The Workplace Travel Plan Company Limited

Travel Plan Lays Out the Route to a Greener Future

A BLUEPRINT has been drawn up to encourage thousands of Town Hall staff to leave the car at home before travelling to work.

East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Travel Plan 2010 is designed to reduce unnecessary journeys, promote sustainable transport and tackle climate change.

Drawn up on behalf of the authority’s environmental and leisure team, it covers commuter trips, business travel, visitor journeys and the vehicle fleet, and is aimed not just at employees but council members and visitors.

August 8, 2010

Road Charging Mooted to End Gridlock Misery in Preston, Lancashire

Preston councillors, police and business leaders were invited to the session, hosted by Lancashire County Council.

They were divided into groups to discuss ideas for improving transport in the city.

And congestion charging was one idea given serious consideration.

One council boss today said he remained against it - but others at the seminar said it could have its advantages.

Source: Lancashire Evening Post

August 3, 2010

City Life is Making us Fat

Driving to work, the supermarket and your children's school isn't just hurting the environment, new research claims: it's making you fat. Modern cities are centred around the car. According to Tim Townsend, director of planning and urban design at Newcastle University, that approach to urban planning is beginning to show in our waistlines.

Source: The Journal Friday 30 July, 2010
How the Weighty Issue of City Life is Making us Fatter

August 1, 2010

Big City Employers Sign Up To Traffic Easing Plan

SOME of the biggest companies in Southampton are putting their weight behind a major new initiative to slash traffic jams on the city’s streets.

Ikea, cruise giant Carnival and Solent University are signing up to the scheme, which aims to transform employees’ commuting habits.

Together the three employ more than 4,000 people in the city, and they are to be the test subjects in a pilot of a free workplace travel planning service to encourage the use of sustainable transport like buses and car sharing.

July 28, 2010

Looking for a Clean Two-Wheeler but Not Finding Electric Bikes Racy Enough?

Although the move to encouraging the use of electric cars is to be welcomed in terms of them being powered by a much cleaner energy than petrol or diesel (as long as the electricity is generated from renewable sources of course ... but this is another story...) electric cars still cause congestion on the roads.

An alternative to electric cars is electric two-wheelers. An article in Green Futures, July 2010, asks "Looking for a clean two-wheeler, but not finding electric bikes racy enough?"

July 24, 2010

DFT Announces £40,000 Funding for Car Clubs

The DFT has announced an extra £40,000 of government funding to support Carplus’ work in car club development in the UK.

The Minister made the announcement beside a car club bay in Richmond Upon Thames on 1st July, stating that: "The figures speak for themselves – each car club vehicle can result in taking 24 private vehicles off the road and the low carbon vehicles used typically emit approx 33 per cent less CO2 than the average car. This is why we are supporting the continued growth of car clubs across the country."

Carplus welcomes the news. Director, Antonia Roberts, commented that: “£40,000 may seem like a relatively small amount of funding but it has a huge significance in this period of reduced spending. The DfT’s announcement signifies valuable support for car clubs, which can save individuals, businesses and local authorities money, reduce emissions and support sustainable transport objectives.”

Source: Carplus Newsletter Summer 2010
Visit: Carplus

July 20, 2010