Help! Staff travel planning / cycle rack recommendations

[ABlipInContinuity]

Our employer is merging two nearby offices into one. That means there will be 200 ish staff based at on office location with only 70 ish car parking spaces.

There was quite an outcry in the staff meeting when this was discussed. A few proposals were mooted including a 'lottery' for car parking spaces.

I've suggested a more intelligent approach, starting with a staff survey to identify travel needs and trends in order to properly inform any solutions that are decided upon. I would like to make it possible to anonymise the survey results, so recommendations on doing this would be appreciated too.

I would like to identify possible solutions that incentivise staff to use public transport, work, cycle or car share rather that subject anyone to any kind of lottery. Of course, incentives can carry implications so I need to know where I can find out what they might be. (I'm aware of companies that let staff claim a £1 each day they leave the car at home on expenses but I need to be able to pass on detailed knowledge of the tax implications of doing this).

It would also be good to know if there are any other tax breaks for encouraging staff to leave cars at home.

Finally, I need recommendations for a cycle rack. I've seen some links posted about before but try as I might, I can't find them now.

[andygates]

Well, one car space's worth of covered Sheffields will accommodate up to twenty bikes...

I'd start with a survey including:

How far do you live from work?
How do you get to work?
Do you have a bus service?  (yes/no/don't know)
Do/Would you cycle?

[Greenbank]

Sekura-Byk Ltd has some stands. I'd go for Sheffield stands (or the toast rack Sheffield stand version). Lockers are OTT for a corporate site.

As for the car parking space allocation, just make them first-come first-served. If you make parking unreliable (or expensive) then they'll soon look for the alternatives.

We have 64 free parking spaces for over 1000 people. If you have driven in then you've probably done it before 7.30am to avoid paying the congestion charge so you'll normally get a space, but it does mean you have to wait until 6.30pm to leave to avoid getting nobbled by the c-charge on the way home. But then there are over 20 rail/tube stations within a mile walk of the office. If you miss a free spot then you'll be paying at least £15 for a day's parking.

[ABlipInContinuity]

Well, one car space's worth of covered Sheffields will accommodate up to twenty bikes...

I'd start with a survey including:

How far do you live from work?
How do you get to work?
Do you have a bus service?  (yes/no/don't know)
Do/Would you cycle?

I want to anonymise results so I can collate post codes and preferred working times, in order to determine whether a car sharing scheme would be a good idea.

I was thinking questions enquiring about dependants - how many people have children to drop off at school and elderly parents they have to visit during the day etc.  One option might be to provide these people with priority parking (as well as the car sharers). (I don't want to even get onto the school run... as soon as raised my hand in the discussion the gentleman leading the discussion piped up "I can't cycle, I have to collect the kids from school" - which probably means he won't cycle)

Also thought it would be good, on a voluntary basis, to offer travel planning for people who want to switch from car to public transport or cycle but need some extra advice.


GB,
All this started because we are the incumbents. Staff at another office are being moved here. They are seen as benefitting because they have a shift pattern that starts early and at the moment only 15 spaces amongst 100 of them. The consensus is that a first come, first served basis for parking is not acceptable to most the people already here.

Which is why I would like to see a fairer system based on need.

Maybe a points system, so:

more than 3 miles from the office: +1
more than 10 miles from the office: +3
not within 1 mile of a bus route/train station enabling transport to the office: +5
carer for children with responsibility for collection/drop off: +3
carer for adults: +3
physically disabled: +10

Car parking spaces are then allocated to the people with the highest need.
But I'm very aware of three problems with this model:

- costly to administrate
- people will lie
- could be seen as discrimination


Just getting people to think about how they get to and from work would be a start.

[Adrian]

I've suggested a more intelligent approach

There is your mistake, right there.

[gordon taylor]

I'd go for first-come, first served, otherwise it becomes a minefield. Do disabled drivers who live close get priority over someone else who lives further away but car shares? The numbers in your allocation system are arbitrary - savvy individuals will suggest different values so that they come out on top.

Here's a couple of positive suggestions:

It is vital that some of the senior management travel to work by some means other than a car. If they all continue as car-commuters, the aspirational underlings will all want cars and car spaces too. The senior managers must lead by example.

An idea I saw in an American book was for the company to guarantee an "emergency" lift for anyone with a problem. This followed surveys that revealed that many people liked having their car at work so that they can respond to family problems - such as a child sick at school etc.

[gordon taylor]

Broxap are the people you want for cycle racks.

BROXAP

[mike]

the absolute last thing I would do is volunteer to organise anything to do with this.  Someone / some people are going to feel hard done by as a result and the organiser of any part of it will not be popular.  Much better to lobby hard for some decent bike parking, then see what 'management' decide, then stick up a couple of posters offering your help getting peoples bikes road-worthy.


Unless you're management of course, in which case you're screwed..

[Tom B]

Does the company own the car park? Does it charge for parking? If the answer to these questions is Yes then No, it is subsidising those who choose to come to work by car. The car park is an asset which could be sold to make money for shareholders or used to expand the company's operations. Any loyal company member should see this and press for an end to company-subsidised car use. Or am I too much of a free-marketeer? 

[Tom B]

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