Get fit, save money and help the environment on the way to work

Businesses and workers in North Yorkshire are being offered help to get fitter, save time and money and help the environment by creating travel plans to support cycling or walking to and from work.

The County Council has launched a service to help businesses to make free travel plans for staff, using active, sustainable ways of travelling as an alternative to driving. The goal is to reduce congestion and pressure on parking spaces, improve air quality and benefit employees’ health and wellbeing.

Individuals can also request personalised journey plans that will show active ways of getting to work.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive member for Access, said: “This is another way in which we are supporting businesses and their employees across the county, providing solutions for people at a very local level.

“We hope people will find travel plans particularly useful at the moment as many have to adopt new ways of working or take up new roles as we adapt to life during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our service may be able to help with solutions that make social distancing easier or that support flexible working.

“The benefits of more active travel can be wide-ranging. For example, for businesses, an active workforce is likely to be healthier and more productive and a plan can help to reduce a business’s impact on the environment and shows commitment to the community. For individuals, it could save time and money and help them to get fitter on their journey to work.”

The service is provided through Modeshift STARS Business, which delivers travel plans in education, business and community settings, view details on the Open North Yorkshire website. Through the Modeshift STARS scheme, businesses can work towards national accreditation.

As the County Council is a member of the Modeshift STARS scheme, businesses can create a travel plan and work towards accreditation without the £1,000 costs that they would incur were they to take part in the scheme on their own.

This offers a sister scheme to Modeshift STARS Education, which the County Council already offers to schools in the county to enable them to create free travel plans for students and staff. This can also be found on the Open North Yorkshire website, along with details of cycling confidence sessions and other support to encourage active travel.