The summaries and slides of the presentations delivered at the second East of England Travel Plan Forum on 3 November 2009 can now be viewed below. The event, co-hosted by NBTN, EEDA and BAA Stansted was attended by 30 businesses and local authorities from around the Eastern region. Presentations covered a variety of subjects from the local 'Ipswich Smiles' project, to taxation issues and the proposed workplace parking levy, business engagement and networking - plus a demonstration of electric bikes.
Cutting congestion in Suffolk
While there might not be a phone application for a travel plan yet, Suffolk seems to have the inside track when it comes to sustainable travel techniques. The go-ahead county council is planning to use mobile phone technology to give real-time benefits to commuters and consumers to encourage different modes of travel as part of countywide travel plan.
As part of a wide-ranging initiative Suffolk County Council has joined up with local businesses and venues to offer discount tickets and offers to entice visitors to stay later in town and avoid the rush hour.
Among the innovative measures is one to send text messages to workers and visitors for cut-price or free theatre tickets or “next 100 customers” product discounts for people signed up to the system. Suffolk also plans to allow commuters to use mobile phones to store tickets and travel cards that are read by on-board scanners. And this is no technological swizz or one-trick pony, Suffolk Travel Plan Chief, Peter Lee, told NBTN delegates from the region.
“The plan is to re-establish town centres as attractive places for businesses and their customers through local and regional partnerships that offer low carbon growth and free travel planning support.”
Peter told NBTN delegates at the East of England Travel Plan Forum that in Ipswich alone, congestion costs the city about £20million. And with 15,000 new houses due to be built in the next 10 years, growth-related problems will exacerbate the congestion problem unless tackled comprehensively now.
The County Council has an ambitious strategy to link school, residential and business travel plans to put customers and consumers at the heart of a 360 degree approach that uses techniques such as peer pressure, viral and guerrilla marketing and partnerships to deliver behaviour change.
Initial mapping shows that the vast majority of residential districts are between two and five kilometres of the city centre – most within cycling distance. Peter said the council has ambitious plans to rethink bus routes and make the city centre much more cycle-friendly.
Extensive mapping exercises, such as with iTrace software allows businesses and schools to add and manage their travel plan in one central location, and local authorities to monitor progress of the travel plan’s performance against agreed targets.
The system allows comparisons to be drawn between different parts of the city and identify transport issues such as poor bus provision. It can also be compared with data in Ipswich, London and other parts of the county that use the iTrace system.
Bus companies have signalled their aim to participate in the scheme that covers Suffolk and parts of bordering Hertfordshire. And members of the travel plan forum include local councils, universities, port authorities and major employers such as AXA and BT.
Parking levy seen as a blunt tool
Employers need help to develop workplace travel plans in conjunction with a workplace parking levy (WPL) if the Nottingham initiative is to be adopted in other parts of country. That is the view of academic expert Professor Stephen Ison who concludes that the perception of the levy is that it is a crude tool that does not necessarily target the key congestors.
Professor Ison, Head of Transport Studies at Loughborough University, asserts that the demand side measure is seen as a blunt instrument by many although it is quick to implement and could be the only way to pump-prime improvements in public transport.
The levy – the first of its kind in the UK – is due to be introduced in phases from 2012 and will affect employers with more than 10 parking spaces, although disabled parking and hospital parking will be exempt from the scheme.
Professor Ison told the conference that there is a range of issues surrounding the business and economic impact of the levy that some say could merely displace congestion and persuade businesses to relocate.
“As road user charging technology improves and becomes cheaper, a move to such a scheme could be more equitable and could act as a short-term stop gap whilst road charging technology is refined further,” he said.
He told delegates that obtaining stakeholder support by highlighting the public transport improvements to be funded and giving an explanation of the benefits to the payers themselves of reduced traffic was crucial to its acceptance.
“There needs to be a recognition that improved transport provision can not take place without the implementation of the levy,” Professor Ison said.
The City of Nottingham has been considering the options for a charging scheme since 2000. It is seen by local policy makers as a quicker way to generate funds that could encourage public transport use and generate funds to provide better alternatives to the car. Following a public consultation exercise in 2007 plans were developed to introduce the levy and use money to extend and improve the city’s new tram system.
Professor Ison said that presenting the proposals has posed a significant challenge for the council as they chose not to present the proposed WPL as simply a deterrent measure for those drivers with free workplace parking, but as part of a general package of public transport improvements.
“Clearly those paying the levy would wish to see some obvious benefit to themselves, as well as to the rest of the public.”
Taxing times for travel says OU expert
“Britain is unlikely to meet its emissions targets without a change to the tax regime,” Professor Stephen Potter told NBTN delegates at the East of England Travel Forum.
Outlining how the current tax regime impacts on travel plan measures, Professor Potter said that we live in “interesting fiscal times” and that businesses would be forced to take responsibility for emissions from commuting sooner rather than later.
“There will be no more lame excuses to avoid tackling the commute,” Professor Potter told the conference.
He said that further specific travel plan tax measures may emerge following the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference but that, of more importance, was the view that wider tax changes will increase the business case for travel planning.
“The Workplace Parking Levy is an obvious example, but pressures are building up for a ‘greening’ of the whole tax system,” said the academic, who is Professor of Transport Strategy at the Open University.
He said that the recent Green Fiscal Commission Report scoped out a possible green tax shift.
Professor Potter helped develop the Network’s guidance on the subject that was published as an NBTN Advisory Note on Tax and Travel Plans in July 2008.
The note broadly says that travel plan measures are exempt from tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). This can include interest-free loans to buy season tickets or bicycles up to £5,000 in any tax year. It also includes negotiated discounts, employer-provided works buses with more than nine seats used for commuting, and employer subsidies to public bus services – when there is a contract with the operator.
Professor Potter expressed his surprise that despite being included in the recent Department for Transport Cycle to Work Guarantee, cycle maintenance is, in fact, liable for tax, as are payments to give up parking rights.
Bike purchases as part of a salary Sacrifice scheme does allow employees, in effect, to pay a price free of tax and NICs. Professor Potter said that the lack of incentives for employers to introduce salary sacrifice schemes was a “serious weakness” in the policy.
Visit the Green Fiscal Commission to download a copy of the report.
Importance of knowledge transfer in sustainability
The importance of networking, knowledge transfer and the development of clusters in building sustainable living were some of the central messages from Frank Stone, Deputy Director of Business Development at University College London’s (UCL) Adastral Park campus.
Frank was outlining the work of the IP-City Network that brings together like-minded people to act as a catalyst for change through innovation events, workshops, enterprise activities and special interest groups.
IP-City Network was formed in 2000 by a group of businesses and organisations working in partnership in the hi-tech sector across the Ipswich area. Following the launch, over 300 businesses and support organisations joined, all playing their part in making the area a focus for hi-tech enterprise and commercial competitiveness.
“The network is used to engage business and encourage knowledge exchange across boundaries and disciplines to enable sustainable enterprise through proactive networks,” Frank told East of England NBTN delegates.
He said that IP-City network focuses on the development of relationships that help build businesses and markets by developing sustainable economic communities. Frank said that networking, such as regional forums being promoted by the National Business Travel Network, was an important factor in the growth of clusters. And he said a range of infrastructures, from technology to legal and from educational to cultural was crucial to the mix if sustainability clusters are going to be successful and effective.
“These aspects are not isolated islands,” Frank explained.
Frank said that UCL’s pedigree as global research centre – ranked fourth in the world – meant the network approach could make an impact on complex and systemic problems, such as developing sustainable cities.
“The resolution demands partnership transcending the boundaries between disciplines to transfer knowledge understanding and know-how,” he said.
Delegates heard that one of UCL’s main aims, through its Environment Institute, is to improve communication between those who carry out the research and those who need its findings leading to a better understanding of the impact of human activities and how environmental policies can be effectively implemented.
The UCL Energy Institute also brings together different perspectives, understandings and procedures in energy research, providing critical mass and capacity for ambitious projects. The Institute has a particular focus on the area of energy-demand reduction, designed to speed the transition to a low-energy, low-carbon economy.
‘May Day’ for sustainable business
Business in the Community’s May Day Network can help organisations become low-carbon leaders, Mike Brophy told NBTN delegates. The East of England Regional Director said BITC was keen to engage and inspire companies along their journey to reduce their business carbon footprint.
“We want to inspire, engage, support and challenge them,” Mike said. He explained that the Prince Charles had asked BITC, as its patron, to set up The Mayday Network as a “distress call” to business and highlight their impact on the planet.
Mike advised that the prime motive of May Day Challenge is to mobilise UK business to move from being interested in tackling climate change to being leaders in tackling the issue. He hoped NBTN members would take up the challenge.
“We are interested in your PR, your awards, your CEO quote but what we are really, really interested in is the impact inside and outside the business.” He continued, “Businesses do want to learn from other businesses. Who has done it, who’s failed, what are the barriers and how did they do it; was it an inspirational leader, was it a tax break and can they learn from each other?
“We offer a supportive journey for businesses and with practical support. We encourage award winners to run workshops and share their experiences. Was it easy to get senior management on board? Normally they are open to other network members who increasingly come from private, public and third sector organisations.”
BITC has online tools that allow organisations to measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions and Mike invited NBTN members to put themselves forward for the first ever-regional sustainable travel awards.
“We are looking for people who have good stories to tell and good examples of what they are doing in reducing their carbon footprint,” Mike said. “And they need to be able show evidence inside their organisation and outside impact of the changes they made.”
For more information, click here.
Peddling a new approach for electric bikes
No pedalling with an electric bike could overcome the barriers to increasing the number of UK commuters cycling to work, James fitzGerald told NBTN delegates.
James, whose eco-company Lev Fleet sells and leases electric cycles, says the machines are a credible solution to hills, headwinds, journey times and showers: some of the main drawbacks that keep regular cycling levels at just three per cent (based on the official measure of four kilometres at least 160 days per year).
“The electric bike removes the need for showers and can be used by everyone regardless of fitness levels,” James told the East of England Forum.
“Organisations that are encourage cycling soon realise that the costs start mounting when they have to build a shower block.”
James highlighted the advantage for companies going down the electric bike route. As cycles, legally there is no need for insurance, registration or road tax and they are not liable for tax if made available free of charge to staff on a pool basis – meaning no extra administration.
Solar charging stations mean there is no need to plug into the grid and the stations can be moved and dropped somewhere else. The bikes also include GPRS tracking hidden in the frame of the bike to aid travel plan manager who can asses how many business miles or commuter miles have been travelled making it an effective way to measure impact. Lev Fleet also offer insurance and servicing and training as part of the lease package.
James advised that costs and emissions stack up too compared to other forms of transport. He outlined the savings made on a hypothetical local authority with 22,000 employees. James said that four per cent of council workers live within five miles of their work and commute by car. He told delegates that if the same proportion travelled by e-bike for 160 days per year, the local authorities emissions would be reduced by 429 tonnes of CO2.
On this basis, James said the extrapolated figures mean astounding results. If just four per cent of public sector workers commuted by electric bike 160 days a year it would reduce transport related CO₂ by 101,000 tonnes per annum.
Applied to the private sector, workplace based e-bikes would reduce transport related CO₂ by 440,000 tonnes each year. It would also deliver net financial savings of £410m per year.
“With car parking costing an average of £400 a year,” said James, “finance directors only buy in when they realise they can sell off three acres of prime real estate and make a name for themselves.
Electric fleet bikes, James said, were a simple step to achieving high-level modal shift, reducing infrastructure costs, the demand for on-site car parking, improving staff health, cutting travel costs and reducing congestion.
