What is a Workplace Travel Plan?
A travel plan is a long-term management strategy enabling an organisation or developer to increase levels of sustainable travel for all journeys to and from a site. It should consist of a package of actions or measures aimed at promoting sustainable travel and reducing reliance on single occupancy car journeys.
This helps reduce car-dependent travel and congestion around our city, reduce pollution and helps promote a healthier lifestyle. Travel plans are generally required for all new large or expanding developments, and for some smaller ones where there is predicted to be a significant transport impact.
What should be in the travel plan?
The travel plan will need to include:
- Introduction with context and development details
- Policy statement, including any relevant site-specific policies
- Site audit and accessibility review:
- Objectives and targets for various modes of travel agreed by the Council.
- A method of monitoring travel patterns to and from the development site by all modes of travel
- Travel Plan Management strategy
- Key Measures for all site users
- An Action Plan with implementation timescales and budget to address and promote sustainable travel relating to the site covering, as appropriate, staff, customers and visitors.
In general a travel plan should be linked to a transport assessment or transport statement. A car park management strategy or plan may also be requested and may also be subject to separate planning conditions.
More general detail is given in The Travel Plan Guidance for Developments in Plymouth.
iTRACE
The developer or organisation will generally be required, with support from the travel plan officer, to use the Council's web-based travel plan assessment and monitoring system, called 'iTRACE'.
Alternatively, they may design their own survey if additional questions are needed, providing that it is still iTRACE compliant. The Sustainable Transport Team can advise on this.
We have prepared the following guide on how to use iTRACE and included links to templates which you can download:
Further guidance
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has produced useful guidance on Travel Plans, Transport Assessments and Statements.
Other documents that you may find useful are: