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You are here: Home >>  Getting Started >>  Your Step by Step Guide to a Successful Travel Plan

Your Step by Step Guide to a Successful Travel Plan

This section gives an overview of the Travel Plan process and its key elements.

This process is not written in stone and you can move round stages to suit your organisation and its specific circumstances.

Use this section with its downloadable templates and step by step guidance to help you develop your own Travel Plan document.

There are some key elements that should be included in the development of a Travel Plan.

Secure Senior Management Support

Travel Plans involve changing established habits and working practices. To achieve employee co-operation, it is essential for Senior Management to positively promote the wider objectives and benefits of the Travel Plan. Senior Management should lead by example. This commitment includes the provision of the necessary resources to develop and implement the Travel Plan, beginning with the introduction of the 'carrots' or incentives for changing travel modes.

You will find useful advice and resources within the Communications Kit section on how to communicate with Senior Management, including a Power Point template for a Presentation to Senior Management that may be useful in helping you to get across all the benefits. You can adapt it to fit with your organisation's specific circumstances.


Identify Roles & Responsibilities

It is best to nominate one person with day to day responsibility for the Travel Plan. This can be on a full or part time basis depending on the size of your organisation. They are then responsible for establishing a Travel Action Group which provides employees with the opportunity to be involved in the development of the Travel Plan.

Refer to the Travel Plan Coordinator's Role page for an outline of what the job entails.  How to Approach Internal Communications also gives you practical advice and tools to help you communicate effectively with your internal audiences. 

Undertake a Site Assessment

It is important to undertake a review of facilities within the organisation. This assessment needs to include physical aspects such as car parking, cycling facilities, pedestrian access and disabled access. It also needs to include an audit of policies such as home working, flexi time and business travel policies.

Click here for a Site Assessment Form that you can download and complete.


Undertake an Employee Travel Survey

When starting to think about your Travel Plan it is vital to carry out an employee travel survey in order to determine how employees are currently commuting and travelling for business. It is important to understand the reasons for their travel choices and what would encourage them to travel more sustainably.

Within the Staying on Track section there is a sample Employee Travel Survey that you can adapt for your own organisation .


Undertake a Travel Audit

A travel audit is about providing an overview of the travel options available for employees and visitors to your site/s. It will assist you in promoting opportunities for and identifying barriers to more sustainable travel.

The results of the travel audit and employee travel survey will help to build a picture of the travel options which are available for your particular site, whether these options are currently used and which measures can be put into place to encourage a change in travel behaviour.

Click here for a downloadable Travel Audit template at you can adapt for your own organisation. 


Identify Objectives, Targets & Indicators

Travel Plans must have measurable targets and objectives. These should be realistic but also ambitious targets to reduce single occupancy car journeys and increase active travel and public transport use. The targets you set will be specific to your organisation.

Take a look at the Setting Targets page guidance on how to define your objectives and set targets for your Travel Plan 


Identify Measures

It is important that your measures are based on the information you gathered during your employee travel survey. Measures can be anything from supplying information on public transport or car sharing schemes, to providing cycle lockers, pool vehicles or video conferencing facilities.

See the Taking Action section for a wealth of information on possible measures that you could implement.


Monitoring

Your Travel Plan should be a living document and so regular annual surveys should be undertaken so that you are able to determine whether employee travel habits are changing and your Travel Plan implementation programme is working!

The Staying on Track section gives you valuable advice on how to monitor your Travel Plan success. 


Awareness raising and marketing

Communication with employees is vital to ensure the success of any Travel Plan. You need to ensure continuous communication and messages which are refreshed regularly in order to remain effective.

Visit the Communications Kit section for specialist marketing advice and adaptable, downloadable promotional materials that will ensure your messages are spot on!

Need Help? Click here.