Travel plan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A travel plan (historically referred to as a green travel plan) is a package of actions designed by a workplace, school or other organisation to encourage safe, healthy and sustainable travel options. By reducing car travel, Travel Plans can improve health and wellbeing, free up carparking space, and make a positive contribution to the community and the environment.

Every Travel Plan is different, but most successful plans have included the following key steps in their development:

Setup: A formal commitment at the highest level of the organisation to develop and implement a Travel Plan, often with the assistance of another organisation such as the local council.

Research: Thorough research of the transport issues people in the organisation face, and of their ideas to improve local travel choices. Research tools include surveys, focus groups, site audits and policy reviews.

Planning: The development of a written plan with a clear and agreed set of priority actions, including timelines, costs and accountabilities.

Implementation: Formal launch of the Travel Plan. It works well if the launch coincides with the implementation of at least one major Travel Plan action, although some actions can be implemented before the plan is complete and others may take some time.

Continuous improvement: Regular reviews of travel behaviour and of progress in implementing the travel plan, and the development of new ideas and improvements.

Workplace Travel Plans

The UK Department for Transport defines workplace travel plans as a package of measures produced by employers to encourage staff to use alternatives to single-occupancy car use. The first Travel Plans in the UK were adopted in Nottingham by Nottinghamshire County Council in 1995. Travel plans are now common in the UK, and are becoming common in Australia and New Zealand.

A workplace can choose to develop a travel plan at any time, or could be required to develop a travel plan as a condition of planning consent for an expansion or new development. Typical actions in a workplace travel plan include improving facilities for pedestrians and cyclists (showers, lockers and cycle parking), promotion and subsidy of public transport, and encouraging carpooling, working from home and teleconferencing.

School Travel Plans

Making it safer and easier for children to walk, cycle or catch public transport to school has long-term health benefits, reduces air pollution and traffic congestion, and helps children arrive at school awake, refreshed and ready to learn.

Because of the many benefits, local councils in the UK, Australia and New Zealand are actively involved in helping schools to develop and implement travel plans. Typical actions in a school travel plan include promoting the health benefits of walking, providing more or better pedestrian crossings, tighter enforcement of parking and traffic rules around the school, providing cycle training, and setting up a walking school bus.

Other organisations

There are many examples of successful travel plans for tertiary campuses. Successful tertiary travel plans are usually prepared with the assistance of the local public transport agency. As well as the initiatives listed for school or workplace travel plans, tertiary travel plans can include a “u-pass” system whereby students are required to purchase a discounted yearly public transport pass as part of enrolment.

The development of travel plans for hospitals is a relatively new and interesting field of travel planning.

Travel Plans as a condition of planning consent

A real-estate developer may be required to provide a travel plan as a condition to gaining planning consent. A typical travel plan for a new development will provide for the promotion of sustainable transport through marketing initiatives, and for contributions to public transport and to walking and cycling infrastructure. In the UK, a Travel Plan can form part of a Section 106 agreement under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.