Introduction

Oldham Council introduced a Travel plan to help reduce local air pollution and their carbon footprint.

Objectives and target audience

What was the project trying to achieve? Who was the project targeted at (if applicable)?
The target audience is employees of Oldham Council. The objectives are to reduce environmental, social and business impacts associated with transport use, by reducing unnecessary journeys to and from work sites, by single occupancy vehicles. Another aim is to increase the use of car sharing, public transport and walking. Another aim is to promote sustainable travel and to increase travel choice. The plan has a series of targets to achieve before 2010, including reducing the carbon footprint of the Council for business car travel by over 30,000kg, and decreasing mileage claims by 5%. In achieving these goals, we hope to set an example to other organisations in the area.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

Please give an overview of the budget, and an outline of the funders.
Which organisations were involved in shaping and delivering the project.
The Travel Plan has a dedicated annual revenue budget, which is used for promotional activities. The Council’s Carbon Management Fund has also been used for some projects.  Travel Plan infrastructure improvements have been partially funded through the department for Transport’s Local Transport Plan (LTP). We target two or three new sites each year through an annual LTP budget of £25,000.

Process

The Council started travel planning in 1999, but without dedicated staffing, progress was limited. In 2005, the Council produced its first Travel Plan (05-07). The plan was successful and helped reduce the level of traffic on our roads, and helped set a good example for other organisations. The revised plan builds on lessons learned and reflects the latest local and national travel planning policy. Many initiatives were introduced in the plan, including a car sharing policy, and a means of getting cheaper bus tickets. A cycle lease scheme was introduced, allowing employees to save up to 40% on the cost of a bike. Cycling facilities such as showers and bike racks were improved at Council offices. Future plans include offering ‘green car’ loans to essential car users.

Results

Since 2005, there has been an 11% decrease in the car being used for business travel. There has been a 6% decrease in the car being used every weekday. Single occupancy car travel has fallen by 19%. Business travel by train has risen by 4% and travel by foot has increased by 3%. Over 100 staff have been able to save money on a bike. Over 100 staff signed up to the car-sharing scheme.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

A critical factor is ensuring that there is support for the plan from senior management. If there is support, this means resources can be made available to implement the Plan properly.  There needs to be ownership of the plan by appropriate staff, who should have clearly defined roles. There needs to be a great deal of two-way communication, to help find out employees transport needs. There should be various incentives given for staff members not to uses cars.

An organisation of any size can implement a travel plan, they will be most effective where there are already a traffic/parking problems. The experiences of Oldham Council could be used as a case study for other organizations, or Council staff could provide support for others.