National Transport Authority
LAUNCH OF SMARTER TRAVEL CAMPUS PROGRAMME FOR THIRD LEVELS 17th April 2013 Today the National Transport Authority launched the Smarter Travel Campus Programme with a high-level seminar in UCD featuring both international and Irish speakers achieving results in the area of campus travel planning. The seminar was opened by Minister for Public Transport and Commuter Affairs, Alan Kelly TD. Speakers included ACT Travelwise-awardwinner University of East Anglia, as well as Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and Loughborough University, UK – with each institution outlining their successes promoting walking, cycling, public transport and carsharing as alternatives to the car on the commute to campus. The launch of the Smarter Travel Campus programme offers Irish Third Level Institutions an opportunity to achieve their own successes, through a free, voluntary package to assist institutions with issues relating to access to, or movement through, their campus, through the promotion of walking, cycling, public transport and carsharing. Resources available include site-specific advice and information from experienced Travel Planners; an online travel survey and analysis; a free group on carsharing.ie; mapping resources; and access to walking and cycling challenges. Benefits of engagement in the programme include reduced costs associated with travel and parking; enhanced green profile; and more active travel by both students and staff. The Smarter Travel Campus programme is specifically tailored for Third Level Institutions based on the success of the National Transport Authority’s Smarter Travel Workplaces programme. Smarter Travel Workplaces has been running for over 3 years, with more than 100 engaged Partner workplaces (an employee base of almost 250,000 people), including: Accenture, Apple, Dell, Deloitte, ESB, Eirgrid, IBM, KPMG, the Mater Hospital, Microsoft, Pfizer, Symantec, Takeda,Telefonica, Vodafone, and a number of third level institutions, including Trinity College Dublin, National University of Ireland Galway, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and University College Dublin.
PEDAL POTENTIAL FOR SMARTER TRAVEL CAMPUS Initial results of Phase 1 of the Smarter Travel Workplaces Programme showed that in surveyed workplaces with established travel plans, single occupant car use was reduced by an average of 18%. Cycling increased in the majority of workplaces surveyed with an average increase of over 150%. The launch of the Smarter Travel Campus programme supports the Government Policy Smarter Travel – A Sustainable Transport Future. For more information, contact Sara Morris, National Transport Authority, email
[email protected] or phone (01) 879 8300. th
Press Release Smarter Travel Campus Launch – 17 April 2013
Editor’s Notes: The Government’s current transport policy Smarter Travel – A Sustainable Transport Future set out to reverse existing unsustainable transport trends throughout Ireland. It established ambitious targets to reduce the need to travel, to reduce journeys by car and to encourage more sustainable modes of transport. Action 8 set out in Smarter Travel – A Sustainable Transport Future focuses on encouraging alternative ways of travelling to work and targets the development of workplace travel plans for organisations with over 100 staff. To deliver on this objective, the Smarter Travel Workplaces programme was developed by the National Transport Authority in 2009 to target large employers in the state and to encourage their participation in a programme to develop and implement workplace travel plans. The Smarter Travel Campus Programme is implemented by the National Transport Authority with funding from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The programme is aimed at Third Level Institutions seeking to develop Workplace Travel Plans. Workplace Travel Plans have been shown internationally to reduce single occupancy car use on the commute by between 10% and 24%. Workplace Travel Plans also reduce costs associated with parking, business travel, fleet, CO2 emissions, absenteeism, and access issues. Results of Phase 1 of Smarter Travel Workplaces In workplaces with established travel plans (minimum 1 year in existance), 76% of workplaces surveyed reported a reduction in car driver trips. In surveyed workplaces, an average reduction in car driver trips of 18% was reported, with 7 workplaces achieving more than a 20% reduction in car driver trips. Cycling also increased in the majority of workplaces that were surveyed, with an average increase of 156%. For further information on Smarter Travel Campus email
[email protected]
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Press Release Smarter Travel Campus Launch – 17 April 2013
