What is a Travel Plan?
What is a Travel Plan? · What are the benefits? · Why do I need to get one? · How do I get one? ·A Travel Plan is a management tool which brings together transport and other business issues in a co-ordinated strategy, with an emphasis on increasing choice of methods of travel. It involves the development of a set of mechanisms, initiatives and targets that together can enable your organisation to reduce the impact of transport on the environment, whilst bringing a number of other benefits to your organisation as an employer and also to staff and visitors.
A Travel Plan is a dynamic process which will grow and develop with time, and with the changing circumstances of your organisation and the environment in which it works. It is the start of a new and better way of living and working.
Many organisations are introducing Travel Plans to encourage their staff and visitors to travel other than by single occupancy car. Visitors can mean clients, learners and supporters.
TP are being introduced predominantly for journeys to or from work or for journeys made during the course of the working day.
A Travel Plan can take a variety of forms to suit a particular site, but all tend to include practical measures to reduce:
- Reliance on single occupancy car travel to work
- Car travel for business
- The need for business travel
- Visitor travel
- Deliveries and / or contractors travel
- Fleet vehicles movements
Travel Plans are relevant to the full range of developments relating to jobs, leisure, retail and services, including offices, industry, health and education uses.
At the heart of successful Travel Planning is partnership. Through working in partnership with other organisations and businesses, including local planning authorities and public transport operators, real transport alternatives can be provided to your site.
Travel Plans can involve the introduction of incentives to people to change their mode of travel, such as discounts or interest free loans for alternative transport modes, sometimes in the context of restrictions on the use of private cars.