Workplace Travel Plans

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Information for Businesses

There is no precise format for a travel plan, but there are a number of important elements which a plan should include. It must be site specific and be flexible to change over time. The content of the travel plan will depend on your particular business, local surroundings and the existing bus and rail services, pedestrian and cycle routes as well as the road network.

This guidance provides advice on the following essential elements of a travel plan:

What are the benefits of a travel plan to my business?

An increasing number of businesses are adversely affected by increasing levels of traffic, congestion and on site parking problems. In Hampshire, traffic levels are predicted to rise by 40% by the year 2020 (from a base year of 1998) and there are economic, social and environmental costs involved with this trend. Travel plans help by:

  • Providing a means of doing a ‘stock take’ of the current situation, problems and opportunities to enable changes to take place
  • Reducing fleet management costs and travel expenses
  • Improving site access
  • Assisting with recruitment and retention by providing a range of means of accessing employment
  • Reducing car park maintenance costs
  • Improving company image
  • Contributes to environmental management systems
  • Improving staff well-being, health and fitness (Word document, 78.5KB)
  • Influencing key decision makers and building better relationships with the local community, public transport operators and local authorities

The development of a travel plan can also assist in meeting wider business objectives, including: air quality initiatives, achieving ISO14001 accreditation , energy efficiency and waste minimisation.

Roles and Responsibilities

To be successful, a plan needs the full commitment, support and participation of the management team. A travel plan co-ordinator also needs to be appointed - a person in the company who has responsibility for developing, implementing and reviewing the plan. Whether this is a dedicated, full time position or whether it forms a part of a persons wider responsibilities will depend on the size of the business and the problems that are being experienced with staff and business travel. The travel plan co-ordinator needs to be able to influence key decision makers and be supported with resources and budget where necessary to make improvements.

The role of the travel plan co-ordinator is likely to include:

  • Promotion and encouragement of a wide range of modes of travel
  • Ensuring information is provided to new and existing staff about the plan and the travel options available to them
  • Arranging staff travel and car park surveys and site audits
  • Working with public transport operators and monitoring demand for the services
  • Representing the organisation at local commuter forums (where they exist) or working with neighbouring businesses to encourage co-operation
  • Working with staff and interest groups
  • Organising awareness raising events and publicity
  • Liaison with the local authority

Site audits

Conducting a site audit is a useful way of doing a ‘stock take’ of the current on and off site facilities and services for assisting public transport use, walking and cycling. Guidance on the information that needs to be gathered can be found in the Travel plan resource pack for employers (available free of charge from the travel plan co-ordinator).  Alternatively, a sample site audit  form can be downloaded  (Word document, 64.5  KB)

Travel surveys

Conducting a travel survey is an important first step in developing a travel plan.  It is important that staff views are sought at the outset of developing a plan and they can be included by way of the survey. Focus groups and bicycle user groups (BUGs) could also be formed as necessary to provide valuable input on travel issues.

Follow up travel surveys should be conducted annually to monitor the success of the travel plan, but these may not need to be as detailed as the first round of surveys.

Download a travel survey form (Word document, 23.5 KB) 

Objectives and targets

There is always a good reason for developing a travel plan. A plan should seek to:

  • Reduce the need to travel and improve accessibility to the site for all those who do travel
  • Reduce parking related costs
  • Improve safety and health
  • Promote a wider choice of travel options and provide information about them
  • Raise awareness of travel and transport issues, including the economic, social and environment impacts

A travel plan is also a means of developing positive relationships with local authorities and public transport operators.

Targets should be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. The targets will be set in light of the results of the travel survey and with consideration to the local surroundings and the targets set in the County Council's Local Transport Plan.

Identifying Measures

A travel plan should include a package of measures aimed at encouraging and improving the environment for walking, cycling and public transport use as well as making the best use of car journeys. There is endless scope for innovation. The list below is by no means exhaustive, but it shows the range of measures which could be considered in the plan. Issues of equality should also be considered to assist those with mobility impairments.

Walking
  • Identify safe walking routes
  • Provide showers, changing facilities and lockers for storing clothes
  • Raise awareness of the health benefits of walking
  • Assist staff in accessing information about walking safely and appropriate clothing (see our Road Safety website and on line shop)
Cycling
  • Provide secure, well lit, covered cycle storage.
  • Provide interest free loans for the purchase of bicycles (up to £5000 can be provided without tax implications)
  • Provide showers, changing facilities and lockers for storing kit
  • Form a bicycle users group (BUG)
  • Offer staff practical cycle training. (See Wessex Cycle Training for more information)
  • Assist staff in accessing information about safe cycling and appropriate clothing (see our Road Safety website and on line shop)
  •  Provide pool bikes and mileage allowances for cycle use
  • Take part in Bike Week events 
  • Provide information about local cycle routes - many borough councils produce them. (see useful links) 
Public transport
  • Provide interest free loans to purchase season tickets (up to £5000 can be provided without tax implications)
  • Provide public transport information, available direct from the local operators or the council.
  • Working with local public transport providers to improve services and trial initiatives.
  • Provide works buses / shuttle buses
Reduce the need to travel
  • Allow staff to arrive and depart at more flexible times
  • Considering whether some staff could work a ‘compressed’ week, e.g. working 5 days hours in 4 days
  • Use email, internet and video conferencing to reduce the need for some formal meetings (see the Matisse toolkit for ideas)
Marketing
  • Provide information to visitors on how to access the site by means other than the car
  • Provide information at interview and to new recruits about the travel plan and travel options available
  • Make information about the travel plan and various modes of travel to the site easily available
  • Hold events to publicise the plan and its initiatives. Use this calendar to plan events (Word document, 30KB).
  • Publicise your travel plan achievements locally.  Submit a news item to this website. 
Car use
  • Introduce a car sharing scheme
  • Consider joining Hantscarshare.com for a fraction of the cost of developing your own software
  • Provide staff with information about a car cost calculator
  • Provide emergency ride home facility for car sharers
  • Obtain some copies of the 'Cutting your car use' book (available free of charge from the Travel Plan Adviser) 
  • Review car parking policy and introduce a management strategy
  • Review the issuing of car park permits to ensure a fair system
  • Consider charging for parking (see www.employeebenefits.co.uk/benefits/cars.html for more information)
Fleet vehicles
  • Review the use of fleet cars – fuels, engine size, availability to use, number of cars retained
  • Provide pool cars / bicycles
  • Investigate the use of alternative fuels and the location of fuelling stations
Motorcycles
  • Consider the need to provide facilities for those who travel by motorcycle / moped
Taxis
  • Consider the use of taxis by visitors to the site to link to other public transport services
Partnerships
  • Set up user groups / staff forums
  • Consider joining a local commuter forum
  • Get neighbouring businesses interested in travel planning 
  • Engage with the local authority and public transport operators
Visitors and customers
  • Provide information to visitors on how to access the site by means other than the car prior to their visit
  • Provide lifts from nearby public transport services
  • Provide 'in-store' information about taxis and public transport that can be used for subsequent visits
New recruits
  • Provide information prior to interview and at interview about the travel plan and options available
  • Consider the content of relocation packages offered
Deliveries
  • Identify whether fewer trips could be made by joining deliveries together
  • Use local suppliers
  • Could email and fax reduce the need for the delivery of documentation?

Marketing your plan

It is very important to keep staff informed about the options available to them. Some sort of travel awareness campaign is required and can consist of targeted e-mails, information on the companies Internet/Intranet site, posters, information provided at team briefings, competitions, events such as cycle to work days linked in with national travel weeks and so on. See the calendar of events (Word document, 30 KB) for events you could promote.

Maintaining momentum

It is easy to have an initial burst of enthusiasm and then find that once the plan is documented, everything goes quiet. This is why it is important to monitor the over all plan and the measures that have been developed as part of it. Travel planning is an evolving process and changes are likely to be needed. Enthusiasm can be stimulated by events and competitions linked in to national events.

Monitoring and review

It is important to review progress against the targets at least annually. It will be possible to look at the plans strengths and weaknesses and consider the introduction of new initiatives.

Staff travel surveys should be done annually or every other year to monitor changes in travel to the site.

Costs and tax implications

A good business case can usually be put together for developing a travel plan, and although costs can be incurred, the potential benefits to be had can outweigh the expenditure. There is a potential to reduce fleet management and company car costs, fuel reimbursement costs, car park maintenance costs, staff lateness due to congestion and unproductive staff time spent travelling.

The potential costs:

  • Travel plan co-ordinator's time
  • Conducting and analysing site audits and staff travel surveys
  • measures implemented as part of the plan
  • there may also be additional staff time involved in meetings and providing support to the co-ordinator

Measures introduced need to be based on travel survey results and staff consultation to avoid expensive charges being made which few people benefit from.

The home to work journey is considered a private journey for employees, so any help that an employer provides towards this cost is taxable. However, there are exemptions and it is advisable to contact your local tax office as some expenditure can be offset against taxable income.

Tax exemptions include:

  • Interest free loans to buy season tickets and bicycles, up to the value of £5000.
  • The value of employer provided car parking
  • Work buses with 9+ seats
  • ‘emergency ride home’ for car sharers
  • Staff time running the plan is fully tax deductible
  • Subsidies to public bus services

Taxation laws favour more fuel efficient vehicles and give less favour to company cars as benefits. More information is available from the Inland Revenue at http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk

What to do now

When it comes to developing an actual plan, we strongly recommend that you contact us so that we can work together and assist you. It is important that we know about the measures you propose and any barriers you foresee – there may be some issues we can help you overcome. Ask yourself these important questions:

  • Is there senior management support to proceed?
  • Where are we located? How many sites do we have locally?
  • What does the surrounding transport infrastructure consist of?
  • What is the nature of our business?
  • How many staff do we employ?
  • What problems are we encountering?

You can also obtain a copy of the Travel Plan Resource Pack for Employers produced by Transport Energy which contains lots of useful information. This is available free of charge by calling 0845 6021425. It is also available electronically at www.energysavingstrust.org.uk