Travel Planning in Bristol 1 - Introduction to Travel Plans A Travel Plan is a strategy aimed at tackling the travel needs of a site, a business or an organisation by managing travel demand and boosting the practical alternatives to single person car trips. Building a business case Common benefits to business operation and image: • Dealing with parking problems and avoiding costly additional spaces • Contributes towards the health and wellbeing of employees, by encouraging walking and cycling, and reducing commuting stress and absenteeism • Assists in recruitment and retention, improves accessibility to your workplace for potential and existing employees and makes savings on recruitment expenses • Helps to achieve your own organisation's environmental or corporate social responsibility policies • Enhances your organisation's environmental image, and works towards ISO 14001 • Contributes to planning applications, for which a Travel Plan are often required • Makes your organisation eligible for the annual West of England travel plan awards • Helps take advantage of government tax incentives such as the 'Cycle to Work' salary sacrifice scheme. There are two main types of Travel Plan: • 'Voluntary Travel Plans' which aim to lock in the benefits of tackling travel at a site and; • 'Developer Travel Plans' which are a requirement of planning permissions and are covered in more detail in sections 2 and 3. Many larger employers and over 100 other organisations in Bristol have Travel Plans either as a response to specific issues or as part of their wider business plans. Some even employ full time Travel Plan Co-ordinators to work across their organisations. Benefits of a Travel Plan Travel Plans have proven benefits for the organisations that produce and support them, as well as for employees, the local area and residents, and the wider environment. Research carried out for the National Business Travel Network shows that companies with Travel Plans spend on average £47 per employee each year, but business savings often recoup these costs. Typically a good Travel Plan can reduce single occupancy vehicle traffic by 10-15%, with a relatively small initial outlay and ongoing support. Many employers find that they already have in place many of the facilities or practices which Travel Plans usually propose and that they can simply bring together existing policies into a single plan, helping to identify any outstanding issues, seek solutions, and provide a strategy for change. Writing a Travel Plan A Travel Plan doesn't need be a large document, but it should provide employees and visitors with a clear choice of travel modes to and from your site. To create a Travel Plan you will need to: • Establish management support and project ownership • Run a site audit and survey of employees' current travel habits and desired travel choices • Look at realistic changes that can be made at corporate and individual levels, and set targets for change Bristol's Role • Appoint a travel plan co-ordinator; usually an existing employee • Making sure public transport information More detailed Guidance: is available to visitors before they arrive • DfT 'The Essential Guide to Travel Plans': Rationalising car parking or lease http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/tra vehicles velplans Bristol City Council has recognised in its Local Transport Plan that Travel Planning is a cost effective way to encourage modal shift, and • Identify an ongoing budget to support improve air quality and accessibility for the the measures people of Bristol. We have remit to support you • Implement and monitor the changes set in preparing your travel plan and local business out in the Travel Plan document. travel networks such as the Green Commuter Club can show you how your organisation can Implementing the Travel Plan benefit from managing travel. Measures don't need to be expensive or timeThe annual 'Bristol's Big Commuter Count' can consuming, and will vary depending on what function as your annual Travel Survey and is has been identified during the planning free. This survey is fully electronic and will process. They could include: provide the Travel Plan co-ordinator with • Ensuring employees have access to snapshot of how people are getting to work. useful information about travel and transport, such as on a dedicated notice See bristol.gov.uk/travelplan for more details. board • • Car Park management • • Promoting car-sharing schemes / allocating car share spaces National Business Travel Network: http:// www.nbtn.org.uk/ • Bristol City Council: www.bristol.gov.uk/travelplans • Providing better cycling facilities • Encouraging cycling -- for example by supporting one-to-one adult cycle training sessions or running regular 'Dr Bike' safety checks • • • Introducing mileage allowances for cycling and walking Support and contacts: • melanie [email protected] • Voluntary Travel Plans: [email protected] Encouraging rail travel to meetings, or teleconferencing to reduce wasted travel and time • Subsidising public transport season tickets or using the 'City Car Club' • Of course it's your plan! It should be helpful to you, achieve your objectives and be relevant to your organisation! Developer Travel Plans: Green Commuter Club: [email protected] Transport Planning: 0117 903 6701 2 - Developer Travel Plans If you need to produce a Travel Plan as a requirement of a Planning Condition or S106 agreement this should help you. What should be included in Developer Travel Plans A Travel Plan is a document that will be accessible to everyone at the site it has been prepared for, including visitors. The The purpose of a developer Travel Plan is to promote the use of more sustainable modes of methodology in the Introduction to Travel Plans sheet applies but additionally the Travel Plan travel, and reduce the number of cars with drivers on their own to offset the effects of the should: development. • Identify who the Travel Plan Coordinator is and who it will be after In all cases refer to the DfT's 'The Essential occupation (usually the responsibility is Guide to Travel Planning, March 2008. passed to a building management There are three main types of developer travel company). Please advise the Council of plan: the Travel Plan Co-ordinator’s contact details, email: 1. Submitted as part of a planning [email protected] application This could have been submitted either as a result of a pre-application enquiry, to support a planning application, or because you know you will need one in any case. There may still be a condition or agreement attached. 2. As part of a planning condition • • Conditions will usually be set as part of your planning permission. You will need to submit a Travel Plan to discharge the condition with the planning case officer. • 3. As part of a 'Unilateral Undertaking' or S106 agreement You should refer to the specific clauses of the agreement. In most cases a Travel Plan will need to be submitted and agreed prior to occupation. There will be ongoing obligations and the obligation may be a 'land charge' which means it should be adhered to by subsequent owners and occupiers. • • • Provide details of the initial and ongoing annual budget to be allocated that will be available to the Travel Plan Co-ordinator to be spent on direct incentives associated with promoting and increasing sustainable travel Clearly set out measures that will be implemented to reduce car trips, especially those made by drivers on their own. Please consider what work practices will be encouraged to reduce the need to travel to work Provide baseline data or estimates for travel modes by conducting a staff travel survey, or using TRICS or similar modelling Set targets that are SMART; specific, realistic and measurable and a timeframe in which these figures will be achieved Give details of how more sustainable methods of transport will be promoted to help achieve these targets, for example; promotion of walking, cycling, use of public transport, car sharing and car clubs on a Travel Notice board, or promotional events What provisions/procedures are in place to increase facilities to meet increased • demand if necessary, for example additional cycling parking or more allocated car share spaces Set out a mechanism for monitoring, reviewing and updating the Travel Plan. Every Travel Plan produced is site specific in that it is tailored to the needs and circumstances of an individual site. The Travel Plan would cover all occupiers and is a means of monitoring travel modes and the impact of car use by staff and visitors to the site. It enables a business to be proactive, and if problems occur steps can be taken to address them. Implementation and monitoring To monitor its effectiveness, a travel survey would need to be conducted to provide baseline figures. Where an existing employer is moving to new premises, the staff travel survey can be conducted before moving to the new location and shortly after occupation. Staff Travel surveys need to be conducted on a regular basis after the Travel Plan has been implemented, which is usually on an annual basis. Using the ‘Big Commuter Count’ to help monitor the Travel Plan. It is acceptable for the tenant/occupier to undertake a detailed survey after 3 and 5 years of implementation of the Travel Plan providing that they take part in Bristol City Council’s annual Commuter Count, which is an online snapshot survey that requires Internet access and comprises of approximately 5 questions. Staff need to be encouraged to take part in the annual Commuter Count, and a minimum response rate would be required. It is the responsibility of the tenant/occupier to be included in the Council's Commuter Count. Should the annual survey reveal an increase in single occupancy car trips, a more detailed survey will need to be conducted within 6 months by the tenant/occupier. In the event that the tenant/occupier does take part in the Commuter Count but has an insufficient response rate, or does not take part in the Commuter Count or if the Count does not take place for any reason, a detailed survey needs to be conducted by the tenant/occupier every 12 months. After every survey, once results have been collated the Travel Plan can be reviewed and where necessary updated to include any new measures that need to be put in place to encourage use of more sustainable transport and reduce the number of single occupancy car trips made. 3 - Residential Travel Plans Some residential travel plans provide trial bus tickets. The FirstTen ticket provides 10 journeys for a fixed price and is transferable. A recent local appeal decision supported this a reasonable measure. Residential Travel Plans are often required as part of planning applications, there is a comprehensive guidance document on residential TPs here: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/ sustainable/travelplans/rpt/makingresidentialtra A single information point for travel information should be provided where velplans5775 appropriate, for example in large blocks of Physical Measures units. Location, permeability and accessibility are Implementation and Monitoring most important, and will influence or be In cases of stand alone owner occupied influenced by a travel plan. In a unit of dwellings, the physical measures; location, properties cycle parking provision will be permeability and accessibility are key. In cases required. The BREEAM (Building Research where there is a property management Establishment Environmental Assessment company they will retain responsibility for the Method) standards are preferable. implementation and ongoing work ensuring the The city's Car Club operates over 80 cars in TP continues to be implemented, for example many locations across the city. Planning upkeep of information and maintenance of applications may be asked to make a facilities. In cases where parking is heavily contribution to the car club if there is a constrained monitoring and surveys of travel shortfall of 5 parking spaces or if the habits down the line will probably be needed, development is 50 units or over. It can be especially if a fail safe payment is required. cheaper and more effective to set aside a car club in the development and buy a car. This provision has been used as a marketing tool for some developments in Bristol in the Harbourside and Temple Quay areas. Promotion National research suggests that people are more willing to change travel habits when changing lifestyle such as where they live. A measure in most residential TPs is information dissemination through either a travel 'brochure' or 'pack' which outlines, site location, bus stops, routes and times, walking and cycle routes, railway stations (if applicable), car clubs and sharing, and websites for getting more info. Travel information is usually required. The BCC Visual Technology team can provide you with a complete Travel Brochure for £700 800 although you are free to create your own. Bristol City Council can provide you with cycle maps and bus information for your residents.