The Importance of Travel Plans

A Travel Plan is a long-term strategy which aims to reduce vehicle trips to and from a site by promoting and encouraging alternative modes of transport. Travel Plans can be used to achieve the following:

 

• Encouraging people to walk, cycle, use public transport and car share for commuting journeys;
• Supporting pupils to walk and cycle to school;
• Managing company fleet vehicles and deliveries to use cleaner modes of transport; and
• Promoting remote or home working to reduce business travel costs.

 

The wider benefits for both employers and staff include improved health, a better work/life balance, reduced fuel, travel and parking costs, in addition to the environmental benefits. Measures such as safe and secure cycle parking and car club vehicles can make residential sites more marketable and lead to fewer impacts on the local neighbourhood, though many of the measures can be simply providing information on bus and rail services or cycle maps of the local area.

 

A Travel Plan is required where a development will generate significant amounts of movement and is usually submitted either as part of a planning application or as a planning condition (each planning authority will have its own thresholds).

 

Once a Travel Plan is adopted, a Travel Plan Coordinator is often appointed to manage the actions identified, support the occupants of the site and report on performance to the local planning authority.

 

DHA has extensive experience in preparing Travel Plans for a wide range of land uses and in coordinating their implementation; please contact Rob Smith or Tom Valek  for further information.