Why develop a workplace travel plan?

The motivations for developing a workplace travel plan are wide ranging. A travel plan can: 

• Reduce the need for additional car parking spaces
  A workplace travel plan can reduce the need for additional car parking spaces bringing savings in capital expenditure and the opportunity cost of converting land to car parking. The average cost of a car park space is between £300 and £500, there would be savings on the costs of administration, electricity, security, rates and maintenance. 
• Improve the pool of labour available for staff recruitment
  The provision of good alternatives to car-based commuting can provide a more attractive recruitment package and create a wider base of potential employees.
• Reduce business costs
  Measures such as restructuring the car mileage system to offer a flat rate regardless of engine size, reducing the need to travel to meetings by installing tele-conferencing equipment or converting a company van/car fleet to more efficient fuel, and encouraging car sharing to meetings can also provide cost savings. 
• Provide tax relief
  Significant tax relief measures are in place to assist companies who choose to increase travel choices for their employees, such as tax relief on the provision of work buses and cycle safety equipment. 
  View the HM Revenue & Customs summary fact sheet. 
• Improve access to your site
  Improve access into and around a site and contribute to reducing overall traffic congestion. This can reduce stress for both employees and visitors and may also improve the reliability and punctuality of deliveries to and from your business.
• Enhance a company’s image within the local community
  Organisations with a travel plan in place are also demonstrating to the local community that they are conscious of the potentially negative travel impacts of their operation and are keen to improve on the current situation to the benefit of the quality of life of their neighbours. Travel plans are particularly popular with those organisations seeking to enhance their ‘green credentials’. 
• Encourage local recruitment
  For some organisations it is important that they are seen to be actively recruiting from the local work force. Through the promotion of measures to encourage staff to cycle and walk (which by definition tend to be most suitable for shorter journeys) it is likely that the business will more easily be able to attract workers from within the local area who can access the site on foot or by cycle. 
• Contribute to the improved health and fitness of the workforce
  A travel plan also demonstrates a responsible employer who is not only concerned about the environment but also the health and well being of its workforce. An increase in the proportion of staff travelling on foot or by cycle will have a positive impact on the health, well being and morale of the workforce and strike a chord with those employers who are becoming increasingly aware of the increase in incidents of things such as obesity.
• Improve staff recruitment and retention
  The ease with which current and potential staff can get to a place of employment is a key factor in their decision to work for that organisation. An organisation who can demonstrate on the one hand that they recognise this, through the development of a travel plan, and are able to offer staff a range of travel choices is likely to be more attractive as employer. 
• Provide access to funds and grants.