West Midlands business leaders are being shown how they can help cut congestion by providing more travel choices for their employees.

A free seminar in Birmingham will also help unlock Government funding for a more environment-friendly approach.

Regional public transport promoter Centro and Birmingham City Council are encouraging bosses to sign up for the event, which they have organised with the West Midlands TravelWise Group.  The idea is for companies to develop a package of measures, tailored to their own needs, to encourage employees to ditch the car and use other more sustainable forms of transport for their daily commute.

Store giant B&Q has been rolling out this Travel Plan approach to all its stores and claims 40 per cent have already met targets for modal shift.

“Within B&Q we feel that there has been a very good response to staff taking up Travel Plan initiatives,” says John Miller, who will be speaking at the Birmingham seminar.

“It is however, still a big challenge to get people out of their cars and to think about the advantages of car sharing, cycling, walking or using public transport for their journey to work,” he adds.

B&Q has a dedicated Travel Plan budget for its Hampshire headquarters and 70 stores nationwide.  This has been used to obtain pool bikes, provide discounted bus tickets and install cycle storage for those who have been willing to try other ways of travel. (Link to B&Q corporate website)

In the West Midlands, Centro and local authorities are working with businesses to provide help and advice to those wishing to develop a travel strategy for their organisation.

Reducing dependence on the car can lead to big savings for employers, particularly those based in major urban areas.  Birmingham companies could save more than £1000 per member of staff by persuading employees who drive to work to switch to public transport instead, it has been claimed.

In an opinion poll conducted for the TravelWise campaign, more than 70 per cent of people in the West Midlands said their employer provided car parking spaces for staff.  At the same time, the price of a leasing a car parking space in central Birmingham has rocketed to more than £1700 per car.

Using the same money to offer staff a discount on travel passes through a scheme operated by public transport promoter Centro could cost closer to £120 per person instead.

“The seminar we are organising will offer the opportunity for companies to hear directly from companies that already have developed a Travel Plan and the benefits they have achieved,” comments Centro TravelWise officer Kerry Slater.

“We see travel plans as part of the bigger picture in improving travel choice. Moving around is something that is important to all of us, whether it be to work or meeting, taking our children to school or getting out and about at the weekend.  Improving travel choice means we have the opportunity to address issues of traffic congestion, air quality and health,” she adds.

The free Travel Plan seminar is at Austin Court, Birmingham on Thursday 24 November.  Companies need to book before 18 November to guarantee a place and the details can be found on the Centro website at www.centro.org.uk/travelwise.  The organisers can also be contacted by email: travelwise@centro.org.uk