Travel to Work Implementation Group
Travel to Work Implementation Group
20th May 2009 - Minutes
Present:
Len Hall (LH, Chair), Amy Watts (AW), Ceri Bishop (CB), Alan Crowther (AlC), Jerry Woods (JW), Martin Wiles (MW), Helen Galbraith (HG), Tony Macdonald (TM), David Hook (DH), Chris Wilmore (CW), Parviz Partow (PP), John Brenton (JB), Paul Newcomb (PN)
Paul Newcomb was welcomed to the group
1) Apologies:
Tracy Brunnock (TB), Amanda Carmichael (AC), Gill Robbins (GR), Peter Adams (PA) Peter Read (PR), Parviz Partow (PP)
2) Matters arising from last minutes: 1 Amendment made
· CB informed the group that the International Office, Student Accommodation and Student Housing departments all provided further evidence for departmental permits and CB had agreed the permits.
3. Departmental Applications / None to raise.4. Recruitment of new TWIG member / Martin Parkinson has been accepted by the group as a new member representing ‘Walking’. / CB to contact Martin and invite to next meeting.
5. Updating of the Staff Travel Plan / Sustainability Policy:
MW started by updating the group on the Sustainability Policy. Targets for the sustainability Policy are:90% achievement for Staff (currently 79%)
98% achievement for Students (currently 96%)
‘Single occupancy car’ for staff to reduce to 10% (currently 21%)
‘Single occupancy car’ for students to 2% (currently 4%). Also being looked into are business mileage delivery, visitors, student travel at the start and end of term. The Sustainability Policy has been agreed by UPARC but is still to go to Council.
Student Travel Plan:
AW informed the group that the review to the Staff Travel Plan has been driven by the Bio-Science and Maths buildings planning application.
TM asked what percentage of people that park on the street do we not know about. AW replied that the survey return is 46%, so 54% do not complete the survey. TM believed the test was indicative of survey. TM was concerned about its accuracy, LH wanted to know how student data was collected. AW informed the group that it is done the same way. AC wanted to know how the targets were set, AW and John Brenton looked at data and predictions (based on next year’s changes). TM believes there are over 1000 car journeys that the group would not know about, MW stated that they should only talk about what they know, not what they don’t. CW said that we should act on those that respond as they are more likely to engage in change. TM raised two points,
1. Restricting permits to new staff
2. Increased coupon costs
More importantly is that people cannot park; LH stated that is why the suggestion came for restricting permits for new members of staff, as long as they are told in advance at the time of appointment. TM was concerned that staff that are imperative to the University would possibly not sign a work contract if they could not park. CW was worried that the document was not straight forward enough for the University, AW replied that this is a standard template for the City Council and that a different template will be used for the Univeristy audience, HG is willing to meet with AW to discuss this further.. / AW to set up a meeting with HG and report progress at a future meeting.
6. Summary of PWE day. / Approximately 200 people visited the area and 57 breakfasts were served. Representatives from the City Car Club, First Bus and UWE attended, along with the Bike mechanics. £600 worth of sponsorship was gained from the service providers. Good event and will be repeaeted again next year. / !
7. Permit Renewals update. / CB informed the group that she had been in touch with David Spencer of IT to ask that the following changes be made to the system:
1. Coupon charges for non blue badge holders
2. Coupon charges are raised from 0.007% to 0.008% of salary
3. The annual Admin fee is raised from £10 to £15.
David Spencer informed CB that he would have to consult with his boss Luke Taylor to see when the work could be scheduled. CB asked that if this proved a problem LH would speak to Luke Taylor to ensure that the work gets done in time for the renewal, LH agreed. CB also informed the group that this year we would be asking users to download their own application forms from the car parking site, this reduces costs and amounts of paper sent out, on numerous occasions people have misplaced the forms sent to them which has caused more applications being sent out. We will provide paper applications for those not able to access a computer. / CB to contact LH if work is not agreed in time for 09/10 renewal.
8. New University Car Sharing Scheme update. / AW informed the group that there have been some teething problems with the new site, but they are being resolved. 9th June is National Car sharing day.
9. On-line application process / CB updated the group regarding the on-line application process. IT stated that it would not be possible to set up for 2009/10 renewal, there are many other projects being worked on at present and this was not considered a high enough priority. / CB & AW to revisit early next year.
10. Update on Precinct Masterplan / CB informed the group that she has been working on a new system for being able to monitor the amount of spaces in each car park. CB is having difficulties as so many car parks are currently being affected by building work around the precinct. As soon as CB is able to produce the paper version she will circulate to the group.
11. Cycling City Update. / AW produced a map of the precinct showing 5 areas where the Council have suggested putting additional cycle facilities on the highway (with protective buildouts). This will mean that the number of City Council metered parking bays will be reduced. CW did not agree that this parking should be taken away for bike hoops as there are plenty of areas, including the rear of MVB, where hoops could be put. AW explained that a review of the available space on the Precinct had taken place, but was experiencing extreme difficulty in gaining permission to use it. AW will raise this again at a later date and ask a member of Gardens and Grounds Services to attend a future meeting / AW to invite a member of Grounds and Gardens to a future meeting.
12. Car Parking Enforcement Update / CB told the group that the software for the handhelds had been installed and training for the officers and Administration staff has been completed. Security are waiting for the Secretary’s Office to agree the contract as there were a few problems with some of the registration information. CB will update the group before the next meeting if necessary.
13. 2009 TTW Survey / AW will present a draft at the next meeting; it was agreed that the number of questions should be reduced to try and increase the response rate (46% in 2007)
14. Update on New HUBS timetable / AW informed the group of the new timetable that was implemented on the 18 May 2009.
The next meeting is due to be held on the 9th September 2009 Venue TBC