A Career in Travel Planning and Sustainable Transport
The concept of travel planning or Green Travel Plans was first introduced in 1998 as
part of the Government’s White Paper, ‘A New Deal for Transport: Better for
Everyone’ and forms part of Local Transport Plan strategies designed to improve
accessibility to jobs, goods and services; reduce congestion; improve air quality; and
improve safety and security. In July 2005, the Department for Transport published,
'Smarter Choices – Changing the way we travel’, which aimed to reduce the
negative impacts of travel on congestion, carbon emissions, the environment and
health.
Active travel is an element within travel planning, which aims to increase levels of
walking and cycling as part of everyday travel choices, either as part of the daily
home-to-work commute or as leisure activity.
The topic of sustainable transport has risen up the political agenda over the past
10 years reflecting the increased concerns about the environment and climate
change.
The Work
Travel planning and active travel are part of the sustainable transport sector
encompassing bus, rail, light rail, cycling and walking, and accounting for over
450,000 UK jobs. The work will vary depending on whether you work in the public
or private sector or with a consultancy. Whatever, the location it will involve
some aspect of development and/or implementation of initiatives to support a more
sustainable approach to work and travel, including active travel plans to promote and
increase physical activity levels in the local community.
Public sector: local authorities are one of the main employers, offering a range of
job roles from developing travel plans for the local authority itself; to co-ordinating
school travel plans or developing a local active travel plan; through to a development
control officer or facilities manager roles with responsibility for co-ordinating
travel plans within a specific area or working for development control. Hospitals
and universities also hire travel planners. With the NHS responsible for around 5% of
the traffic on the road, planning for staff, patients and visitors is critical.
Universities usually employ someone with responsibility for travel planning and,
depending on specialisms, could also undertake research into sustainable
transport. Opportunities also exist within government departments too, such as
the Department for Transport, to support government policies and initiatives relating
to travel planning and sustainable transport.
Consultancies: this is a varied area that could involve working with a developer to
produce a travel plan for new building work or reviewing a developers’ work to
see if it is acceptable. Many of these jobs will be project-based and short term but
provide an opportunity to build up a wealth of experience.
Private sector: most large organisations will have a travel planner in some capacity
and if they are over 3000 employees they are required by law to have one for at least
three years. Other opportunities include facilities management jobs or travel planners
for business parks. Many private sector businesses will produce a travel plan if
required by their planning application or as part of their corporate social
responsibility programme.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs): there several campaigning and lobbying
organisations, eg, Campaign for Better Transport, Sustrans or Living Streets that
employ sustainable travel specialists to work on campaigns and or support organisations
with the development of travel plans.
The Skills
- Passion for sustainable transport
- Good analytical skills
- Communication skills – written and verbal – writing reports and
making presentations are a core part of the job
- Financial and commercial awareness
- Persuasive and tenacious
- IT skills
- Project management skills
- Team and partnership working
Entry Requirements
There are a number ways that you can get into travel planning or sustainable
transport as it remains a fairly open field with lots of options and links branching
off from its core.
Some people will fall into the field from a parallel sector or take on a travel
planning role at work when given the opportunity. However, the majority of those
working in the sector will have undertaken relevant study at university and secure a
graduate opportunity with a local authority or consultancy.
Salary and Career Development
Salaries will vary depending on the job role and location, from entry level
occupations with a local authority through to senior consultant roles. Some jobs
may be short term and advertised with an hourly rate of £15-20/per hour. A
co-ordinator or officer role with a local authority could attract a salary in the range
£19-30,000 depending on the nature of the project and the experience of the
individual. Salaries for similar roles in other public sector employers or
private firms and consultancy will vary in the range £25,000-40,000.
There are many opportunities to study for professional qualifications with a number
of relevant professional bodies offering relevant qualifications or return to
university for related master’s degree or a PhD in sustainable transport or
related topic.
Employers
As with the closely-related occupational area of Transport Planning, the key
employers are the public sector, with opportunities available in local and national
government organisations, and the private sector, where the principal employers are
consultancies, although many large organisations will employ a specialist to develop
and implement travel plans for their organisations.
Currently, there are around 5000 professionals working in the field of travel
planning, so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved and find that job that
is perfect for you amongst the following types of employers:
- Public sector – local authorities, NHS, universities, national
government, etc.
- Private sector – large corporates or smaller companies with strong green
credentials or commitment to corporate social responsibility
- Consultancies
- NGOs – campaigning and lobbying not-for-profit organisations working in
various ways to support and promote sustainable travel initiatives.
Contacts
There are a number of relevant professional bodies:
There are a number of relevant NGOs: www.sustrans.org.uk UK charity enabling people to
make smarter travel choices and travel by foot, bike or public transport; www.eta.co.uk Environmental Transport Association;
www.ways2work.bitc.org.uk includes a
list of companies that have committed to planning for sustainable travel and work;
www.carbontrust.co.uk providing support
to help business and the public sector cut carbon emissions, save energy and
commercialise low carbon technologies; www.pteg.net representing Passenger Transport Executives:
www.bettertransport.org.uk Campaign
for Better Transport encourages better public transport, walking and cycling, for
the sake of communities and the environment. www.workwiseuk.org an organisation that works to
encourage the widespread adoption of smarter working practices; www.livingstreets.org.uk works to create
safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk.