Travel Plan Training and Awards

Travel Planning in Wales has received a boost with the development and all Wales roll out of the Travel Plan Awards and SMART Travel Training. These Welsh Assembly funded initiatives were developed by the Travel Plan Co-ordinators in the South West Wales Transport Consortia (SWWITCH) to encourage businesses and organisations to develop Travel Plans to help visitors and staff get to the site by alternatives to the single occupancy car, reduce car parking and congestion issues and encourage more sustainable forms of travel.

The training is delivered to Champions within businesses and organisations across Wales by the Regional Travel Plan Co-ordinator for the area as well as representatives from Traveline Cymru and Sustrans, the Sustainable Transport Charity. These Champions are typically front line staff who deal with customers either face to face or over the phone. Businesses who have already received the training include employees from the Admiral Insurance Contact Centre in Swansea, Job Centre Plus employees and First Appointments and Reception staff at a number of NHS Trusts in Wales.

The training programme includes information about how people can get various information on how to travel in different ways. It also includes hands on demonstrations of the various online and mobile phone resources available including car sharing websites, the Traveline Cymru Journey Planner and mobile services and cycling journey planners from Sustrans. Feedback from the training has been incredibly positive with the following feedback being given:

“Useful information to disseminate to staff and students.”

“Very beneficial, well structured course, presented well with all aspects covered. Very enjoyable”

“It is an excellent information pack that we can use to pass information on to patients”

“Lots of information that I did not know - encouraging me to consider other forms of transport for journeys.”

Delivery of the training in an organisation is just one of the criteria a business writing a travel plan needs to fulfil to be awarded for an All Wales Travel Plan Award. The Award scheme is a Welsh Assembly recognised scheme which rewards businesses for their travel planning activity. The award has four tiers, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum and a number of businesses in the South West Wales area are holders of the awards including the Environment Agency in South West Wales who hold the only Platinum Award, HSBC on Swanseas Enterprise Park who hold a Gold Award and Dyfed Powys Police who hold Silver.

The Travel Plan Awards can also assist in the application for other Awards and Accolades in Wales including Corporate Health Standard, Investors in People, Green Dragon Environmental Awards and BSI Pas500:2008.

For further information about the SMART Travel Training, click here and for the Travel Plan Awards, click here.