As organisations in Derby grow and more employees are hired, the battle for parking increases and a rising demand for space requires more expenditure! Reducing…
As organisations in Derby grow and more employees are hired, the battle for parking increases and a rising demand for space requires more expenditure! Reducing the need for parking helps save organisations thousands of pounds and many headaches – so how do you do it?
Car-sharing is often an attractive sustainable travel option to people and also one of the most practical ways to make a real difference to our local environment. But how do you encourage employees to think about this alternative to single car use? If a high percentage of your staff already travel to work by car then, depending on individual circumstances, a large proportion of these people could be targeted to consider car-sharing at least one day a week.
“If everyone who drives on their own to work every day were to catch a lift with someone just once a week, the commuting car journeys would reduce by 20% and both parties could save up to £1000 per year.”
(National Carshare)
Benefits to employees
- Cost savings – potentially up to £1000 per year for each sharer
- Stress reduction
- Increased social interaction with colleagues
Individual savings per year through car-sharing
| Cost of car (per year)* | Distance to work (miles) | Number of sharers | Savings per sharer |
| <£10,000 | 15 | 3 | £800 |
| £10,000 – £13,000 | 15 | 3 | £1,000 |
| £20,000 – £30,000 | 15 | 3 | £2,000 |
Note:* includes typical running costs such as fuel and tyres, but excludes fixed running costs such as road tax, insurance, cost of capital, depreciation and breakdown cover. (Figures from Liftshare.com)
Benefits to employers
- Budget savings – the average car parking space costs in the region of £300-£500 a year to facilitate, with a large amount of spaces on site that bill could run to thousands of £s.
- Reduced parking problems on and around the site
- Relieving local traffic congestion
- Assist with recruitment and retention by making staff journeys to work easier and cheaper
- Contributes towards sustainability and travel plan targets
- Demonstrates Corporate Social Responsibility, including meeting environmental targets such as the
ISO14001 standard or global warming emissions targets
- Release land under car parks for more productive use
Free personal car-share website for your organisation
Connected are offering businesses that employ less than 250 people the opportunity to have their own car-share website so that employees can sign up to car-share with their colleagues. This gives you the chance to promote the scheme internally, which gives employees the opportunity to car-share with people they already have a working relationship with and the chance for you to benchmark and report the success of your own scheme. If you are an employer with more than 250 employees the same service is available but there is a charge of £3500 (which is a reduced amount for those in the Derby area).
If you are a small business then setting up a group may not be practical. Alternatively individuals can join the Derby Car-share scheme which is part of Connected. Individuals can quickly and simply register themselves and the journeys they would like to share and the website will find them a match. There is even a nifty savings calculator which shows how much money can be saved through car-sharing.
Ideas to promote Car-Sharing in your workplace
You might want to implement some incentives to encourage employees to make a shift towards car-share these could include:
- Priority parking spaces on site
- Connected can help by providing FREE posters and leaflets
- Provide recognition for those that use active and sustainable travel at an event or in a newsletter
- Run a prize draw or offer incentives for car-sharers
- Encourage car-sharing for business trips – smart fleet car booking system so employees going to similar destinations can share a ride
- Offer a guaranteed ride home for car-sharers – reassurance that they won’t be left stranded in an emergency. This is often reassuring to employees with small children or those who are primary carers.
It is good to keep up momentum and think of new ways of promotion. Staff turnover means that individuals leave, to be replaced by new workers, so the messages need to keep going out. It is beneficial to future activities to make everyone aware of the success of each event – a proven idea, for example, is to publicise a good news story of people who have begun car sharing together. You could investigate the opportunities of getting car sharing included in the induction. Don’t be disheartened if the first campaign doesn’t appear to get many people car sharing straight away. Raising awareness is the first stage of promoting anything and this may be all that happens initially. Further promotion will build on to generate sign up. It is worth remembering that some people will never want to change their method of travel to work, but that there will always be others that are prepared to listen. Soon enough you will start seeing the rewards and you will play a major part in keeping Derby moving.
If you would like to join the Connected Network, or just have a chat about what we can offer, you can contact us now on 01332 641759 or email: info@derbyconnected.com
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