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 Introduction
As
part of its ongoing commitment towards improving transport and the environment
for its employees, The Boots Company commissioned MSA International to undertake
a major travel to work survey. Boots has had a commuter plan agreed with
Nottingham City Council in place since August 1996. As part of this agreement,
Boots are committed to producing an annual review of their commuter plan
and to work towards a number of agreed targets. These include reducing car
commuting by 10% by 2005 and increasing the numbers of employees who utilise
alternative forms of transport such as cycling, car sharing, and travelling
by bus.
Objectives
The principal aims behind the survey were to:
- Analyse the changes in the mode
of travel to work that had taken place since the previous survey
- Assess
the needs of staff transferring from Boots city centre sites to the main
Beeston site.
- Identify people’s views on current and future transport
to work
issues.
- Help develop a clearer transport strategy for the future.
- Monitor the
progress of Boots in meeting its commuter plan targets.
Approach
Initial focus group discussions with representative samples of employees
to consider the salient issues in depth and gain a full appreciation
of commuting practice. The main survey comprised a 12-page questionnaire mailed
to all
9000 employees. The questionnaire included a large number of scaled attitudinal
questions plus a number of open-ended questions to capture a wide range
of opinion. After a follow-up reminder was sent out, the final response rate
achieved was a highly creditable 48%. The completed questionnaires were
processed by an optical mark recognition package with the results analysed
by
SPSS
providing both tabular and diagrammatic presentation.
Summary of Main Findings
Currently 71% of Boots employees use the car as their normal means of
transport to work, 9.6% use the bus, 5.7% are car passengers, 3.1% use
the Boots
subsidised bus and 4.7% use a bicycle. Only 1.2% currently use the train,
1.3% a motorcycle/scooter
whilst 2.2% travel to work on foot.
Those that use the car consider the following to be the most important
benefits: convenience, flexibility, shorter journey times and ease
of going out after
work.
- The means of transport most likely to be used if a change were made are:
Boots subsidised Bus, Public Bus, Park & Ride and car sharing.
- Whilst
both cycling and motorcycling attract a number of followers as an alternative
to the car, there are a significantly high proportion of employees
who feel it is unlikely or most unlikely that they would use this form
of transport
(72%)
- In the short term, car sharing is the one option that
would require least investment and could be upgraded and more vigorously
promoted
almost immediately.
- Travelling as a car passenger is the most
popular occasional form of transport (27.6%).
- General awareness
of the Boots car-sharing scheme is high at 93.5% although only 9.5%
of
employees
claim
to car share formally.
Positive comments about car sharing are that it is cheaper, reduces
congestion and is good for the environment. On the down side, the perceived
inflexibility
of such a scheme is a major concern, also the reliance on a car share partner.
The survey revealed considerable concern at possible Government proposals
to levy car park charges at work. Over 50% said that they were not prepared
to pay. Of those that would pay, 36% said they would be prepared to pay £5.00
per week.
Currently only 10% of employees work from home for some of the time, mostly
on average once a month. A further 4% expect to start working from home
in the next 12 months. Working from home is seen as a positive move towards
reducing traffic congestion at Beeston.
Added Value
The survey generated a wealth of data and clear insights into how far Boots
had succeeded in achieving its goals. The Site Manager for The Boots
Company summed up the value of the survey as follows:
"The depth of information generated and the level of response
obtained by the survey undertaken by MSA International has provided a significant
input into The Boots Company planning process in this key area of employee
and environmental concern."
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