Limerick Smarter Travel - Workplace Mobility Management Programme
About this good practice
Limerick Smarter Travel - Workplace Mobility Management Programme is an infrastructural and behavior change programme to engage employers with over 250 employees to encourage multimodality and all forms of sustainable transport.
The Smarter Travel Workplace Programme is implemented in association with the National Transport Authority’s Smarter Travel Workplace. This programme aims to promote sustainable transport initiatives, decrease congestion, reduce parking pressure, improve the travel options available to staff, and to increase environmental credentials of partner workplaces.
The Programme commences with the employer setting up a smarter travel committee. They then undertake a travel survey of employees and analysis of the environment at the location of the employer. An action plan is created with Hard Measures (bicycle parking & lockers, showers, public transport displays, car-pool parking spaces etc.) and Soft measures (awareness promotions, car-pool coffee mornings, cycle clubs etc.).
Follow up survey of employees and monitoring reports are undertaken in year 1, 3 and 5 in order to ensure that modal shift and long term behaviour change are achieved.
The benefit to the employer is a more active workplace that leads to reduced absenteeism and implementing a Mobility Management Plan also meets demands for corporate social responsibility and can be included in planning permission for new or expanded sites.
Expert opinion
Within mobility policy, changing people's behaviour is a constant challenge for transport policy makers all over Europe. While many measures are targeted at school kids (and rightly so, as habit are formed at an early age), a group that is rather neglected by policy makers is that of daily commuters. A recent survey showed that this group is likely to bring about the biggest short-term impact if they change their daily travel to work and back.
Along with the Limburg Employer approach, this measure from Limerick is among the few good examples that regional and city administrations can get inspiration from. The practice is transferable and can quickly be inserted into the overall policy toolbox at city or regional levels.
Information on the Limburg employer approach: https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/1053/employer-approach-by-maastricht-bereikbaar-influencing-employees-mobility-behavior/
Further information on employee behaviour change in our recent webinar:
https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/news/10849/webinar-recording-getting-more-people-to-cycle/?no_cache=1&cHash=ee784c05798788930ada1aee38a0dea3
Resources needed
This programme is coordinated by the Local Authority by 0.5 full time equivalent person. All infrastructure improvements are funded by the employers.
https://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Workplace-Travel-Plans-A-Guide-for-Implementers111.pdf
Evidence of success
This workplace programme has expanded to now cover all areas of Limerick.
Currently there are 12 active workplaces with over 250 employees participating in this programme. They actively engage with many other employers who are seeking planning permission to expand their business premises to ensure they include sufficient sustainable transport infrastructure to promote low carbon mobility for their workforce.
Since 2012 they have seen reduced rates of single occupancy cars use by 8%.
Potential for learning or transfer
This good practice is easily transferable to other regions and countries who wish to improve modal interchange to encourage more sustainable communities and end-to-end journeys by work commuters.
This good practice has been shared with all project partners in the MATCH-UP project.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Limerick City & County Council