Operating a workplace travel plan can bring many benefits for your business and your staff. In particular, it will save your business money and reduce the impact it has on the environment, for example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By managing business travel needs and associated costs, and promoting sustainable alternatives through a travel plan, you will also demonstrate corporate social responsibility while improving staff engagement and retention.

Business benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your business a workplace travel plan can:

• save money on the cost of providing and maintaining parking spaces
• solve problems caused by demand for parking
• cut mileage claims and other business travel costs
• reduce staff downtime spent travelling on business
• reduce the costs of running a fleet
• solve delivery and customer access problems caused by traffic congestion on and around your site
• improve your image with both customers, suppliers and neighbours
• improve staff health and reduce absenteeism
• help recruit and keep staff by making journeys to work easier and cheaper, and improving your image as a responsible employer
• improve your corporate social responsibility reputation, including meeting environmental targets - see corporate social responsibility

Employee benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your staff a workplace travel plan can:

• reduce the cost of travel to work, or even remove the need to own a car
• reduce journey times to work
• provide a better work-life balance through flexible working and less need to travel on business
• provide benefits to a wider range of people by shifting from travel perks based on seniority to incentives for sustainable travel available to all staff, including those without a car
• ensure parking for those with most need of a vehicle
• help provide less stressful options for travel to work
• give opportunities to build healthy exercise into daily life

Workplace travel plans can also contribute to a planning application for a new site or for new accommodation on your current site.

Businesses of different sizes and locations will have different measures of success for a workplace travel plan, but the key features to include for a successful travel plan include:

• Buy-in from management - this will ensure enough resources are allocated. Managers should also lead by example by committing to travel sustainably.
• Buy-in from staff - if your business is large enough, you could use a steering group with representatives from different areas of the business to gain support.
• Allocation of staff time - setting up and running a travel plan will take time and effort, for example conducting a staff travel survey or setting up a car share register. You should support a specific member of staff to implement the travel plan.
• Allocation of money - your travel plan co-ordinator will require a budget to cover things like a travel survey and publicity materials. Many times a travel plan will pay for itself, for example reducing business travel in private cars will cut mileage claims, or holding online meetings which save on the cost of flights.
• A long-term strategic approach - changing the culture of your business will require long-term communication, backed up by encouragement and incentives. Consider reviewing targets in the light of annual monitoring surveys - see changing travel culture in your business.
• Local alliances - consider drawing upon local support, for example your local council, chamber of commerce, or business groups - they may be able to offer practical tips or grants. You may be able to negotiate discounts with transport providers and local cycle shops etc or liaise with other local businesses that have travel plans in place.
• Information gathering - find out more about the travel habits of those coming to your site and the transport possibilities in your local area. This will help you to establish a baseline to monitor the progress and success of your travel plan.

Moving away from a culture of single occupancy car use is essential to a successful travel plan, but it's also a challenge. Businesses often provide company cars as part of employment packages or set high mileage reimbursement rates as a 'perk'.

On the other hand, high quality potential employees can be attracted by your business reputation for staff care and the local environment. Making it easy for your employees to make alternative choices can help to reduce their reliance on car travel.

Promotion and incentives

How you pitch the plan is vital to its success - it needs to be promoted in a positive way. Energetic marketing campaigns will encourage strong uptake. Focus on the personal benefits that changing travel patterns could have for your employees - like saving them money and having a healthier, less stressful life.

You could use a variety of marketing tools and techniques, such as:

• branding the plan
• using promotional events
• staff incentives, special offers and prizes
• involving your business in external competitions

Induction packs for new starters should also include comprehensive information about sustainable travel options.

You need to commit to a long-term communication effort to ensure that the message stays fresh and that travel patterns change.

Flexi-time and home working

Flexible working, including home working, is a viable option for many businesses even if it is just for short defined periods. It also ties in with wider business objectives such as committing to improving work/life balance.

You could also consider staggering shifts or start and finish times to maximise the use of public transport and to avoid peak travel times.

Video conferencing

Videoconferencing can be a very efficient alternative to face-to-face meetings which would require time-consuming and costly travel.

Plenty of free video call options are available through popular internet companies, allowing any business to get started with minimum cost. Technical advances mean documents and graphics can be easily displayed within calls, and meetings can be recorded for later use.

Investing in conference phones, videoconference suites and business-licensed conferencing software and technical infrastructure is an important step if you want to embed this in your everyday business culture. Return on your investment costs can be assessed against travel costs saved.

The health benefits of walking or cycling to work are proven. Public Health Agency guidance shows that 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week cuts the risk of developing serious illnesses by up to half. Your business and staff will benefit from establishing a culture where walking and cycling into work becomes part of an everyday routine.

Cycling to work

There are practical measures which you can take to increase cycling journeys among your staff. Carrying out a staff survey can help you to prioritise what measures you need to take.

Investing in secure and sheltered cycle parking can make a big difference to employees' choice to cycle to work. Bicycle theft is common in Northern Ireland, especially from on-street cycle stands and in areas with poor security monitoring. Making a bicycle shelter available in an off-street location will make cycling more attractive to your staff. Many businesses in Northern Ireland have invested in lockable bicycle cages for additional security.

Providing additional facilities such as showers, changing rooms and lockers can also encourage longer journeys. You should also consider whether high-profile bicycle parking outside your premises can attract customers.

Pushing for improved cycle routes around your premises and on regular routes to work can also make cycling more attractive. In leased or shared business centres talk to the landowner about improvements that your business needs. Larger businesses with their own premises may invest in dedicated cycling routes within their grounds.

Safety is a major barrier to cycling to work, particularly in areas of Northern Ireland where cycling infrastructure is poor or non-existent. Contact the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and your local district council about improving cycling infrastructure in the area, or to discuss issues that arise with roads and junctions around your workplace.

Cycling training can be provided to help staff gain confidence - find out about Bikeability cycle training. Promoting cycling to work can include regular cycling events, taking parts in external 'cycle to work' competitions with other businesses and getting involved with events like Bike Week.

As an employer, you are entitled to lend your employees bicycles and related equipment tax-free. Providing cycle parking is also tax-exempt. Alternatively, the Cycle to Work scheme offers a way to dramatically cut the cost of cycles to employees. Typical savings are between 30 and 50 per cent - find out more about the Cycle to Work scheme.

You should also consider setting up a bicycle users' group (BUG). A BUG enables employees to swap knowledge about things like the safest routes to work, and to give ongoing feedback on improvement which may be needed.

Walking to work

The option of walking to work may be cheaper than other transport but some crucial barriers remain. Assessing certain factors in your workplace travel plan can help to make it more attractive to staff.

• Well-lit routes - is the lighting around your building and nearby streets adequate? Report problems to the landowner, your council or DfI if staff don't feel safe due to dark sections of their walking routes.
• Route planning - building in walking as part of a longer journey eg from a public transport hub to your premises will be more attractive with a direct route. Help your staff to see the options with route maps and push for local infrastructure improvements, for example safer crossings on busy junctions and new traffic-free bridges over local rivers or roads.

Sustrans provides support and advice to businesses on promoting walking and cycling in the workplace.

Many areas of Northern Ireland benefit from good quality public transport, especially with the railway network, the Metro bus network in Belfast and future plans for the expansion of the Belfast Bus Rapid Transit system, Glider. However the rural nature of much of the country means public transport isn't the first option for many people.

Some employees may take some persuading to convince them to use public transport. Common complaints include:

• fare costs
• infrequent or unreliable services
• feeling of safety at stations
• inconvenience compared with other options

Promoting public transport

Public transport plays an important role in reducing congestion in our urban areas and benefits public health by encouraging walking and cycling as part of door-to-door journeys. Some things you could do to encourage greater use of public transport might include:

• securing a discount ticket deal that covers a range of fares from daily to annual season tickets
• offering an interest-free loan to boost take-up of season tickets
• negotiating with Translink and other transport operators about rescheduling services, extending bus routes, organising new bus services or improving station facilities
• offering a free minibus service from local train and bus stations

Making your staff aware of the many 'Park and Ride' locations around Northern Ireland can help to reduce car travel - find more information on Park and Ride.

Any service improvement needs to be backed up by strong marketing to ensure people have access to up-to-date information, eg timetable changes. Consider displaying information on your intranet, if appropriate, or distribute it in leaflet or poster form. It's essential you actively promote services to increase uptake.

Translink offer several options for discounted travel over long periods, such as the aLink card. You can contact Translink to obtain promotional material and discuss schemes.

Tax benefits of travel plans

You can take advantage of exemptions from tax or National Insurance contributions in certain situations. For example, if you provide work buses with more than nine seats or if you provide interest-free loans - up to £5,000 a year - to buy season tickets.

Car sharing - also known as lift-sharing, carpooling or ride-sharing - is when two or more people arrange to share a car journey. Car sharing can help your employees and your business cut back on car use, for both commuter journeys and business-related travel. This saves your staff money and helps to cut congestion and pollution in Northern Ireland.

Informal car sharing, where employees share with colleagues, neighbours or family members has always been a crucial part of NI's transport system. This is usually supported by notice boards in business premises which are a good place for employees to find colleagues looking to share journeys. The growth of the internet has seen the development of a more widespread use of car sharing supported by online notice boards which can help staff to find car sharing matches both inside and outside the business.

There are two main types of car sharing:

• Open car sharing - where anyone in a defined geographical area can join a sharing scheme. This involves no input from the employer, and is likely to be most appropriate for small businesses if the staff don't live near each other.
• Closed car sharing - where a business sets up an in-house car-matching scheme.

You can find out more about car sharing and join local schemes with Liftshare.

Car sharing in NI is encouraged by the Department for Infrastructure with dedicated 'Park and Share' car parks at key road junctions. These act as meet-up points for sharers - find more information on Park and Share sites.

How you manage car parking is integral to your workplace travel plan. Having a zero-parking policy may be an option for businesses in town and city centres where public transport is good. On the other hand, providing plentiful free car parking is likely to encourage your employees to use their cars.

Even if your business offers a lot of parking space, you may struggle to cater for all your staff and visitors. You could also find yourself unable or unwilling to provide more space, due to the expense involved or a lack of available land.

One way to manage car parking is to introduce a needs-based parking permit system. This can allow you to allocate guaranteed parking to those with mobility difficulties, perhaps those who car share or with caring responsibilities, or some employees with a clear business need to access parking facilities on a regular basis.

Alternatively, you could charge staff for car parking. This is unlikely to prove popular with employees unless it is pitched clearly and fairly. It may help to make your staff aware that the business cost of providing each parking space is typically £400 to £1,000 per year.

You could counterbalance parking charges by offering incentives for not driving into work. These can include entry into prize draws, providing shopping vouchers and awarding salary bonuses. You should be aware that salary bonuses are taxable.

You may also consider using the revenue from new car park charges to fund some of your workplace travel plan incentives. This way employees will be able to see the balance of 'give and take' in your travel plan and can help staff to accept change.

Operating a workplace travel plan can bring many benefits for your business and your staff. In particular, it will save your business money and reduce the impact it has on the environment, for example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By managing business travel needs and associated costs, and promoting sustainable alternatives through a travel plan, you will also demonstrate corporate social responsibility while improving staff engagement and retention.

Business benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your business a workplace travel plan can:

• save money on the cost of providing and maintaining parking spaces
• solve problems caused by demand for parking
• cut mileage claims and other business travel costs
• reduce staff downtime spent travelling on business
• reduce the costs of running a fleet
• solve delivery and customer access problems caused by traffic congestion on and around your site
• improve your image with both customers, suppliers and neighbours
• improve staff health and reduce absenteeism
• help recruit and keep staff by making journeys to work easier and cheaper, and improving your image as a responsible employer
• improve your corporate social responsibility reputation, including meeting environmental targets - see corporate social responsibility

Employee benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your staff a workplace travel plan can:

• reduce the cost of travel to work, or even remove the need to own a car
• reduce journey times to work
• provide a better work-life balance through flexible working and less need to travel on business
• provide benefits to a wider range of people by shifting from travel perks based on seniority to incentives for sustainable travel available to all staff, including those without a car
• ensure parking for those with most need of a vehicle
• help provide less stressful options for travel to work
• give opportunities to build healthy exercise into daily life

Workplace travel plans can also contribute to a planning application for a new site or for new accommodation on your current site.

Businesses of different sizes and locations will have different measures of success for a workplace travel plan, but the key features to include for a successful travel plan include:

• Buy-in from management - this will ensure enough resources are allocated. Managers should also lead by example by committing to travel sustainably.
• Buy-in from staff - if your business is large enough, you could use a steering group with representatives from different areas of the business to gain support.
• Allocation of staff time - setting up and running a travel plan will take time and effort, for example conducting a staff travel survey or setting up a car share register. You should support a specific member of staff to implement the travel plan.
• Allocation of money - your travel plan co-ordinator will require a budget to cover things like a travel survey and publicity materials. Many times a travel plan will pay for itself, for example reducing business travel in private cars will cut mileage claims, or holding online meetings which save on the cost of flights.
• A long-term strategic approach - changing the culture of your business will require long-term communication, backed up by encouragement and incentives. Consider reviewing targets in the light of annual monitoring surveys - see changing travel culture in your business.
• Local alliances - consider drawing upon local support, for example your local council, chamber of commerce, or business groups - they may be able to offer practical tips or grants. You may be able to negotiate discounts with transport providers and local cycle shops etc or liaise with other local businesses that have travel plans in place.
• Information gathering - find out more about the travel habits of those coming to your site and the transport possibilities in your local area. This will help you to establish a baseline to monitor the progress and success of your travel plan.

Moving away from a culture of single occupancy car use is essential to a successful travel plan, but it's also a challenge. Businesses often provide company cars as part of employment packages or set high mileage reimbursement rates as a 'perk'.

On the other hand, high quality potential employees can be attracted by your business reputation for staff care and the local environment. Making it easy for your employees to make alternative choices can help to reduce their reliance on car travel.

Promotion and incentives

How you pitch the plan is vital to its success - it needs to be promoted in a positive way. Energetic marketing campaigns will encourage strong uptake. Focus on the personal benefits that changing travel patterns could have for your employees - like saving them money and having a healthier, less stressful life.

You could use a variety of marketing tools and techniques, such as:

• branding the plan
• using promotional events
• staff incentives, special offers and prizes
• involving your business in external competitions

Induction packs for new starters should also include comprehensive information about sustainable travel options.

You need to commit to a long-term communication effort to ensure that the message stays fresh and that travel patterns change.

Flexi-time and home working

Flexible working, including home working, is a viable option for many businesses even if it is just for short defined periods. It also ties in with wider business objectives such as committing to improving work/life balance.

You could also consider staggering shifts or start and finish times to maximise the use of public transport and to avoid peak travel times.

Video conferencing

Videoconferencing can be a very efficient alternative to face-to-face meetings which would require time-consuming and costly travel.

Plenty of free video call options are available through popular internet companies, allowing any business to get started with minimum cost. Technical advances mean documents and graphics can be easily displayed within calls, and meetings can be recorded for later use.

Investing in conference phones, videoconference suites and business-licensed conferencing software and technical infrastructure is an important step if you want to embed this in your everyday business culture. Return on your investment costs can be assessed against travel costs saved.

The health benefits of walking or cycling to work are proven. Public Health Agency guidance shows that 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week cuts the risk of developing serious illnesses by up to half. Your business and staff will benefit from establishing a culture where walking and cycling into work becomes part of an everyday routine.

Cycling to work

There are practical measures which you can take to increase cycling journeys among your staff. Carrying out a staff survey can help you to prioritise what measures you need to take.

Investing in secure and sheltered cycle parking can make a big difference to employees' choice to cycle to work. Bicycle theft is common in Northern Ireland, especially from on-street cycle stands and in areas with poor security monitoring. Making a bicycle shelter available in an off-street location will make cycling more attractive to your staff. Many businesses in Northern Ireland have invested in lockable bicycle cages for additional security.

Providing additional facilities such as showers, changing rooms and lockers can also encourage longer journeys. You should also consider whether high-profile bicycle parking outside your premises can attract customers.

Pushing for improved cycle routes around your premises and on regular routes to work can also make cycling more attractive. In leased or shared business centres talk to the landowner about improvements that your business needs. Larger businesses with their own premises may invest in dedicated cycling routes within their grounds.

Safety is a major barrier to cycling to work, particularly in areas of Northern Ireland where cycling infrastructure is poor or non-existent. Contact the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and your local district council about improving cycling infrastructure in the area, or to discuss issues that arise with roads and junctions around your workplace.

Cycling training can be provided to help staff gain confidence - find out about Bikeability cycle training. Promoting cycling to work can include regular cycling events, taking parts in external 'cycle to work' competitions with other businesses and getting involved with events like Bike Week.

As an employer, you are entitled to lend your employees bicycles and related equipment tax-free. Providing cycle parking is also tax-exempt. Alternatively, the Cycle to Work scheme offers a way to dramatically cut the cost of cycles to employees. Typical savings are between 30 and 50 per cent - find out more about the Cycle to Work scheme.

You should also consider setting up a bicycle users' group (BUG). A BUG enables employees to swap knowledge about things like the safest routes to work, and to give ongoing feedback on improvement which may be needed.

Walking to work

The option of walking to work may be cheaper than other transport but some crucial barriers remain. Assessing certain factors in your workplace travel plan can help to make it more attractive to staff.

• Well-lit routes - is the lighting around your building and nearby streets adequate? Report problems to the landowner, your council or DfI if staff don't feel safe due to dark sections of their walking routes.
• Route planning - building in walking as part of a longer journey eg from a public transport hub to your premises will be more attractive with a direct route. Help your staff to see the options with route maps and push for local infrastructure improvements, for example safer crossings on busy junctions and new traffic-free bridges over local rivers or roads.

Sustrans provides support and advice to businesses on promoting walking and cycling in the workplace.

Many areas of Northern Ireland benefit from good quality public transport, especially with the railway network, the Metro bus network in Belfast and future plans for the expansion of the Belfast Bus Rapid Transit system, Glider. However the rural nature of much of the country means public transport isn't the first option for many people.

Some employees may take some persuading to convince them to use public transport. Common complaints include:

• fare costs
• infrequent or unreliable services
• feeling of safety at stations
• inconvenience compared with other options

Promoting public transport

Public transport plays an important role in reducing congestion in our urban areas and benefits public health by encouraging walking and cycling as part of door-to-door journeys. Some things you could do to encourage greater use of public transport might include:

• securing a discount ticket deal that covers a range of fares from daily to annual season tickets
• offering an interest-free loan to boost take-up of season tickets
• negotiating with Translink and other transport operators about rescheduling services, extending bus routes, organising new bus services or improving station facilities
• offering a free minibus service from local train and bus stations

Making your staff aware of the many 'Park and Ride' locations around Northern Ireland can help to reduce car travel - find more information on Park and Ride.

Any service improvement needs to be backed up by strong marketing to ensure people have access to up-to-date information, eg timetable changes. Consider displaying information on your intranet, if appropriate, or distribute it in leaflet or poster form. It's essential you actively promote services to increase uptake.

Translink offer several options for discounted travel over long periods, such as the aLink card. You can contact Translink to obtain promotional material and discuss schemes.

Tax benefits of travel plans

You can take advantage of exemptions from tax or National Insurance contributions in certain situations. For example, if you provide work buses with more than nine seats or if you provide interest-free loans - up to £5,000 a year - to buy season tickets.

Car sharing - also known as lift-sharing, carpooling or ride-sharing - is when two or more people arrange to share a car journey. Car sharing can help your employees and your business cut back on car use, for both commuter journeys and business-related travel. This saves your staff money and helps to cut congestion and pollution in Northern Ireland.

Informal car sharing, where employees share with colleagues, neighbours or family members has always been a crucial part of NI's transport system. This is usually supported by notice boards in business premises which are a good place for employees to find colleagues looking to share journeys. The growth of the internet has seen the development of a more widespread use of car sharing supported by online notice boards which can help staff to find car sharing matches both inside and outside the business.

There are two main types of car sharing:

• Open car sharing - where anyone in a defined geographical area can join a sharing scheme. This involves no input from the employer, and is likely to be most appropriate for small businesses if the staff don't live near each other.
• Closed car sharing - where a business sets up an in-house car-matching scheme.

You can find out more about car sharing and join local schemes with Liftshare.

Car sharing in NI is encouraged by the Department for Infrastructure with dedicated 'Park and Share' car parks at key road junctions. These act as meet-up points for sharers - find more information on Park and Share sites.

How you manage car parking is integral to your workplace travel plan. Having a zero-parking policy may be an option for businesses in town and city centres where public transport is good. On the other hand, providing plentiful free car parking is likely to encourage your employees to use their cars.

Even if your business offers a lot of parking space, you may struggle to cater for all your staff and visitors. You could also find yourself unable or unwilling to provide more space, due to the expense involved or a lack of available land.

One way to manage car parking is to introduce a needs-based parking permit system. This can allow you to allocate guaranteed parking to those with mobility difficulties, perhaps those who car share or with caring responsibilities, or some employees with a clear business need to access parking facilities on a regular basis.

Alternatively, you could charge staff for car parking. This is unlikely to prove popular with employees unless it is pitched clearly and fairly. It may help to make your staff aware that the business cost of providing each parking space is typically £400 to £1,000 per year.

You could counterbalance parking charges by offering incentives for not driving into work. These can include entry into prize draws, providing shopping vouchers and awarding salary bonuses. You should be aware that salary bonuses are taxable.

You may also consider using the revenue from new car park charges to fund some of your workplace travel plan incentives. This way employees will be able to see the balance of 'give and take' in your travel plan and can help staff to accept change.

Operating a workplace travel plan can bring many benefits for your business and your staff. In particular, it will save your business money and reduce the impact it has on the environment, for example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By managing business travel needs and associated costs, and promoting sustainable alternatives through a travel plan, you will also demonstrate corporate social responsibility while improving staff engagement and retention.

Business benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your business a workplace travel plan can:

• save money on the cost of providing and maintaining parking spaces
• solve problems caused by demand for parking
• cut mileage claims and other business travel costs
• reduce staff downtime spent travelling on business
• reduce the costs of running a fleet
• solve delivery and customer access problems caused by traffic congestion on and around your site
• improve your image with both customers, suppliers and neighbours
• improve staff health and reduce absenteeism
• help recruit and keep staff by making journeys to work easier and cheaper, and improving your image as a responsible employer
• improve your corporate social responsibility reputation, including meeting environmental targets - see corporate social responsibility

Employee benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your staff a workplace travel plan can:

• reduce the cost of travel to work, or even remove the need to own a car
• reduce journey times to work
• provide a better work-life balance through flexible working and less need to travel on business
• provide benefits to a wider range of people by shifting from travel perks based on seniority to incentives for sustainable travel available to all staff, including those without a car
• ensure parking for those with most need of a vehicle
• help provide less stressful options for travel to work
• give opportunities to build healthy exercise into daily life

Workplace travel plans can also contribute to a planning application for a new site or for new accommodation on your current site.

Businesses of different sizes and locations will have different measures of success for a workplace travel plan, but the key features to include for a successful travel plan include:

• Buy-in from management - this will ensure enough resources are allocated. Managers should also lead by example by committing to travel sustainably.
• Buy-in from staff - if your business is large enough, you could use a steering group with representatives from different areas of the business to gain support.
• Allocation of staff time - setting up and running a travel plan will take time and effort, for example conducting a staff travel survey or setting up a car share register. You should support a specific member of staff to implement the travel plan.
• Allocation of money - your travel plan co-ordinator will require a budget to cover things like a travel survey and publicity materials. Many times a travel plan will pay for itself, for example reducing business travel in private cars will cut mileage claims, or holding online meetings which save on the cost of flights.
• A long-term strategic approach - changing the culture of your business will require long-term communication, backed up by encouragement and incentives. Consider reviewing targets in the light of annual monitoring surveys - see changing travel culture in your business.
• Local alliances - consider drawing upon local support, for example your local council, chamber of commerce, or business groups - they may be able to offer practical tips or grants. You may be able to negotiate discounts with transport providers and local cycle shops etc or liaise with other local businesses that have travel plans in place.
• Information gathering - find out more about the travel habits of those coming to your site and the transport possibilities in your local area. This will help you to establish a baseline to monitor the progress and success of your travel plan.

Moving away from a culture of single occupancy car use is essential to a successful travel plan, but it's also a challenge. Businesses often provide company cars as part of employment packages or set high mileage reimbursement rates as a 'perk'.

On the other hand, high quality potential employees can be attracted by your business reputation for staff care and the local environment. Making it easy for your employees to make alternative choices can help to reduce their reliance on car travel.

Promotion and incentives

How you pitch the plan is vital to its success - it needs to be promoted in a positive way. Energetic marketing campaigns will encourage strong uptake. Focus on the personal benefits that changing travel patterns could have for your employees - like saving them money and having a healthier, less stressful life.

You could use a variety of marketing tools and techniques, such as:

• branding the plan
• using promotional events
• staff incentives, special offers and prizes
• involving your business in external competitions

Induction packs for new starters should also include comprehensive information about sustainable travel options.

You need to commit to a long-term communication effort to ensure that the message stays fresh and that travel patterns change.

Flexi-time and home working

Flexible working, including home working, is a viable option for many businesses even if it is just for short defined periods. It also ties in with wider business objectives such as committing to improving work/life balance.

You could also consider staggering shifts or start and finish times to maximise the use of public transport and to avoid peak travel times.

Video conferencing

Videoconferencing can be a very efficient alternative to face-to-face meetings which would require time-consuming and costly travel.

Plenty of free video call options are available through popular internet companies, allowing any business to get started with minimum cost. Technical advances mean documents and graphics can be easily displayed within calls, and meetings can be recorded for later use.

Investing in conference phones, videoconference suites and business-licensed conferencing software and technical infrastructure is an important step if you want to embed this in your everyday business culture. Return on your investment costs can be assessed against travel costs saved.

The health benefits of walking or cycling to work are proven. Public Health Agency guidance shows that 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week cuts the risk of developing serious illnesses by up to half. Your business and staff will benefit from establishing a culture where walking and cycling into work becomes part of an everyday routine.

Cycling to work

There are practical measures which you can take to increase cycling journeys among your staff. Carrying out a staff survey can help you to prioritise what measures you need to take.

Investing in secure and sheltered cycle parking can make a big difference to employees' choice to cycle to work. Bicycle theft is common in Northern Ireland, especially from on-street cycle stands and in areas with poor security monitoring. Making a bicycle shelter available in an off-street location will make cycling more attractive to your staff. Many businesses in Northern Ireland have invested in lockable bicycle cages for additional security.

Providing additional facilities such as showers, changing rooms and lockers can also encourage longer journeys. You should also consider whether high-profile bicycle parking outside your premises can attract customers.

Pushing for improved cycle routes around your premises and on regular routes to work can also make cycling more attractive. In leased or shared business centres talk to the landowner about improvements that your business needs. Larger businesses with their own premises may invest in dedicated cycling routes within their grounds.

Safety is a major barrier to cycling to work, particularly in areas of Northern Ireland where cycling infrastructure is poor or non-existent. Contact the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and your local district council about improving cycling infrastructure in the area, or to discuss issues that arise with roads and junctions around your workplace.

Cycling training can be provided to help staff gain confidence - find out about Bikeability cycle training. Promoting cycling to work can include regular cycling events, taking parts in external 'cycle to work' competitions with other businesses and getting involved with events like Bike Week.

As an employer, you are entitled to lend your employees bicycles and related equipment tax-free. Providing cycle parking is also tax-exempt. Alternatively, the Cycle to Work scheme offers a way to dramatically cut the cost of cycles to employees. Typical savings are between 30 and 50 per cent - find out more about the Cycle to Work scheme.

You should also consider setting up a bicycle users' group (BUG). A BUG enables employees to swap knowledge about things like the safest routes to work, and to give ongoing feedback on improvement which may be needed.

Walking to work

The option of walking to work may be cheaper than other transport but some crucial barriers remain. Assessing certain factors in your workplace travel plan can help to make it more attractive to staff.

• Well-lit routes - is the lighting around your building and nearby streets adequate? Report problems to the landowner, your council or DfI if staff don't feel safe due to dark sections of their walking routes.
• Route planning - building in walking as part of a longer journey eg from a public transport hub to your premises will be more attractive with a direct route. Help your staff to see the options with route maps and push for local infrastructure improvements, for example safer crossings on busy junctions and new traffic-free bridges over local rivers or roads.

Sustrans provides support and advice to businesses on promoting walking and cycling in the workplace.

Many areas of Northern Ireland benefit from good quality public transport, especially with the railway network, the Metro bus network in Belfast and future plans for the expansion of the Belfast Bus Rapid Transit system, Glider. However the rural nature of much of the country means public transport isn't the first option for many people.

Some employees may take some persuading to convince them to use public transport. Common complaints include:

• fare costs
• infrequent or unreliable services
• feeling of safety at stations
• inconvenience compared with other options

Promoting public transport

Public transport plays an important role in reducing congestion in our urban areas and benefits public health by encouraging walking and cycling as part of door-to-door journeys. Some things you could do to encourage greater use of public transport might include:

• securing a discount ticket deal that covers a range of fares from daily to annual season tickets
• offering an interest-free loan to boost take-up of season tickets
• negotiating with Translink and other transport operators about rescheduling services, extending bus routes, organising new bus services or improving station facilities
• offering a free minibus service from local train and bus stations

Making your staff aware of the many 'Park and Ride' locations around Northern Ireland can help to reduce car travel - find more information on Park and Ride.

Any service improvement needs to be backed up by strong marketing to ensure people have access to up-to-date information, eg timetable changes. Consider displaying information on your intranet, if appropriate, or distribute it in leaflet or poster form. It's essential you actively promote services to increase uptake.

Translink offer several options for discounted travel over long periods, such as the aLink card. You can contact Translink to obtain promotional material and discuss schemes.

Tax benefits of travel plans

You can take advantage of exemptions from tax or National Insurance contributions in certain situations. For example, if you provide work buses with more than nine seats or if you provide interest-free loans - up to £5,000 a year - to buy season tickets.

Car sharing - also known as lift-sharing, carpooling or ride-sharing - is when two or more people arrange to share a car journey. Car sharing can help your employees and your business cut back on car use, for both commuter journeys and business-related travel. This saves your staff money and helps to cut congestion and pollution in Northern Ireland.

Informal car sharing, where employees share with colleagues, neighbours or family members has always been a crucial part of NI's transport system. This is usually supported by notice boards in business premises which are a good place for employees to find colleagues looking to share journeys. The growth of the internet has seen the development of a more widespread use of car sharing supported by online notice boards which can help staff to find car sharing matches both inside and outside the business.

There are two main types of car sharing:

• Open car sharing - where anyone in a defined geographical area can join a sharing scheme. This involves no input from the employer, and is likely to be most appropriate for small businesses if the staff don't live near each other.
• Closed car sharing - where a business sets up an in-house car-matching scheme.

You can find out more about car sharing and join local schemes with Liftshare.

Car sharing in NI is encouraged by the Department for Infrastructure with dedicated 'Park and Share' car parks at key road junctions. These act as meet-up points for sharers - find more information on Park and Share sites.

How you manage car parking is integral to your workplace travel plan. Having a zero-parking policy may be an option for businesses in town and city centres where public transport is good. On the other hand, providing plentiful free car parking is likely to encourage your employees to use their cars.

Even if your business offers a lot of parking space, you may struggle to cater for all your staff and visitors. You could also find yourself unable or unwilling to provide more space, due to the expense involved or a lack of available land.

One way to manage car parking is to introduce a needs-based parking permit system. This can allow you to allocate guaranteed parking to those with mobility difficulties, perhaps those who car share or with caring responsibilities, or some employees with a clear business need to access parking facilities on a regular basis.

Alternatively, you could charge staff for car parking. This is unlikely to prove popular with employees unless it is pitched clearly and fairly. It may help to make your staff aware that the business cost of providing each parking space is typically £400 to £1,000 per year.

You could counterbalance parking charges by offering incentives for not driving into work. These can include entry into prize draws, providing shopping vouchers and awarding salary bonuses. You should be aware that salary bonuses are taxable.

You may also consider using the revenue from new car park charges to fund some of your workplace travel plan incentives. This way employees will be able to see the balance of 'give and take' in your travel plan and can help staff to accept change.

Operating a workplace travel plan can bring many benefits for your business and your staff. In particular, it will save your business money and reduce the impact it has on the environment, for example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By managing business travel needs and associated costs, and promoting sustainable alternatives through a travel plan, you will also demonstrate corporate social responsibility while improving staff engagement and retention.

Business benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your business a workplace travel plan can:

• save money on the cost of providing and maintaining parking spaces
• solve problems caused by demand for parking
• cut mileage claims and other business travel costs
• reduce staff downtime spent travelling on business
• reduce the costs of running a fleet
• solve delivery and customer access problems caused by traffic congestion on and around your site
• improve your image with both customers, suppliers and neighbours
• improve staff health and reduce absenteeism
• help recruit and keep staff by making journeys to work easier and cheaper, and improving your image as a responsible employer
• improve your corporate social responsibility reputation, including meeting environmental targets - see corporate social responsibility

Employee benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your staff a workplace travel plan can:

• reduce the cost of travel to work, or even remove the need to own a car
• reduce journey times to work
• provide a better work-life balance through flexible working and less need to travel on business
• provide benefits to a wider range of people by shifting from travel perks based on seniority to incentives for sustainable travel available to all staff, including those without a car
• ensure parking for those with most need of a vehicle
• help provide less stressful options for travel to work
• give opportunities to build healthy exercise into daily life

Workplace travel plans can also contribute to a planning application for a new site or for new accommodation on your current site.

Businesses of different sizes and locations will have different measures of success for a workplace travel plan, but the key features to include for a successful travel plan include:

• Buy-in from management - this will ensure enough resources are allocated. Managers should also lead by example by committing to travel sustainably.
• Buy-in from staff - if your business is large enough, you could use a steering group with representatives from different areas of the business to gain support.
• Allocation of staff time - setting up and running a travel plan will take time and effort, for example conducting a staff travel survey or setting up a car share register. You should support a specific member of staff to implement the travel plan.
• Allocation of money - your travel plan co-ordinator will require a budget to cover things like a travel survey and publicity materials. Many times a travel plan will pay for itself, for example reducing business travel in private cars will cut mileage claims, or holding online meetings which save on the cost of flights.
• A long-term strategic approach - changing the culture of your business will require long-term communication, backed up by encouragement and incentives. Consider reviewing targets in the light of annual monitoring surveys - see changing travel culture in your business.
• Local alliances - consider drawing upon local support, for example your local council, chamber of commerce, or business groups - they may be able to offer practical tips or grants. You may be able to negotiate discounts with transport providers and local cycle shops etc or liaise with other local businesses that have travel plans in place.
• Information gathering - find out more about the travel habits of those coming to your site and the transport possibilities in your local area. This will help you to establish a baseline to monitor the progress and success of your travel plan.

Moving away from a culture of single occupancy car use is essential to a successful travel plan, but it's also a challenge. Businesses often provide company cars as part of employment packages or set high mileage reimbursement rates as a 'perk'.

On the other hand, high quality potential employees can be attracted by your business reputation for staff care and the local environment. Making it easy for your employees to make alternative choices can help to reduce their reliance on car travel.

Promotion and incentives

How you pitch the plan is vital to its success - it needs to be promoted in a positive way. Energetic marketing campaigns will encourage strong uptake. Focus on the personal benefits that changing travel patterns could have for your employees - like saving them money and having a healthier, less stressful life.

You could use a variety of marketing tools and techniques, such as:

• branding the plan
• using promotional events
• staff incentives, special offers and prizes
• involving your business in external competitions

Induction packs for new starters should also include comprehensive information about sustainable travel options.

You need to commit to a long-term communication effort to ensure that the message stays fresh and that travel patterns change.

Flexi-time and home working

Flexible working, including home working, is a viable option for many businesses even if it is just for short defined periods. It also ties in with wider business objectives such as committing to improving work/life balance.

You could also consider staggering shifts or start and finish times to maximise the use of public transport and to avoid peak travel times.

Video conferencing

Videoconferencing can be a very efficient alternative to face-to-face meetings which would require time-consuming and costly travel.

Plenty of free video call options are available through popular internet companies, allowing any business to get started with minimum cost. Technical advances mean documents and graphics can be easily displayed within calls, and meetings can be recorded for later use.

Investing in conference phones, videoconference suites and business-licensed conferencing software and technical infrastructure is an important step if you want to embed this in your everyday business culture. Return on your investment costs can be assessed against travel costs saved.

The health benefits of walking or cycling to work are proven. Public Health Agency guidance shows that 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week cuts the risk of developing serious illnesses by up to half. Your business and staff will benefit from establishing a culture where walking and cycling into work becomes part of an everyday routine.

Cycling to work

There are practical measures which you can take to increase cycling journeys among your staff. Carrying out a staff survey can help you to prioritise what measures you need to take.

Investing in secure and sheltered cycle parking can make a big difference to employees' choice to cycle to work. Bicycle theft is common in Northern Ireland, especially from on-street cycle stands and in areas with poor security monitoring. Making a bicycle shelter available in an off-street location will make cycling more attractive to your staff. Many businesses in Northern Ireland have invested in lockable bicycle cages for additional security.

Providing additional facilities such as showers, changing rooms and lockers can also encourage longer journeys. You should also consider whether high-profile bicycle parking outside your premises can attract customers.

Pushing for improved cycle routes around your premises and on regular routes to work can also make cycling more attractive. In leased or shared business centres talk to the landowner about improvements that your business needs. Larger businesses with their own premises may invest in dedicated cycling routes within their grounds.

Safety is a major barrier to cycling to work, particularly in areas of Northern Ireland where cycling infrastructure is poor or non-existent. Contact the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and your local district council about improving cycling infrastructure in the area, or to discuss issues that arise with roads and junctions around your workplace.

Cycling training can be provided to help staff gain confidence - find out about Bikeability cycle training. Promoting cycling to work can include regular cycling events, taking parts in external 'cycle to work' competitions with other businesses and getting involved with events like Bike Week.

As an employer, you are entitled to lend your employees bicycles and related equipment tax-free. Providing cycle parking is also tax-exempt. Alternatively, the Cycle to Work scheme offers a way to dramatically cut the cost of cycles to employees. Typical savings are between 30 and 50 per cent - find out more about the Cycle to Work scheme.

You should also consider setting up a bicycle users' group (BUG). A BUG enables employees to swap knowledge about things like the safest routes to work, and to give ongoing feedback on improvement which may be needed.

Walking to work

The option of walking to work may be cheaper than other transport but some crucial barriers remain. Assessing certain factors in your workplace travel plan can help to make it more attractive to staff.

• Well-lit routes - is the lighting around your building and nearby streets adequate? Report problems to the landowner, your council or DfI if staff don't feel safe due to dark sections of their walking routes.
• Route planning - building in walking as part of a longer journey eg from a public transport hub to your premises will be more attractive with a direct route. Help your staff to see the options with route maps and push for local infrastructure improvements, for example safer crossings on busy junctions and new traffic-free bridges over local rivers or roads.

Sustrans provides support and advice to businesses on promoting walking and cycling in the workplace.

Many areas of Northern Ireland benefit from good quality public transport, especially with the railway network, the Metro bus network in Belfast and future plans for the expansion of the Belfast Bus Rapid Transit system, Glider. However the rural nature of much of the country means public transport isn't the first option for many people.

Some employees may take some persuading to convince them to use public transport. Common complaints include:

• fare costs
• infrequent or unreliable services
• feeling of safety at stations
• inconvenience compared with other options

Promoting public transport

Public transport plays an important role in reducing congestion in our urban areas and benefits public health by encouraging walking and cycling as part of door-to-door journeys. Some things you could do to encourage greater use of public transport might include:

• securing a discount ticket deal that covers a range of fares from daily to annual season tickets
• offering an interest-free loan to boost take-up of season tickets
• negotiating with Translink and other transport operators about rescheduling services, extending bus routes, organising new bus services or improving station facilities
• offering a free minibus service from local train and bus stations

Making your staff aware of the many 'Park and Ride' locations around Northern Ireland can help to reduce car travel - find more information on Park and Ride.

Any service improvement needs to be backed up by strong marketing to ensure people have access to up-to-date information, eg timetable changes. Consider displaying information on your intranet, if appropriate, or distribute it in leaflet or poster form. It's essential you actively promote services to increase uptake.

Translink offer several options for discounted travel over long periods, such as the aLink card. You can contact Translink to obtain promotional material and discuss schemes.

Tax benefits of travel plans

You can take advantage of exemptions from tax or National Insurance contributions in certain situations. For example, if you provide work buses with more than nine seats or if you provide interest-free loans - up to £5,000 a year - to buy season tickets.

Car sharing - also known as lift-sharing, carpooling or ride-sharing - is when two or more people arrange to share a car journey. Car sharing can help your employees and your business cut back on car use, for both commuter journeys and business-related travel. This saves your staff money and helps to cut congestion and pollution in Northern Ireland.

Informal car sharing, where employees share with colleagues, neighbours or family members has always been a crucial part of NI's transport system. This is usually supported by notice boards in business premises which are a good place for employees to find colleagues looking to share journeys. The growth of the internet has seen the development of a more widespread use of car sharing supported by online notice boards which can help staff to find car sharing matches both inside and outside the business.

There are two main types of car sharing:

• Open car sharing - where anyone in a defined geographical area can join a sharing scheme. This involves no input from the employer, and is likely to be most appropriate for small businesses if the staff don't live near each other.
• Closed car sharing - where a business sets up an in-house car-matching scheme.

You can find out more about car sharing and join local schemes with Liftshare.

Car sharing in NI is encouraged by the Department for Infrastructure with dedicated 'Park and Share' car parks at key road junctions. These act as meet-up points for sharers - find more information on Park and Share sites.

How you manage car parking is integral to your workplace travel plan. Having a zero-parking policy may be an option for businesses in town and city centres where public transport is good. On the other hand, providing plentiful free car parking is likely to encourage your employees to use their cars.

Even if your business offers a lot of parking space, you may struggle to cater for all your staff and visitors. You could also find yourself unable or unwilling to provide more space, due to the expense involved or a lack of available land.

One way to manage car parking is to introduce a needs-based parking permit system. This can allow you to allocate guaranteed parking to those with mobility difficulties, perhaps those who car share or with caring responsibilities, or some employees with a clear business need to access parking facilities on a regular basis.

Alternatively, you could charge staff for car parking. This is unlikely to prove popular with employees unless it is pitched clearly and fairly. It may help to make your staff aware that the business cost of providing each parking space is typically £400 to £1,000 per year.

You could counterbalance parking charges by offering incentives for not driving into work. These can include entry into prize draws, providing shopping vouchers and awarding salary bonuses. You should be aware that salary bonuses are taxable.

You may also consider using the revenue from new car park charges to fund some of your workplace travel plan incentives. This way employees will be able to see the balance of 'give and take' in your travel plan and can help staff to accept change.

Operating a workplace travel plan can bring many benefits for your business and your staff. In particular, it will save your business money and reduce the impact it has on the environment, for example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By managing business travel needs and associated costs, and promoting sustainable alternatives through a travel plan, you will also demonstrate corporate social responsibility while improving staff engagement and retention.

Business benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your business a workplace travel plan can:

• save money on the cost of providing and maintaining parking spaces
• solve problems caused by demand for parking
• cut mileage claims and other business travel costs
• reduce staff downtime spent travelling on business
• reduce the costs of running a fleet
• solve delivery and customer access problems caused by traffic congestion on and around your site
• improve your image with both customers, suppliers and neighbours
• improve staff health and reduce absenteeism
• help recruit and keep staff by making journeys to work easier and cheaper, and improving your image as a responsible employer
• improve your corporate social responsibility reputation, including meeting environmental targets - see corporate social responsibility

Employee benefits of a workplace travel plan

For your staff a workplace travel plan can:

• reduce the cost of travel to work, or even remove the need to own a car
• reduce journey times to work
• provide a better work-life balance through flexible working and less need to travel on business
• provide benefits to a wider range of people by shifting from travel perks based on seniority to incentives for sustainable travel available to all staff, including those without a car
• ensure parking for those with most need of a vehicle
• help provide less stressful options for travel to work
• give opportunities to build healthy exercise into daily life

Workplace travel plans can also contribute to a planning application for a new site or for new accommodation on your current site.

Businesses of different sizes and locations will have different measures of success for a workplace travel plan, but the key features to include for a successful travel plan include:

• Buy-in from management - this will ensure enough resources are allocated. Managers should also lead by example by committing to travel sustainably.
• Buy-in from staff - if your business is large enough, you could use a steering group with representatives from different areas of the business to gain support.
• Allocation of staff time - setting up and running a travel plan will take time and effort, for example conducting a staff travel survey or setting up a car share register. You should support a specific member of staff to implement the travel plan.
• Allocation of money - your travel plan co-ordinator will require a budget to cover things like a travel survey and publicity materials. Many times a travel plan will pay for itself, for example reducing business travel in private cars will cut mileage claims, or holding online meetings which save on the cost of flights.
• A long-term strategic approach - changing the culture of your business will require long-term communication, backed up by encouragement and incentives. Consider reviewing targets in the light of annual monitoring surveys - see changing travel culture in your business.
• Local alliances - consider drawing upon local support, for example your local council, chamber of commerce, or business groups - they may be able to offer practical tips or grants. You may be able to negotiate discounts with transport providers and local cycle shops etc or liaise with other local businesses that have travel plans in place.
• Information gathering - find out more about the travel habits of those coming to your site and the transport possibilities in your local area. This will help you to establish a baseline to monitor the progress and success of your travel plan.

Moving away from a culture of single occupancy car use is essential to a successful travel plan, but it's also a challenge. Businesses often provide company cars as part of employment packages or set high mileage reimbursement rates as a 'perk'.

On the other hand, high quality potential employees can be attracted by your business reputation for staff care and the local environment. Making it easy for your employees to make alternative choices can help to reduce their reliance on car travel.

Promotion and incentives

How you pitch the plan is vital to its success - it needs to be promoted in a positive way. Energetic marketing campaigns will encourage strong uptake. Focus on the personal benefits that changing travel patterns could have for your employees - like saving them money and having a healthier, less stressful life.

You could use a variety of marketing tools and techniques, such as:

• branding the plan
• using promotional events
• staff incentives, special offers and prizes
• involving your business in external competitions

Induction packs for new starters should also include comprehensive information about sustainable travel options.

You need to commit to a long-term communication effort to ensure that the message stays fresh and that travel patterns change.

Flexi-time and home working

Flexible working, including home working, is a viable option for many businesses even if it is just for short defined periods. It also ties in with wider business objectives such as committing to improving work/life balance.

You could also consider staggering shifts or start and finish times to maximise the use of public transport and to avoid peak travel times.

Video conferencing

Videoconferencing can be a very efficient alternative to face-to-face meetings which would require time-consuming and costly travel.

Plenty of free video call options are available through popular internet companies, allowing any business to get started with minimum cost. Technical advances mean documents and graphics can be easily displayed within calls, and meetings can be recorded for later use.

Investing in conference phones, videoconference suites and business-licensed conferencing software and technical infrastructure is an important step if you want to embed this in your everyday business culture. Return on your investment costs can be assessed against travel costs saved.

The health benefits of walking or cycling to work are proven. Public Health Agency guidance shows that 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week cuts the risk of developing serious illnesses by up to half. Your business and staff will benefit from establishing a culture where walking and cycling into work becomes part of an everyday routine.

Cycling to work

There are practical measures which you can take to increase cycling journeys among your staff. Carrying out a staff survey can help you to prioritise what measures you need to take.

Investing in secure and sheltered cycle parking can make a big difference to employees' choice to cycle to work. Bicycle theft is common in Northern Ireland, especially from on-street cycle stands and in areas with poor security monitoring. Making a bicycle shelter available in an off-street location will make cycling more attractive to your staff. Many businesses in Northern Ireland have invested in lockable bicycle cages for additional security.

Providing additional facilities such as showers, changing rooms and lockers can also encourage longer journeys. You should also consider whether high-profile bicycle parking outside your premises can attract customers.

Pushing for improved cycle routes around your premises and on regular routes to work can also make cycling more attractive. In leased or shared business centres talk to the landowner about improvements that your business needs. Larger businesses with their own premises may invest in dedicated cycling routes within their grounds.

Safety is a major barrier to cycling to work, particularly in areas of Northern Ireland where cycling infrastructure is poor or non-existent. Contact the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and your local district council about improving cycling infrastructure in the area, or to discuss issues that arise with roads and junctions around your workplace.

Cycling training can be provided to help staff gain confidence - find out about Bikeability cycle training. Promoting cycling to work can include regular cycling events, taking parts in external 'cycle to work' competitions with other businesses and getting involved with events like Bike Week.

As an employer, you are entitled to lend your employees bicycles and related equipment tax-free. Providing cycle parking is also tax-exempt. Alternatively, the Cycle to Work scheme offers a way to dramatically cut the cost of cycles to employees. Typical savings are between 30 and 50 per cent - find out more about the Cycle to Work scheme.

You should also consider setting up a bicycle users' group (BUG). A BUG enables employees to swap knowledge about things like the safest routes to work, and to give ongoing feedback on improvement which may be needed.

Walking to work

The option of walking to work may be cheaper than other transport but some crucial barriers remain. Assessing certain factors in your workplace travel plan can help to make it more attractive to staff.

• Well-lit routes - is the lighting around your building and nearby streets adequate? Report problems to the landowner, your council or DfI if staff don't feel safe due to dark sections of their walking routes.
• Route planning - building in walking as part of a longer journey eg from a public transport hub to your premises will be more attractive with a direct route. Help your staff to see the options with route maps and push for local infrastructure improvements, for example safer crossings on busy junctions and new traffic-free bridges over local rivers or roads.

Sustrans provides support and advice to businesses on promoting walking and cycling in the workplace.

Many areas of Northern Ireland benefit from good quality public transport, especially with the railway network, the Metro bus network in Belfast and future plans for the expansion of the Belfast Bus Rapid Transit system, Glider. However the rural nature of much of the country means public transport isn't the first option for many people.

Some employees may take some persuading to convince them to use public transport. Common complaints include:

• fare costs
• infrequent or unreliable services
• feeling of safety at stations
• inconvenience compared with other options

Promoting public transport

Public transport plays an important role in reducing congestion in our urban areas and benefits public health by encouraging walking and cycling as part of door-to-door journeys. Some things you could do to encourage greater use of public transport might include:

• securing a discount ticket deal that covers a range of fares from daily to annual season tickets
• offering an interest-free loan to boost take-up of season tickets
• negotiating with Translink and other transport operators about rescheduling services, extending bus routes, organising new bus services or improving station facilities
• offering a free minibus service from local train and bus stations

Making your staff aware of the many 'Park and Ride' locations around Northern Ireland can help to reduce car travel - find more information on Park and Ride.

Any service improvement needs to be backed up by strong marketing to ensure people have access to up-to-date information, eg timetable changes. Consider displaying information on your intranet, if appropriate, or distribute it in leaflet or poster form. It's essential you actively promote services to increase uptake.

Translink offer several options for discounted travel over long periods, such as the aLink card. You can contact Translink to obtain promotional material and discuss schemes.

Tax benefits of travel plans

You can take advantage of exemptions from tax or National Insurance contributions in certain situations. For example, if you provide work buses with more than nine seats or if you provide interest-free loans - up to £5,000 a year - to buy season tickets.

Car sharing - also known as lift-sharing, carpooling or ride-sharing - is when two or more people arrange to share a car journey. Car sharing can help your employees and your business cut back on car use, for both commuter journeys and business-related travel. This saves your staff money and helps to cut congestion and pollution in Northern Ireland.

Informal car sharing, where employees share with colleagues, neighbours or family members has always been a crucial part of NI's transport system. This is usually supported by notice boards in business premises which are a good place for employees to find colleagues looking to share journeys. The growth of the internet has seen the development of a more widespread use of car sharing supported by online notice boards which can help staff to find car sharing matches both inside and outside the business.

There are two main types of car sharing:

• Open car sharing - where anyone in a defined geographical area can join a sharing scheme. This involves no input from the employer, and is likely to be most appropriate for small businesses if the staff don't live near each other.
• Closed car sharing - where a business sets up an in-house car-matching scheme.

You can find out more about car sharing and join local schemes with Liftshare.

Car sharing in NI is encouraged by the Department for Infrastructure with dedicated 'Park and Share' car parks at key road junctions. These act as meet-up points for sharers - find more information on Park and Share sites.

How you manage car parking is integral to your workplace travel plan. Having a zero-parking policy may be an option for businesses in town and city centres where public transport is good. On the other hand, providing plentiful free car parking is likely to encourage your employees to use their cars.

Even if your business offers a lot of parking space, you may struggle to cater for all your staff and visitors. You could also find yourself unable or unwilling to provide more space, due to the expense involved or a lack of available land.

One way to manage car parking is to introduce a needs-based parking permit system. This can allow you to allocate guaranteed parking to those with mobility difficulties, perhaps those who car share or with caring responsibilities, or some employees with a clear business need to access parking facilities on a regular basis.

Alternatively, you could charge staff for car parking. This is unlikely to prove popular with employees unless it is pitched clearly and fairly. It may help to make your staff aware that the business cost of providing each parking space is typically £400 to £1,000 per year.

You could counterbalance parking charges by offering incentives for not driving into work. These can include entry into prize draws, providing shopping vouchers and awarding salary bonuses. You should be aware that salary bonuses are taxable.

You may also consider using the revenue from new car park charges to fund some of your workplace travel plan incentives. This way employees will be able to see the balance of 'give and take' in your travel plan and can help staff to accept change.