Our Expertise: Travel Plans
What is a Travel Plan?
A travel plan is a package of measures aimed at promoting greener, cleaner travel choices and reducing reliance on cars. By reducing the amount of car traffic associated with your site, a travel plan will help you tackle your transport and traffic problems.
The inclusion of a travel plan is an increasingly common feature of developments. They aim to reduce pollution and congestion by private car use and encourage alternative means of suitable transport.
Government policies and guidance encourage the adoption of travel plans throughout the UK. Often travel plans are introduced as part of a Section 106 Agreement, secured through planning condition or voluntarily adopted.
There are a huge variety of green travel measures that can be implemented, with varying degrees of effectiveness. No single measure is consistently effective across different sites. Your travel plan must be tailored to the specific circumstances of your site.
A travel plan may sometimes be referred to as a:
• Green Transport Plan
• Green Travel Plan
• Company Travel Plan
• Company Transport Plan
• Commuter Plan
• School Travel plan
• Residential Travel Plan
The Need for a Travel Plan?
The requirements for travel plans are many and varied. A travel plan can be used as a business tool to solve parking and accessibility problems or many be a requirement for securing planning permission. A travel plan is a means of demonstrating a corporate environmental image.
You may need a travel plan if:
• you are required to produce a travel plan to accompany a planning
• application or as part of a Section 106 agreement
• you have problems with parking
• there are accessibility problems associated with your site
• you want to improve the environmental image of your organisation and may
• be considering linking your travel to your environmental management, or
• you want to develop a travel plan as part of your business
Even if your organisation is small, a travel plan is still relevant. The process should be similar, but on a smaller scale.
Although costs of a scheme can initially appear daunting, travel plans should be regarded as a help and not a burden.
Government guidance now states that Local Transport Plans should set out how local authorities will encourage the adoption of travel plans by major employers and that they should develop their own travel plan to lead by example. Travel plans are now applied throughout the UK to a wide range of land uses where there is an organisation in a position to prepare and carry out the travel plan, such as an employer/landlord or management company.
Government Policy & Guidance
Local, national and international policies and guidance have been produced in respect of sustainable development including:
• Rio Earth Summit (1992)
• Kyoto Climate Change Conference (1997)
• New Deal for Transport; Better for Everyone (1998)
• Planning Policy Guidance (PPG13) Transport (2001)
• Using the planning Process to secure Travel Plans: A Good Practise Guide
• (2002)
• Making Travel Plans Work (2002)
• A Travel Plan Resource Pack for Employers (2003)
Sustainable Development & Transport Policy
In addition to travel plans for workplace locations, current transport policies also encourage a wide range of initiatives including:
• Safer routes to school
• Improvements to bus routes and services
• Re-allocation of road capacity to give priority to buses, taxis and cycles
• Discounts on public transport fares
• Tele-working arrangements to reduce the need for journeys to work
• Marketing of journey planning to individuals
• Cycle route improvements
• Taxation adjustments to encourage change in car use
• Parking charges to discourage all day parking, and
• Congestion charging, such as in Central London
Aims & Objectives of Travel Plans
The aims and objectives of a travel plan are to:
• Reduce the impact of travel and transport on the environment
• Improve access to a site by various modes of travel
• Reduce reliance on the car
• Reduce car traffic during peak periods on the local road network, and
• Provide benefits to employees and visitors in terms of choice of access and
• improved travel facilities
Did You Know?
• In 2001, 70% of the working population travelled to work by car
• accounting for a total of 17 million people
• In London, 41% of commuters travelled to work by car
• The average car commuter trip is 9.6 miles
• The average journey to work took 25 minutes
• A total of 3.4% of the total workforce usually work at home, or in the
• same grounds or buildings as their home
Benefits of a Travel Plan
Benefits arising from a travel plan include:
• Improved health and fitness levels with cost and time savings
• Increased productivity from a healthier workforce
• Strengthened environmental performance, image and PR
• Reduced impact on the environment - A travel plan can also be a
• component of an Environmental Management System and provide a step
• towards environmental accreditation such as ISO 14001
• Reduced on-site congestion, pollution, and improved access for visitors
• and deliveries
• Increased travel choice
• Securing planning permission for further development
• Cost savings include tax incentives
• Reduced parking demand and maintenance
• Possible revenue from parking charges
• Improved car park safety and cost effectiveness
• Improved safety of routes to and from your site
• Reduced cost and time spent on commuting and business travel
• Improved staff retention and recruitment
• Enhanced image within the local and wider community
Where more than one organisation occupies a site, it may be of benefit to join forces to produce a combined travel plan
Contents of a Typical Travel Plan
The Transport Energy ‘Travel Plan Resource Pack for Employers’ suggest that a travel plan should contain the following elements:
• Background to the organisation including the site location(s), number of
• employees, typical working hours
• Objectives - identify what you are trying to achieve from your travel plan
• Scope of the plan - identify the travel elements of your organisation's
• business activity which the plan is addressing
• Action - identify the proposed actions/measures of achieving your stated
• objective
• Marketing - identify how you will market the plan and the elements
• contained within it
• Targets - identify targets to determine whether your objectives are being
• achieved
• Monitoring - identify how you will monitor the effectiveness of your travel
• plan, what will be monitored and who will be responsible for monitoring
The occupier is usually responsible for the implementation of a travel plan. However, it is recommended that a Travel Plan Co-ordinator be appointed to undertake day-to-day implementation. Each travel plan is relevant for a specific length of time and requires review and redevelopment. It is a ‘living document’, which is constantly in need of review and refinement to identify areas of improvement. It needs to be carefully monitored to show effective progress.
CEC Services & Capability
Cole Easdon Consultants has considerable experience in the preparation, implementation and management of travel plans. Our experience with leading organisations has provided us with the necessary skills to solve and better manage travel issues. Travel plans we have recently undertaken include:
• Weymouth College (Education)
• The Central School Of Speech & Drama, Swiss Cottage (Education)
• Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy, Lewisham (Education)
• MagicLand(Soft Play Centre), Cirencester (Leisure)
• United Utilities (Office)
• Erith town centre, LB Bexley (Retail)
• Poole Railway Station Redevelopment (Residential & Hotel)
• Charlton Athletic Football Club (Leisure)
• Lingley Mere Business Park, Warrington (Office)
Our own professional and dedicated team provide advice and prepare travel plans for schools, private companies, colleges/universities, healthcare organisations, leisure and local authorities.
With almost twenty years experience providing engineering and transportation design solutions, we can provide expert advice to develop and implement travel plans including future monitoring and evaluation.
It is Cole Easdon Consultants' aim to deliver consistent, high quality, practical advice on time and within budget.
To help you produce and manage you travel plan we can:
• Identify customer objectives
• Research travel and transport solutions
• Collect, analyse and collate data and information
• Present research findings and recommendations to clients
• Maintain close client contact to ensure all levels of service are timely,
• professional and of the highest quality
• Cultivate and maintain corporate relations in line with the latest thinking
• Attend client orientation meetings
• Develop client action plans providing a specific implementation strategy for
• all levels of service
• Help to obtain planning permission and achieve planned expansion
• Identify opportunities to reduce car use amongst your users through travel
• surveys
• Assist with the implementation and management of an existing travel plan
• Undertake a full site and facilities audit of existing travel infrastructure and
• services including accessibility by public transport, cycling and walking.
• The site surveys also includes a full review of existing car parking policies
• and space allocation
• Coordinate the monitoring and evaluation programme for the travel plan,
• including target setting
• Be first point of contact for anyone wishing to find out more about travel
• plan initiatives
• Present the business case to secure a budget to develop the travel plan
• and ensure its efficient and effective use
• Facilitate ‘quick wins’- effective solutions for low or nil cost
• Bespoke travel surveys can be produced to determine travel patterns and
• behaviour including on-line surveys. The information gathering at a
• necessary level of detail is the core for developing an effective travel plan
• Analyse where employees live in relation to travel services and develop
• appropriate policies
• Enable clients to see a full picture of relocation options with regard to
• travel accessibility and actual time taken to travel
• Motivate others
• Coordinate partnership working
• ‘Champion’ the cause
• Implement a car-sharing scheme through either a simple database or
• closed intranet or more sophisticated open access Internet software
• systems
• Assistance with approaching and working with your local authority
• Facilitate focus groups/workshops to develop specific initiatives
• Assist with negotiations with public transport operations
• Advise on the development and implementation of a marketing strategy for
• the plan, and
• Manage the travel plan on behalf of the client. A dedicated member of our
• team works closely with the client site to ensure successful implementation
Cole Easdon Consultants is a well-respected and independent company specialising in transportation, hydrology and civil engineering. We maintain good relations with local authorities, government agencies, professional organisations and other complimentary bodies.
We seek to adopt a flexible and common sense approach suited to your specific requirements. From our experience, we have a practical understanding of what targets can be realistically achieved within set timescales and always have our client's needs in mind with regard to best value.
Please contact us if you would like an informal discussion on your organisation's travel plan requirements.
Further Advice
The Association for Commuter Transport (ACT)
Tel: 0207 348 1987 www.act-uk.com
HM Revenue & Customs
A Fact Sheet for Employers setting up Green Travel Plans
www.hmrc.gov.uk/green-transport/travel-plans.htm
National Atmospheric Emission Inventory
Tel: 01235 463 356
Office of the Data Protection Registrar
Tel: 01625 545 745
British Council for Offices
Tel: 020 7283 4588 www.bco.org.uk
A travel plan is a package of measures aimed at promoting greener, cleaner travel choices and reducing reliance on cars. By reducing the amount of car traffic associated with your site, a travel plan will help you tackle your transport and traffic problems.
The inclusion of a travel plan is an increasingly common feature of developments. They aim to reduce pollution and congestion by private car use and encourage alternative means of suitable transport.
Government policies and guidance encourage the adoption of travel plans throughout the UK. Often travel plans are introduced as part of a Section 106 Agreement, secured through planning condition or voluntarily adopted.
There are a huge variety of green travel measures that can be implemented, with varying degrees of effectiveness. No single measure is consistently effective across different sites. Your travel plan must be tailored to the specific circumstances of your site.
A travel plan may sometimes be referred to as a:
• Green Transport Plan
• Green Travel Plan
• Company Travel Plan
• Company Transport Plan
• Commuter Plan
• School Travel plan
• Residential Travel Plan
The Need for a Travel Plan?
The requirements for travel plans are many and varied. A travel plan can be used as a business tool to solve parking and accessibility problems or many be a requirement for securing planning permission. A travel plan is a means of demonstrating a corporate environmental image.
You may need a travel plan if:
• you are required to produce a travel plan to accompany a planning
• application or as part of a Section 106 agreement
• you have problems with parking
• there are accessibility problems associated with your site
• you want to improve the environmental image of your organisation and may
• be considering linking your travel to your environmental management, or
• you want to develop a travel plan as part of your business
Even if your organisation is small, a travel plan is still relevant. The process should be similar, but on a smaller scale.
Although costs of a scheme can initially appear daunting, travel plans should be regarded as a help and not a burden.
Government guidance now states that Local Transport Plans should set out how local authorities will encourage the adoption of travel plans by major employers and that they should develop their own travel plan to lead by example. Travel plans are now applied throughout the UK to a wide range of land uses where there is an organisation in a position to prepare and carry out the travel plan, such as an employer/landlord or management company.
Government Policy & Guidance
Local, national and international policies and guidance have been produced in respect of sustainable development including:
• Rio Earth Summit (1992)
• Kyoto Climate Change Conference (1997)
• New Deal for Transport; Better for Everyone (1998)
• Planning Policy Guidance (PPG13) Transport (2001)
• Using the planning Process to secure Travel Plans: A Good Practise Guide
• (2002)
• Making Travel Plans Work (2002)
• A Travel Plan Resource Pack for Employers (2003)
Sustainable Development & Transport Policy
In addition to travel plans for workplace locations, current transport policies also encourage a wide range of initiatives including:
• Safer routes to school
• Improvements to bus routes and services
• Re-allocation of road capacity to give priority to buses, taxis and cycles
• Discounts on public transport fares
• Tele-working arrangements to reduce the need for journeys to work
• Marketing of journey planning to individuals
• Cycle route improvements
• Taxation adjustments to encourage change in car use
• Parking charges to discourage all day parking, and
• Congestion charging, such as in Central London
Aims & Objectives of Travel Plans
The aims and objectives of a travel plan are to:
• Reduce the impact of travel and transport on the environment
• Improve access to a site by various modes of travel
• Reduce reliance on the car
• Reduce car traffic during peak periods on the local road network, and
• Provide benefits to employees and visitors in terms of choice of access and
• improved travel facilities
Did You Know?
• In 2001, 70% of the working population travelled to work by car
• accounting for a total of 17 million people
• In London, 41% of commuters travelled to work by car
• The average car commuter trip is 9.6 miles
• The average journey to work took 25 minutes
• A total of 3.4% of the total workforce usually work at home, or in the
• same grounds or buildings as their home
Benefits of a Travel Plan
Benefits arising from a travel plan include:
• Improved health and fitness levels with cost and time savings
• Increased productivity from a healthier workforce
• Strengthened environmental performance, image and PR
• Reduced impact on the environment - A travel plan can also be a
• component of an Environmental Management System and provide a step
• towards environmental accreditation such as ISO 14001
• Reduced on-site congestion, pollution, and improved access for visitors
• and deliveries
• Increased travel choice
• Securing planning permission for further development
• Cost savings include tax incentives
• Reduced parking demand and maintenance
• Possible revenue from parking charges
• Improved car park safety and cost effectiveness
• Improved safety of routes to and from your site
• Reduced cost and time spent on commuting and business travel
• Improved staff retention and recruitment
• Enhanced image within the local and wider community
Where more than one organisation occupies a site, it may be of benefit to join forces to produce a combined travel plan
Contents of a Typical Travel Plan
The Transport Energy ‘Travel Plan Resource Pack for Employers’ suggest that a travel plan should contain the following elements:
• Background to the organisation including the site location(s), number of
• employees, typical working hours
• Objectives - identify what you are trying to achieve from your travel plan
• Scope of the plan - identify the travel elements of your organisation's
• business activity which the plan is addressing
• Action - identify the proposed actions/measures of achieving your stated
• objective
• Marketing - identify how you will market the plan and the elements
• contained within it
• Targets - identify targets to determine whether your objectives are being
• achieved
• Monitoring - identify how you will monitor the effectiveness of your travel
• plan, what will be monitored and who will be responsible for monitoring
The occupier is usually responsible for the implementation of a travel plan. However, it is recommended that a Travel Plan Co-ordinator be appointed to undertake day-to-day implementation. Each travel plan is relevant for a specific length of time and requires review and redevelopment. It is a ‘living document’, which is constantly in need of review and refinement to identify areas of improvement. It needs to be carefully monitored to show effective progress.
CEC Services & Capability
Cole Easdon Consultants has considerable experience in the preparation, implementation and management of travel plans. Our experience with leading organisations has provided us with the necessary skills to solve and better manage travel issues. Travel plans we have recently undertaken include:
• Weymouth College (Education)
• The Central School Of Speech & Drama, Swiss Cottage (Education)
• Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy, Lewisham (Education)
• MagicLand(Soft Play Centre), Cirencester (Leisure)
• United Utilities (Office)
• Erith town centre, LB Bexley (Retail)
• Poole Railway Station Redevelopment (Residential & Hotel)
• Charlton Athletic Football Club (Leisure)
• Lingley Mere Business Park, Warrington (Office)
Our own professional and dedicated team provide advice and prepare travel plans for schools, private companies, colleges/universities, healthcare organisations, leisure and local authorities.
With almost twenty years experience providing engineering and transportation design solutions, we can provide expert advice to develop and implement travel plans including future monitoring and evaluation.
It is Cole Easdon Consultants' aim to deliver consistent, high quality, practical advice on time and within budget.
To help you produce and manage you travel plan we can:
• Identify customer objectives
• Research travel and transport solutions
• Collect, analyse and collate data and information
• Present research findings and recommendations to clients
• Maintain close client contact to ensure all levels of service are timely,
• professional and of the highest quality
• Cultivate and maintain corporate relations in line with the latest thinking
• Attend client orientation meetings
• Develop client action plans providing a specific implementation strategy for
• all levels of service
• Help to obtain planning permission and achieve planned expansion
• Identify opportunities to reduce car use amongst your users through travel
• surveys
• Assist with the implementation and management of an existing travel plan
• Undertake a full site and facilities audit of existing travel infrastructure and
• services including accessibility by public transport, cycling and walking.
• The site surveys also includes a full review of existing car parking policies
• and space allocation
• Coordinate the monitoring and evaluation programme for the travel plan,
• including target setting
• Be first point of contact for anyone wishing to find out more about travel
• plan initiatives
• Present the business case to secure a budget to develop the travel plan
• and ensure its efficient and effective use
• Facilitate ‘quick wins’- effective solutions for low or nil cost
• Bespoke travel surveys can be produced to determine travel patterns and
• behaviour including on-line surveys. The information gathering at a
• necessary level of detail is the core for developing an effective travel plan
• Analyse where employees live in relation to travel services and develop
• appropriate policies
• Enable clients to see a full picture of relocation options with regard to
• travel accessibility and actual time taken to travel
• Motivate others
• Coordinate partnership working
• ‘Champion’ the cause
• Implement a car-sharing scheme through either a simple database or
• closed intranet or more sophisticated open access Internet software
• systems
• Assistance with approaching and working with your local authority
• Facilitate focus groups/workshops to develop specific initiatives
• Assist with negotiations with public transport operations
• Advise on the development and implementation of a marketing strategy for
• the plan, and
• Manage the travel plan on behalf of the client. A dedicated member of our
• team works closely with the client site to ensure successful implementation
Cole Easdon Consultants is a well-respected and independent company specialising in transportation, hydrology and civil engineering. We maintain good relations with local authorities, government agencies, professional organisations and other complimentary bodies.
We seek to adopt a flexible and common sense approach suited to your specific requirements. From our experience, we have a practical understanding of what targets can be realistically achieved within set timescales and always have our client's needs in mind with regard to best value.
Please contact us if you would like an informal discussion on your organisation's travel plan requirements.
Further Advice
The Association for Commuter Transport (ACT)
Tel: 0207 348 1987 www.act-uk.com
HM Revenue & Customs
A Fact Sheet for Employers setting up Green Travel Plans
www.hmrc.gov.uk/green-transport/travel-plans.htm
National Atmospheric Emission Inventory
Tel: 01235 463 356
Office of the Data Protection Registrar
Tel: 01625 545 745
British Council for Offices
Tel: 020 7283 4588 www.bco.org.uk
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