3l Managing Business Travel

There is a range of business travel that needs to be considered as part of the Travel Plan:

• travel by employees whilst on company business
  
• travel by visitors
  
• deliveries, fleet management and fuels

Business Travel

One of the main barriers identified by staff for considering alternative means of transport for the journey to work is the requirement for a vehicle to travel to meetings, site visits etc. Reducing the need for staff to bring a car in for business travel will give you more scope to persuade them to consider using alternative means for commuting.

Organisations tend to spend large amounts of money on paying mileage rates for business travel and, as staff can view their mileage claims as supplementing basic pay, there is little incentive for them to consider other ways of travelling. Any measures that involve changes in car user status and payment of mileage allowances will require a review of company policy concerning business travel.

Measures which you could consider to reduce business mileage include:

• reviewing company car policy, which includes offering incentives for smaller engine sizes and the opportunity to have cash rather than a vehicle
  
• only paying car mileage where business journeys could not realistically be made by any other means
  
• encouraging staff to car share for meetings
  
• introducing pool cars or hire cars
  
• encouraging the use of public transport by providing easy access to travel information
  
• reviewing working practices to reduce the need to travel
  
• restructuring mileage allowances so that they favour smaller engine sizes and providing comparable mileage rates for walking, cycling and public transport
  

Fleet Management
Some businesses may find that they can make direct savings by re-assessing how fleets of vehicles are used. Measures include:

• reducing fuel costs and improving safety standards through driver training
  
• regularly servicing vehicles to minimise fuel consumption
  
• revising the eligibility for, and type of, company cars allocated. This may only be possible with staff turnover or when new posts are created
  
• using small, well-maintained pool vehicles
  
• converting to cleaner fuels such as electric vehicles, Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or dual fuel - there is less fuel duty paid on cleaner fuels
  
• making company vehicles multi-purpose so that they are used for the transport of both staff and goods between sites
  
• including pool cycles in the fleet for short business journeys

Visitors

For some organisations, visitors account for a higher proportion of people travelling to the site than staff, for example to airports, retail outlets and leisure complexes. The ability of these organisations to promote alternative ways of travelling to the car will depend on their location and the nature of the business. The types of measures that could target visitors include:

• promoting public transport by locating stations/ stops on promotional literature, ticket information and compliment slips
  
• providing a public transport link between the site and station/stop
  
• advertising your commitment to the objectives of the Travel Plan

Choosing Measures
Travel Plans and Walking
Travel Plans and Cycling
Travelling by Bus
Travelling by Rail
Powered Two-Wheelers
Using Taxis
Car Sharings
Car Clubs
The Place of Cars
Car Park Management Strategy
Managing Business Travel
Changing the Way We Work
Travel Plans and Cleaner Fuels
Travel Plans and Deliveries