How to create a workplace travel plan
Changing travel behaviour in your business
Moving away from a culture of single occupancy company car use is essential to a successful travel plan, but it is also a challenge. Businesses often provide a company car as part of an employment package or set high mileage reimbursement rates as a 'perk'. It's important you convey to employees that workplace travel initiatives have the full backing of the business and, in particular, senior management.
There are a number of ways you can bring about change in travel behaviour. You can:
- Use incentives, such as travel allowances or season tickets.
- Run a car pool system. This could reduce the overall cost of providing vehicles to employees as well as an opportunity to rent or buy low-emission vehicles. Commercial car clubs can help offset the costs of setting up your own pool vehicles. See the page in this guide on promoting car sharing and car clubs.
- Offer taxis on an occasional basis, for example to help cover awkward gaps in a particular public transport journey or problems with car sharing.
- Encourage employees to use phone and videoconferencing as the preferred option to face-to-face meetings. Conference phones and/or videoconference suites will need to be made available either on-site or from local providers, and there are also basic technical requirements. See our guide on how to get the most from your phone system.
- Set up an online calendar for staff to log journeys in advance, so that car trips can be shared. As an incentive you could offer a higher mileage reimbursement rate for employees who share transport. However, payment over the set figure of 40 pence per mile for drivers and 5 pence per mile for passengers will be taxable.
- Encourage staff to cycle, especially if local roads are prone to congestion. See the page in this guide on encouraging staff to cycle or walk to work.
- Fly only as a last resort, and encourage travel to and from the airport by public transport.
- When vehicles are used, drivers should be encouraged to drive economically.
Subjects covered in this guide
- Introduction
- The business benefits of creating a travel plan
- How to design a successful travel plan
- Changing your travel culture
- Promoting car sharing and car clubs
- Encouraging the use of public transport
- Encouraging staff to cycle or walk to work
- Managing car parking
- Changing travel behaviour in your business
- Cutting down on the need to travel
