life are part of the Change for Life project and these subsections can be selected from the Change for Life website. www.wfh.naturalengland.org.uk/ - Information about leisure and organised walks in your area. walkit.com/ - An urban route planner website (Aylesbury and High Wycombe) have been mapped on this system. www.dft.gov.uk/topics/sustainable/ - A Department for Transport page which gives background to sustainable travel. www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport - Transport for Buckinghamshire homepage. Transport for Buckinghamshire web pages includes information about sustainable travel as well as information about road works and public transport. traveline.info/ - Public transport information. www.nationalrail.co.uk Train timetable information www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport - Transport for Buckinghamshire website www.ctc.org.uk/ - A national cycling organisation
4. Business Travel Plans We encourage all businesses to develop a Travel Plan in order to bring together all the initiatives, campaigns and projects outlined above. Your Travel Plan will be your working document which explains how you are going to promote sustainable travel across your business. Buckinghamshire County Council can assist businesses in developing their Travel Plans. A template is available to help businesses to develop their plans. Please contact your Travel Planning Officer in order to gain a copy of the template. Alternatively email travelchoice@buckscc.gov.uk for more information. Once a Travel Plan has been developed a short Annual Travel Plan template has been developed in order for you business to access the progress which has been made over the course of the year and for you to highlight your achievements. An online monitoring system, called itrace is also available to businesses. Named contact It is essential for a business to have a named contact for their Travel Planning work so all campaigns and correspondence Buckinghamshire County Council sends out goes to the correct person in the company or organisation. It is equally as important to let us know if there is a change of contact so we can continue to provide you with information. itrace itrace is an online monitoring system for your Travel Plan. Transport for Buckinghamshire can set up your business on itrace. We can also provide you with links to surveys which can be sent around your company for easy analysis of a staff travel survey through which you can monitor your Travel Planning activities. Contact Us For more information about sustainable travel please email travelchoice@buckscc.gov.uk