Monitoring travel plans

On this page you will find the robust monitoring strategies required, including annual reporting and periodic reviews.

Overview

It is important that the transport vision for a development site is realised, and that associated targets for each travel plan are met. As such, travel plans should provide details of the monitoring processes that will be employed, including consideration of (proportional) fallback measures if the vision/targets are not being met.

This section sets out the minimum requirements for most travel plans. For complex or large developments, a more sophisticated “monitor and manage” strategy may also be required for which travel plan monitoring will form an important part.

Timescales

The timescale for monitoring will depend on the type of development but should match the design horizon (in years) identified in the transport assessment and the proposed targets. As noted previously, very large developments are likely best managed by phase.

Initial monitoring should be undertaken:

  • Employment/retail/leisure: within three months of occupation of each unit
  • Residential: within three months of the site reaching 50% occupancy (or to be agreed depending on the scale of the residential development and its phasing)

Primary target monitoring

As noted previously, the primary target should be in the form of trip generation totals given in the transport assessment. As such, the monitoring of the primary target should be in the form of counts. For some developments, this could be in the form of automatic traffic counters built into the access road. However, for most developments, the TRICS Standard Assessment Methodology (SAM) should be adopted.

Where the Travel Plan is being used as part of a broader “monitor and manage” strategy. (e.g. where off-site parking may be an important factor, off-site parking surveys may also be required; trip numbers through specific junctions may be of interest etc etc) then consideration should be given to including these elements in the travel plan monitoring. Given ‘Monitor and Manage’ will be complex for some sites, such strategies will be considered on a site-by-site basis.

Travel surveys

Travel information for the site should also be gathered by Travel Surveys. Such an approach is also important to identify measure-specific issues which may be useful in promoting specific interventions.

The format of the travel survey should be agreed with the highway authority prior to it being used.

Where the Travel Survey is being used to identify trip totals, a statistically significant sample should be obtained (or 30% as a minimum). We would recommend visiting households directly to obtain survey responses, rather than relying on leaflet drops or mailed-surveys.

Although mode-split data should not usually form the basis of Targets (for the reasons stated previously), resultant mode-splits should be reported (in terms of proportions of total trips and quantities) as part of the monitoring reports.

Monitoring timetable

An example/recommended monitoring timetable for a single occupier travel plan is provided below. (For housing developments, the normal starting point would be 50% occupation, but this would vary for large developments and align with the proposed phasing).

  • Year 1: Travel survey and count
  • Year 2: Travel survey
  • Year 3: Travel survey and count
  • Year 4: Travel survey
  • Year 5: Travel survey and count

Developers must fund the cost of gathering formal monitoring data.

Monitoring of measures

Measures implemented as part of the travel plan, such as car-share schemes and bus taster tickets, should also be subject to ongoing monitoring as part of the travel plan.

The travel plan co-ordinator should also monitor specific areas relating to:

  • Resident/employee/visitor feedback
  • Demand for car parking
  • Cycle parking usage
  • The uptake of the car-share scheme
  • The uptake of discounted public transport tickets

Dependent on the extent of uptake of the above, action to increase such provision should be undertaken accordingly, in order to promote fully the usage of sustainable travel modes.

Reporting

The results of the surveys undertaken should be disseminated to all members of staff/ visitors/residents.

Reporting should be aligned to the vision-led approach of the monitor and manage strategy for the site. As a minimum, a commitment to produce an annual monitoring report for the Planning Authority and Local Highway Authority should be included within the Travel Plan. This is to assist in monitoring compliance to Section 106 agreements and planning conditions. Annual monitoring reports should be issued within one month of collecting data.

The monitoring reports should include:

  • The planning application number
  • How the travel plan has been implemented
  • How the travel plan is performing in line with the agreed targets (with these targets included in the monitoring report as set out in the agreed travel plan)

Each monitoring report should clearly set out:

  • Progress with respect to the delivery of the development (e.g. for housing sites, how many dwellings are built, how many are occupied)
  • Confirmation of travel plan co-ordinator contact details
  • Progress with respect to implementation of agreed measures (e.g. information about the delivery of taster tickets including numbers and feedback from survey responses including qualitative comments about the bus service to help inform areas for development)
  • Results of monitoring (travel surveys and travel counts)
  • Comparison and analysis of monitoring results with agreed targets
  • Updated action plan.

It should also include any relevant information on changes of personnel, partnerships with other organisations and detail brief plans for the forthcoming year.

Note: Derbyshire County Council has a preference for developers to use the ModeShift system for capturing travel plan implementation activity and monitoring data.

Reviewing the travel plan 

The travel plan itself should be a ‘living’ document. As such, the developer should give a commitment to review this periodically. Given this, a commitment to a three year review and evaluation with the planning authority and local highway authority should be given within the document.