Devon County Council

What should be in a Travel Plan

A travel plan is a dynamic process which will grow and develop over time, and one which will be adapted to suit the changing circumstances and needs of the employer. Key to the success of the Travel Plan is the employment of a dedicated co-ordinator who will have the sole responsibility to ensure that the modal split of employees, visitors and deliveries is achieved.

Example contents of a Travel Plan

Below are some of the items I would expect/hope to find in a work place travel plan both at the time of a developer's section 106 agreement and/or as a starting point for a company or group of companies voluntarily pursuing the development of a travel plan. It is not a minimum or maximum "standard". The key to a good travel plan is enthusiasm and commitment by the employer which will ensure that the travel plan is a lasting/rolling programme of measures which influence mode choice over the life of the company.

The Work Place Travel Plan should set out how the design of the site at the time of occupation will encourage a mix of travel modes, how proposed future mode choice measures will be phased-in and how targets will be set, monitored and reported to the Authorities. A Travel Plan should include measures, which address the travel of commuters, business travel, deliveries, visitors and customers, including -

• Commitment to employing a person dedicated to the development, implementation, continual encouragement, monitoring and review of targets and initiatives;
• A car park design indicating the location of all the parking bays, cycle parking as close to the building as possible (preferably nearer than cars), disabled parking with the least gradients etc that the car park allows, parking spaces indicated for car-sharers, thought given to the routes that pedestrians and cyclists will take across the parking area accessing the site, lighting styles, location of bus stop (which should be as near to the "front door" of the building as practical and safe;
• Establishing a cycle user group before site occupation if employees are to be moving site, and which will be continued after occupation;
• Collation of employees' home locations if future employees are known, or a commitment (with timetable) of when this data will be collected, collated, and used to generate green travel measures;
• Collation of public transport information, routes and locations of facilities for walking and cycling, for all employees before occupation of the site, and delivered to their homes as part of any relocation package or as part of their welcome pack for new employees;
• Commitment to approach public transport operators to discuss/negotiate introductory offers at time of occupation of site;
• Outline of car sharing scheme to be in operation at time of occupation of site, and how the scheme will be "rolled out";
• Details/timetable of when the staff travel to work, business travel, customers travel, etc., survey will be undertaken (within the first 3 months of occupation if not before);
• An outline of some site specific ideas which indicate a commitment by the developer to continue pursuing travel plan measures once the development has been completed.

I would also recommend to you a copy of the "A travel plan resource pack for employers. An essential guide to developing, implementing and monitoring a travel management strategy for your organisation" DETR (2000). This should also be available from the government's Energy and Environment Helpline: 0800 585794.