enoch ison travel plan blueprint report 1 - 22 9 2008 final (2).pdf (212.56 kB)
Expert perspectives on the past, present and future of travel plans in the UK
From a public policy perspective, travel plans are attractive to regional and local government
since they are relatively cheap and quick to introduce and are normally politically acceptable.
Meanwhile from a company perspective there are usually circumstances where an issue such
as: access, a shortage of parking, a lack of space or finance, issues with neighbouring
organisations, a need for planning permission or to enhance the organisation’s image –
means there are potentially significant benefits from adopting a travel plan. In the absence of
such motivations the majority of organisations have simply not participated in helping to solve
something that is not legally or institutionally ‘their problem’.
As such, a number of studies (see Rye, 2002; Bradshaw, 1997; Coleman, 2000) have stated
that less than ten percent of large private businesses (of over 100 employees) have adopted
travel plans while small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have taken even less of an
interest. This lack of engagement can be attributed to a number of reasons. In particular, Rye
(2002) identifies key barriers to wider travel plan implementation, namely:
• Companies’ self interest and internal organisational barriers;
• Lack of regulatory requirements for travel plans;
• Personal taxation and commuting issues;
• The poor quality of alternatives (particularly public transport);
• Lack of examples due to novelty of the concept.
In addition, while the UK Government has formally recognised the travel plan since its
inclusion in the 1998 White Paper A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone (DETR,
1998), and has provided a whole series of support measures, these have tended to have
been rather small scale, incremental and randomly applied. Travel plan policy meanwhile has
largely been reactive and somewhat lacking in an overall strategic direction. Despite these
barriers, travel plans are still in evidence and in fact are increasingly making an impression on
the formulation of transport policy and practice and travel behaviour.
The purpose of this Report is to ‘take stock’ in terms of what has occurred in terms of Travel
Plans, to assess the current situation with respect to Travel Plans and then to predict how
travel plan policy will develop in the future.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Citation
ENOCH, M.P. and ISON, S.G., 2008. Expert perspectives on the past, present and future of travel plans in the UK. Research Report to the Department for Transport and the National Business Travel Network, 22 September 2008. Loughborough : Loughborough UniversityPublisher
Loughborough UniversityVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Publication date
2008Notes
This is a report. It is also available at; http://www.nbtn.org.uk/publications.aspxLanguage
- en