TRAVEL SOUTH YORKSHIRE
DITCH THE CAR0 We are kicking off the new year with a renewed message from Travel South Yorkshire’s Active and Sustainable Travel team to encourage workplaces to think about how their employees are travelling to work. unLTD’s Bronte Saulle found out what options are available… Through the Department for Transport’s Sustainable Travel Access Fund (STAF), Travel South Yorkshire can support employers to enable their staff to improve their commute. This predominantly involves moving away from cars towards more active and sustainable forms of transport. The #LittleBigChanges campaign focuses on how a small change to a routine can make a big difference. Its aim is to encourage as many people as possible to make small changes to their lifestyle and encourage transport choices that are more active and sustainable, better for the individual and the local environment. Travel South Yorkshire Marketing Manager, Richard
Pilgrim poses the following important questions: “Do employers know or think about how their staff travel to work? Do they think about the impact that this could have on the individual’s health and wellbeing?” A study by Mindlab International found that walking, as part of a return trip by bus, provided up to half the recommended daily level of exercise (the NHS recommends 30 minutes per day, five days a week). Study participants walked for an average of 15 minutes when taking a return journey by bus - two and a half times more than when taking the same journey by car. According to a survey from the Journal of Public Health,
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people using public transport racked up an average of 20.5 minutes of physical activity, as part of their daily journeys alone. Breaking those figures down, train users accumulated 28.1 minutes and bus users 16 minutes. This resulted in overall 34% of public transport users achieving 30 minutes a day of exercise over the course of their journeys (21% of bus users and 52% of train users). Richard explained: “Public transport use is an effective way to incorporate physical activity into daily life, with one in three public transport users meeting physical activity guidelines. This suggests that shifts from sedentary travel modes to public transport could dramatically raise the
proportion of the population achieving recommended levels of physical activity.” There’s no denying that studies show ditching the car can contribute positively towards individual’s health and wellbeing, but often a shift in circumstances is the biggest driver of change. This can be anything from an office relocation to a change in availability or demands on existing car park infrastructure. Richard said: “The new year presents a chance to re-think all our habits and this includes the way we travel. Travel South Yorkshire’s Active and Sustainable Travel team will work with employers for free to consider ways that their employees can switch-up
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