A number of local authorities in the UK, including Brighton & Hove City Council, Surrey Council and Wandsworth London Borough Council, have implemented Staff Travel Plans which offer support and incentives to encourage sustainable modes of commuting and business travel amongst their staff. These plans also help to reduce local traffic congestion and pollution and contribute to reducing carbon emissions.
Common features of the travel plans include:
- Safe cycle parking and mileage rates for cyclists
- Showers and storage lockers
- Pool bicycles
- Season ticket loan schemes
- Car sharing
- Car club membership
- Changes to working arrangements, such as home working and video conferencing
- Flexible working hours to reduce peak travel
- Providing alternatively fuelled vehicles
- Provision of public transport information
Brighton & Hove City Council Travel Plan communicates the benefits of transport modes, along with common barriers to implementation, and has made the plan publically available to encourage dissemination to other organisations within the city (BHCC, 2004). The Travel Plan also uses financial incentives to sustainable transport such as cycle mileage rates and improved mileage rates for more efficient vehicles where car transport is necessary. The Travel Plan is shared in staff inductions to make all new members aware of the options available to them.
Through the ‘Travel Smart’ website, Surrey County Council shares best practice learning on sustainable travel and provides information on public transport, cycling, walking and smarter driving to staff and the wider public (Travel Smart, 2014). The Council also has its own internal lift share website which allows employees to find someone to share a car with for business or private transport (Surrey Lift Share, 2014) – it also allows non-drivers to register for a ‘passenger only’ place and provides details on the CO2 and cost savings from car-sharing (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Surrey lift share savings calculator (Surrey Lift Share, 2014)
Wandsworth London Borough Council was an early adopter of a Staff Travel Plan in 1999, which has successfully reduced the proportion of council staff driving to work from 58% in 1999 to 32% when last surveyed in 2010 (Wandsworth, 2014).