Evaluating workplace travel plans

Workplace travel plans have been promoted as a way to manage urban travel demand. Travel plans engage employers or site managers in addressing travel generated by their workplaces with the goal of reducing car use and enabling use of travel alternatives. In many jurisdictions in Australia and New Zealand there are programs supporting development of workplace travel plans. In addition, some jurisdictions can require travel plans through the development assessment/approval process. There appears to have been little evaluation of workplace travel plans, beyond simple comparisons of before and after travel survey results. More rigorous evaluation of travel plans would be useful to enhance the design and implementation of travel plans and to support the business case for travel plans and the programs that support them. This paper considers the rationale for evaluation and methodological issues and suggests a way forward. The recommended approach includes:  Assessing the quality of travel plan documents against a good practice benchmark,  Appraising the implementation of travel plan actions to understand what interventions were and were not enacted in workplaces,  Appraising the level of organisational engagement to the initiative, including management support, allocation of resources and employee participation, and;  Measurement of outcomes, particularly changes in travel behaviour after implementation of travel plan measures. Reference is made to previous work on travel demand management evaluation and a practical framework for evaluating workplace travel plans is outlined.