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Workplace travel plans
Greater Wellington: changing travel behaviour
Contents
1. Overview
Greater Wellington: a profile
Greater Wellington Regional Council serves the Wellington region, which has a population of more than 445,4001. Its focus is to promote “Quality for Life” by ensuring the environment is protected while meeting the economic, cultural and social needs of the community.
The region is made up of six territorial authorities: Wellington City Council, Porirua City Council, Kapiti Coast District Council, Hutt City Council, Upper Hutt City Council and Wairarapa District Council.
Greater Wellington’s specific responsibilities include environment management, flood protection and land management, provision of regional parks, public transport planning and funding, and metropolitan water supply.
Greater Wellington also funds bus and train services, plans the roading network and builds public transport infrastructure. Its work is guided by the Regional Land Transport Strategy, which sets out its strategic direction and provides an integrated, long-term plan for developing the region’s land transport system. Providing sustainable transport options is an integral part of the strategy.
1 Statistics New Zealand, June 2002
Transport in the Wellington region
By 2016, an extra 26,000 people are expected to live in the Wellington region compared with its population in 2002. In addition, 44,000 more cars are expected on the roads.
Private cars are the dominant transport mode in the region. However, findings from a survey conducted in 2006 show a significant increase in the number of people using the Metlink network of bus, train and harbour ferry services. Total patronage of these services for the year July 2005 to June 2006 was 35 million passenger trips, an increase of 2.6 million (or 8.1%) over the previous year.
The growth in harbour ferry services was the greatest at 13%. This was followed by rail (an 8.6% increase) and bus (a 7.4% increase).
Greater Wellington is doubling its investment in the region’s passenger transport system over the next ten years until 2016 to improve these services. It has budgeted $1.3 million to invest in passenger transport.
Profile purpose
This profile outlines Greater Wellington’s programmes aimed at changing the travel behaviour of people in Wellington so that they choose more sustainable modes of transport.
Regional and local councils may find this profile a useful tool to assist the development of their own travel behaviour change programmes.
2. Travel behaviour change
Travel behaviour change is about encouraging voluntary change in the way people travel. This can be done by providing people with a set of tools, better information and more opportunities to help them reduce their need to travel, especially by car.
Travel plans, along with investment in passenger transport and walking and cycling infrastructure, provide people with safer and healthier travel choices. They also reduce the economic impact of increased car travel costs and the environmental impact of car use.
Greater Wellington’s Transport Strategy Implementation Department is responsible for developing and implementing sustainable transport activities through the Travel Demand Management, Cycling, Pedestrian and Road Safety strategies.
3. The programme
One of the ways the Transport Strategy Implementation Department is working to achieve its aims is through Greater Wellington’s travel plan programme.
‘Our aim is to encourage a culture shift in the region where a range of sustainable travel choices are actively supported and promoted,’ says Jill Beck, Manager, Transport Strategy Implementation, Transport Policy and Strategy. ‘We’re also working to promote a better understanding of the real costs and benefits of different travel choices.’
The travel plan programme monitors each initiative and reports on the benefits. The programme includes:
- school travel plans
- workplace travel plans
- community travel plans.
An important part of developing and implementing travel plans is working in partnership with other organisations, local councils and schools.
School travel plans
A school travel plan provides a school with a package of practical actions to improve road safety, reduce car trips to school, and encourage students to use sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling, trains and buses.
Greater Wellington is working with schools, other agencies and local councils to develop and implement travel plans in schools throughout the region. It aims to have 15 schools with travel plans within the first three years from 2006–2009. Over the ten years until 2016, it aims to have 90 schools (35% of the total number of schools in the region) involved in school travel planning.
Local councils working with a school can apply to Land Transport NZ for funding.
Workplace travel plans
A workplace travel plan sets out steps to encourage staff to travel to and from work by passenger transport, on foot, by bike or by car share. It may also look at alternatives such as teleworking that minimise or eliminate the need to commute.
Greater Wellington is working with a number of organisations (eg, Ministry for the Environment, Housing New Zealand, Wellington City Council, Victoria University of Wellington), providing them with tools and guidelines to help them develop workplace travel plans.
It aims to work with businesses and organisations to complete 12 workplace travel plans in the first three years from 2006–2009 and a total of 37 plans over the ten years until 2016.
Priority will be given to areas with large concentrations of employment, and where there are parking and access issues.
Capital and Coast District Health Board, in partnership with Greater Wellington and other organisations, has developed and is implementing a workplace travel plan. Victoria University of Wellington is also working with Greater Wellington and other partners to develop a plan.
Capital and Coast District Health Board
How do you develop a travel plan for more than 3500 fulltime staff working in a number of sites across the Wellington region, and also for large and diverse numbers of patients and visitors to the Capital & Coast District Health Board’s various sites? Travel planner Jan Simmons talks about her role in coordinating a project to develop and implement a plan for the largest employer in the Wellington region. [link to pdf of case study GW DHB travel plan]
Victoria University: a plan for staff and students
Limited car-parking facilities, along with a development programme to provide additional facilities and revitalise the Kelburn Campus, have provided the impetus for Victoria University of Wellington to develop a travel plan for its staff and students.
Community travel plans
Over the next ten years, Greater Wellington will work with communities throughout the region to help them develop community travel plans that meet their specific needs.
For 2006–2007, Greater Wellington received funding through the Ministry for the Environment’s Sustainable Management Fund to initiate community-based travel plans in the Wellington region.
Useful travel plan guides
Land Transport New Zealand has produced three guides that provide useful information.
- Workplace travel plan coordinator’s guide
- School travel plan coordinator’s guide
- Walking school bus coordinator’s guide
4. Looking ahead
Greater Wellington’s programme to change people’s travel behaviour and encourage them to use sustainable transport options will be guided by the strategic direction of its Regional Land Transport Strategy 2007–2016.
Over time, Jill Beck says, the programme will need to evolve to meet people’s changing needs.
‘The key challenge for sustainable transport in the Wellington region over the next ten years is to gain measurable increases in walking,
cycling, public transport and other sustainable transport choices such as ride-sharing and teleworking.
‘These actions can provide a wide range of benefits to the region, including a more efficient transport network, improved individual
health and wellbeing, and a reduction in air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.’
Page created: 13 August 2007