Personal Travel Plans
A Personal Travel Plan is when a resident makes an informed choice about a method of travel for a journey from home, with an emphasis on choosing a sustainable mode. A Personal Travel Plan is sometimes called Personalised Journey Plans or Individual Travel Marketing. Normally a Personal Travel Plan is the 'customised' aspect of a Residential Travel Plan.
Personal Travel Planning is a technique which:
- Delivers information, incentives and motivation to individuals to help residents voluntarily make sustainable travel choices
- Seeks to overcome the habitual use of the car
- Discourages unnecessary travel, through the provision of local or site-specific information
- Contributes to a suite of tools promoted under the general heading in the UK of 'Smarter Choices'
Typically delivered across large residential areas, the process of Personalised Travel Planning is managed by a Travel Plan Co-ordinator who:
- Makes direct contact with households
- Encourages residents to think about how they currently travel, and consider how they may make trips in more sustainable ways
- Identifies opportunities for the use of sustainable modes, and provides incentives
- Provides ongoing support and advice to encourage long term behaviour change
Techniques are tailored to each area and will typically include:
- Welcome packs for new residents, including a survey and a local Travel Guide
- Door to door / telephone surveys
- Focus groups
- Fliers / information in the local press / posters in public buildings
Residents who engage in the process will be provided with:
- Use of a 'Journey Planner'
- Travel diaries
- One to one travel advice
- Discounts for public transport and/or local cycle shops
- Free gifts as incentives - pedometers / water bottles etc.
For more information see Department for Transport Making Personal Travel Planning Work: Practitioners Guide
For help with your Residential Travel Plan / Personal Travel Plans, please contact The Workplace Travel Plan Company.
Watch a video tour of the Travel Plan Builder
“With the Travel Plan Builder local authorities can easily monitor plans for delivery reports at a low cost. The future of Travel Plans is web based this product is not only the first but as the user group grows it will evolve with the market, always up to date, always easy to use”
Don Kent
Transport Planner, NESTRANS