The Green Travel Plan: An opportunity for Sustainable Mobility

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The Green Travel Plan:

An opportunity for

Sustainable Mobility

Launch of the Green Travel Plan at the University of Malta

27 th September 2011

KSU Common Room, 10:00am

Defining Green Travel Plans

• A package of measures tailored to:

– Meet the needs of individual sites,

– Aimed at promoting greener, cleaner travel choices and

– Reducing reliance on the car

• It involves the development of a set of mechanisms, initiatives and targets that together can enable an organisation to:

– Reduce the impact of travel and transport on the environment,

– Bring a number of other benefits to the organisation

The scope of GTPs

• The aim behind a travel plan is that those organisations responsible for creating the

need to travel , such as:

– employers,

– service providers and

– shopping centre owners, are involved in helping to solve transport problems

Short history of GTPs

• 1st time 1970s – USA, California as a result of the air

quality legislation

• 1980s – adopted by the Dutch

• 1990s – UK authorities; Nottingham City Council started adopting “green commuter plans”

• 1997 – the promotion of travel plans became UK Government policy; with workplace and school travel plans featuring in the

1998 and 2004 transport policy White Papers

Benefits of GTPs

• Increases walking and cycling, with associated health

gains

• Improved social inclusion

• Increases bus use

• Better conditions for employees

• Assist in meeting environmental management standards

• Financial savings

• Better estate management

• Less noise, congestion and pollution, and better conditions for freight distribution, associated with reductions in car use

• Better security and less fear of crime from better car parking management.

A Green Travel Plan for the

University of Malta

The need for a GTP

• UoM was required to develop a Green Travel Plan by the

Malta Environment and Planning Authority following its various planning applications aiming at increasing the capacity of the University’s Msida Campus.

• The Terms of Reference for the GTP were developed by MEPA and required to fulfill the obligations of the development planning application.

• A number of experts headed by the Institute for Sustainable

Development were commissioned to draw up the GTP by the

Estate and Works Department at the University.

• The UoM GTP was finally approved by MEPA in March 2011 and is considered the starting point of a long process of change.

Existing Situation on Campus

• Public Transport

• Parking facilities, traffic and pedestrian activity

Reasons for existing travel patterns

• Overall high car dependence amongst staff.

• Free parking allocations to students, academic and non-academic staff;

• The flexible working conditions of academics with complex travel patterns;

• High car dependence amongst students which do not stay at University during the day increasing the amount of travel to and from Msida on a daily basis.

Travel Behaviour of UoM Users

• Academic staff

This group are most reliant on private transport and have complex travel patterns throughout the day and week;

• Non-academic staff

This group is dominated by a large proportion of people dependent on private transport however with simpler travel patterns which are mostly fixed to strict working hours.

• Students

This group is still very much dependent on public transport despite the complex travel patterns they display throughout the week.

Important findings

• Users find traffic and parking as major problems facing drivers.

• 80% of respondents do not have dependents (minors or elderly) to chauffer around with their car.

• 24% would never car share.

• A high percentage of staff and students have access to University with a direct bus service. Others have one interchange with an express service.

• Overall positive attitude towards changing transport mode.

Survey responses on modal shift

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The Green Travel Plan

• The GTP looks at efforts to encourage modal

shift by raising awareness of the need to

reduce travel, particularly travel by private car.

• The University has set up a GTP Committee to overlook the progress achieved by University.

• Research will be encouraged in this area to widen the knowledge of green travel in the local context.

GTP Committee

• Dr Maria Attard , Senior Lecturer in Geography, Director

of the Institute for Sustainable Development - Chair

• Perit Christopher Spiteri , Director Estate and Works

• Mr Stefan Balzan , President KSU

• Prof Luciano Mulé Stagno , UMASA representative

• Ms Nathalie Cauchi , Non-academic and support staff representative

• Ms Jacqueline Fenech , Director Human Resources represented by Henry Aquilina

• Mr Joseph Camilleri , Precincts Officer

• Ms Maronia Schembri , Precincts Office

• Ms Thérèse Bajada , Asst. Lecturer, Institute for Sustainable

Development

• Ms Stephanie Stellini , Graduate Trainee, Institute for

Sustainable Development - Committee Secretary

A Green Travel Plan for the

University of Malta

Keep updated on www.um.edu.mt/isd/greentravel

Thank you

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