London Fire Brigade
Travel Plan
2013/2018
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Foreword by Sue Budden Director of Finance and Contractual Services
(senior management champion for environment and sustainability)
I am pleased to introduce the London Fire Brigade’s second Travel Plan.
Travel and transport is recognised as a significant aspect of our operations; it involves not only how LFB operates its own vehicles but also how staff travel to work every day. This Travel Plan outlines our approach to managing the impact of this on the environment, our staff and the community we serve for the next five years.
We had some great successes with our last Travel Plan and our latest staff travel survey has shown positive results, with 19.48% of respondents cycling to work, compared to a national average of just 2.9% recorded in the 2011 Census. This achievement is even more significant when the recognised constraints of our organisational role as an emergency responder are taken into account, and shows our commitment to supporting sustainable transport.
For the first time in this plan we have introduced targets on business travel and awareness, to
accompany our target to increase walking and cycling on the commute to work. To achieve these, we have outlined the on-going commitments, established by our last Travel Plan, and a range of new measures are also introduced.
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Contents
Introduction
...
4
Objectives
...
6
Recognised Constraints
...
7
Transport Achievements and Measures to Date
...
8
HQ Staff Travel Survey 2013
...
12
Targets, Monitoring and Review
...
15
On-going Commitments
...
16
Future Measures
...
17
Appendix A – Policy Context
...
21
Appendix B – Staff Travel Survey 2013 Analysis
...
23
Appendix C – Headquarters (Union Street) Site Audit
...
28
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Introduction
About Us
The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) is one of the functional bodies (FBs)of the Greater London Authority (GLA) and has statutory responsibility for fire fighting and fire safety in the Greater London area. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is one of the largest fire-fighting organisations in the world, protecting people and property from fire within the 1587 square kilometres of Greater London which has a resident population of 8.2 million, increased by another 500,000 during working hours.
There are approximately 6550 employees working for the LFB, including approximately 5570
operational fire fighting staff based across our 113 fire stations, 100 control staff and a further 840 non-operational staff across LFB, with around 600 of these based at our headquarters in Southwark. Running a 24/7 full time Fire and Rescue Service brings with it operational imperatives that require the need for flexibility and mobility of its Fire Officers. Therefore many operational staff and operational support staff at HQ need to be able to travel independently and carry kit to an emergency incident, which can necessitate vehicle use to deliver an effective service .
We are here to make London a safer city. Our vision is to be a world class fire and rescue service for London, Londoners and visitors and we aim to be the leader on sustainable development within the UK Fire and Rescue Service, as it is recognised that as one of London’s largest employers, we have other responsibilities to meet. This, our second travel plan, addresses our approach to one of those other areas of responsibility over the next 5 years.
About Travel Plans
A Travel Plan is a general term for a package of measures tailored to the needs of individual sites and organisations. The principal aim of this Travel Plan is to enable LFB to reduce the impact of its travel and transport on the environment, without compromising operational effectiveness and to provide overall corporate direction to all of our sites.
Drivers for the Travel Plan
Although travel is essential for delivery of LFB’s operations, it is also recognised that travel has negative impacts on the local and global environment and LFB has a responsibility to minimise our contribution. Journey times can double due to congestion, which can be followed by a frustrating hunt for a parking space. Air pollution from traffic worsens asthma and respiratory ailments. Additionally the transport sector generates CO2 emissions, which is the principal greenhouse gas causing climate change.
Central Government is encouraging more sustainable travel through various regulations, policies and guidelines, which should improve travel choice and conditions. There are also a number of regional policies and existing internal policies/issues that the implementation of this Travel Plan will help to deliver (please see Appendix A for details of the policy context).
In response to these national, regional and local policies, and our impact on the environment and local travel conditions, LFB has produced our second Travel Plan to help manage and reduce that impact and improve travel choices for staff. It will encourage staff to consider lower impact travel options and aims to support the operational effectiveness of our business whilst reducing our impact on the environment and congestion on local roads.
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Benefits of the Travel Plan
A Travel Plan offers real benefits, not only to our organisation and employees, but also to the
community we serve. The wide ranging benefits impact positively upon all 6 of the key themes outlined by the brigade’s Sustainable Development Strategy.
Benefits
Sustainable Development Strategy Themes
Equality and Social Inclusion Health, Safety and Wellbeing Environment and its Resources Climate Change Community Safety Economic Prosperity
More healthy and productive workforce from increased fitness incentives such as cycling and walking
Integrated accessibility
considerations
Reduction in traffic
congestion and car parking demand in London
Reduced car traffic on the roads will also reduce the risk of road traffic accidents in the area as there will be fewer potential conflicts.
Time/Energy/Cost Saving by reduction in unnecessary journeys
Improved local air quality resulting in a healthier atmosphere and reduction in the emissions that worsen asthma and respiratory ailments
Reduction of CO2 and other
emissions into the atmosphere
Reduction in impacts at a national/global level such as climate change
Reduction in noise pollution and dirt in the local
environment
Complimentary to the brigade’s Environmental Management System
Influencing change insuppliers and other organisations
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Objectives
The main objective of this Travel Plan is to minimise environmental impacts resulting from LFB’s travel and transport. It is recognised that in order to provide a cost effective, efficient and effective
emergency service some operational staff need the use of a car and this is taken into consideration (please see Recognised Constraints section for full details). LFB will strive to help staff choose more sustainable options, where practicable, such as walking and cycling, by providing the facilities and information to do so.
1
To reduce environmental, social and business impacts
associated with travel and transport.
2
To promote sustainable travel and raise awareness of travel
choice amongst employees.
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Recognised Constraints
The following constraints currently create challenges for travel planning at LFB:
1. The nature of LFB’s business as an emergency responder means that our first priority is to minimise the risks, and impact of fire and other hazards.
2. London’s status as a world city, and in particular the reputation of LFB, means that we attract staff from across a wide geographical area, resulting in commuting distances that can be relatively high when compared to other UK organisations.
3. Shift and standby patterns for operational staff leads to a substantial number of staff working during anti-social hours when there may be infrequent or no public transport and cycling and walking may be considered unsafe. However, shift patterns do mean that a considerable amount of travel to and from work is completed outside of peak hours, reducing LFB’s contribution to congestion on roads and overcrowding on public transport.
4. Due to contractual requirements it is challenging for some staff to walk, cycle or use public transport because of “on call duties” and equipment/kit requirements, necessary to maintain operational effectiveness.
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Transport Achievements and Measures to Date
As this is the brigade’s second Travel Plan, much progress has already been achieved on the transport agenda. To demonstrate our position to date and monitor the change since the last travel plan, a Transport Site Audit of the Headquarters building at Union Street (Appendix C) and a Transport Business Audit (Appendix D) have been completed.
Fleet
LFB currently has 544 fleet vehicles. In 2012/13 fuel costs were £1,310k and the fleet produced 3.49 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).
A major vehicle investment programme ensured that all our frontline vehicles were Euro 3 compliant by February 2008, in line with the requirements of the Mayor of London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ). By 2012/13 41.51 per cent of our fleet is Euro 4 compliant and 5.72 per cent is Euro 5 compliant. Full data on our fleet is reported in our Sustainable Development Annual Report and is summarised in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Fleet Data
Fleet Data 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
Total No. LFEPA vehicles 543 553 559[i] 544 544
Total diesel fuel used by
LFEPA frontline fleet (L) 1823529 1527582 1514417 1432756 1310686
% Pre Euro N3/N2/M3 3.08 1.68 1.65 1.42 1.29% % Euro I N3/N2/M3 5.88 4.76 3.58 1.99 1.29% % Euro II N3/N2/M3 4.48 4.48 4.13 3.4 2.58% % Euro III N3/N2/M3 79.55 81.23 81.54 83.48 46.68% % Euro IV N3/N2/M3 7 7.84 6.61[ii] 6.84 41.51% % Euro V N3/N2/M3 2.56 5.72% Fleet CO2 Emissions (Kg) 4,969,274 4,103,274 4,011,939 3,800,065 3,491,554
[i] The replacement of our Heavy Demountable Chassis vehicles with bespoke bulk foam and hose layer units has enabled further reduction
[ii] 2010/11 Euro figures do not add up to 100 per cent due to incomplete data on our fleet.
Car Schemes (Grey Fleet)
LFB’s Grey Fleet is made up with our lease, essential and casual car user schemes. The car schemes are available to staff who are deemed by the Brigade to be users whose duties are of such a nature that it is either essential for them to have a car at their disposal or beneficial (depending on the nature of their role).
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A full Car Scheme review was undertaken in late 2011, covering all our schemes. The review led to the introduction of a policy which restricts vehicles to less polluting models. Vehicles must be rated at 150g/km CO2 or less on all schemes. The Brigade lease car subsidy is set at £4790 if the car is rated at
up to 120 g/km CO2, or £2395 (50 per cent rate) if the car is rated between 121g/km CO2 and
150g/km CO2.
Full data on our grey fleet is reported in our Sustainable Development Annual Report and is summarised in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Grey Fleet Data
Grey Fleet Data 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
Grey fleet miles[iii] 2,235,905 2,223,232 2,645,017 2,319,869 1,534,335 Grey Fleet CO2 emissions
(Kg) 740,071 735,876 875,484 767,862 487,459
[iii] Grey fleet miles provided in reports prior to 2009/10 were estimated using an average annual mileage per vehicle, from 2009/10 actual miles are reported taken from expenses claimed.
Home to office car mileage was withdrawn as a part of the Invest to Save agreement 2012, which accounts for the significant drop in grey fleet miles claimed over the last year.
Electric Vehicles (EVs)
We have been actively working to identify opportunities to introduce EVs in our fleet for a number of years, successfully introducing six hybrid vehicles in 2003. After over five years of use, the EVs proved uneconomical at the time of their replacement, however, we have continued to look for opportunities to introduce them into our fleet. Since 2008 we have undertaken trials of the Modec 5.5t, Mitsubishi MIEV, Nissan leaf, Toyota Prius, Toyota Plugged in Prius and most recently the Vauxhall Ampera as a result of our participation in the Energy Savings Trust (EST) Plugged in Fleets Initiative (PIFI).
The Plugged in Fleets Initiative [PIFI]
LFB participated in a recent PIFI project aimed at encouraging the take up of electric vehicles in business by providing a practical and real-world insight into where and how electric vehicles (EVs) could be adopted. The analysis completed considered the financial and operational viability of EV’s together with an assessment of the infrastructure implications. Opportunities were identified for the use of EVs in operational duties within the Water Team fleet and also for the Duty Transport Officers (DTO). Whilst the technology identified can meet our requirements, the vehicles remain financially unviable at present. The infrastructure report from EDF Energy did however show that it is feasible to install charging infrastructure at our sites.
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
We know that introducing EVs into our fleet is a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ and are therefore submitting an application for the installation of charge points at 79 Brigade sites. Installing charge point infrastructure at a majority of our sites will be a significant step towards ‘future-proofing’ the Brigade for the introduction of EVs into our fleet and supporting our on-going trials of EVs. It would also support those staff on our lease scheme that are early adopters of EVs, signal to staff that EVs are a viable option, and show commitment to the Mayor’s wider agenda.
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FIRED –uP
London Fire Brigade and the City of Ghent, Belgium are cooperating in a three-year project, which focuses on innovation in procurement as a way of improving the environmental performance of fire service fleets. It is co-financed under the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme of the European Commission, with full details publically available on a dedicated website www.fired-up.eu.
Parking
191 car parking spaces were originally identified for qualifying staff at Union St and Southwark Training Centre. Since the last travel plan was published , this has been reduced to 133, which represents just over a 30 per cent reduction in car parking spaces available at our headquarters.
Logistics
Significant progress has been made on the rationalisation of deliveries through our Brigade Distribution Centre. A logistics review was undertaken and the Logistics Efficiency Project Report was produced in September 2010. This resulted in the reduction in our vehicles/distribution routes from 8 to 6 and brought the distribution of many items in-house. Cross-docking is sought for all new contracts requiring distribution.
Walking and Cycling
Of the 1566 employees, who completed our 2013 travel survey, 16.41per cent staff live within 5 miles of their workplace, a distance generally considered appropriate for walking or cycling. However, 22.61 per cent of employees responding to our survey reported walking or cycling to work as their main mode of transport.
LFB has implemented a number walking and cycling measures:
• Free lockers are available for staff to store their cycling gear at Union Street Headquarters and all Fire Stations;
• Showers are available at all sites;
• Walking and cycling route maps are provided for staff and visitors for all sites;
• Mileage rates paid for cycling for business travel have been increased from 2 pence per mile to 20 pence per mile;
• Bikes 4 Work Scheme, which began in 2008 offers employees tax free bicycles and cycling equipment. The scheme has been run 7 times to date, with 3,587 orders made;
• Covered, secure cycle storage is provided for staff to store their bicycles at the majority of sites;
• Commitment to provide secure, covered and well lit cycle rack storage facilities for a minimum of 4 cycles or 10 per cent of building users plus a minimum of 10 per cent of building visitors, whichever is greater, has been added to our Standard Station Design Brief;
• Assessment of cycle storage facilities has been added to our programme of internal Health, Safety and Environment Premises Audits;
• Staff are supported to use the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme for short journeys. For journeys of up to 30 minutes the Brigade will reimburse evidenced usage at a rate of £1 per day.
Air Travel
Staff travelled 161, 276.86 miles by air in 2012/13. This represents an increase on the previous year and a change in the decreasing trend shown over the previous four years as summarised in Table 3 below.
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Air Travel 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
Miles Travelled 162,858 153,635 101,662 36,165 161,276.86 CO2 from Air Travel (kg) 32,731 30,735 19,846.33 7,630.00 32,097.03
Overseas air travel requires formal approval by our Commissioner and is not encouraged. Furthermore, LFB has committed to carbon off-set the small amount of necessary air travel incurred since 2011/12.
Awareness Raising
A range of initiatives have been undertaken to promote sustainable travel and raise awareness of travel choice amongst employees including:
• Travel surveys completed biennially with promotional emails sent to all staff and supporting intranet articles;
• Volunteer Green Champions scheme developed with approximately 200 volunteers currently registered, receiving a range of training and regular communications such as newsletters;
• Transport information posters created for stations;
• Sustainable transport integrated into ‘Climate Week’ observations in 2013, including free guided walks for Southwark Training Centre/Union Street Headquarters based staff;
• ‘Walk to Work Week’ observed and promoted for 4 years in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012;
• Over 500 pedometers and 50 foot care kits and shoe bags given away to staff pledging to Walk to Work;
• Bike Doctor sessions provided annually at Southwark Training Centre/Union Street Headquarters for the past 3 years and at a further 3 fire stations;
• ‘Bike Week’ promoted every year to coincide with Bikes4Work scheme promotion;
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HQ Staff Travel Survey 2013
In order to assess travel habits, enable consultation and raise awareness, staff travel surveys are conducted biennially. The latest travel survey invited 6550 employees to respond and ran for one month starting in June 2013. During this period 1566 responses were recorded on the electronic database (a 23.91per cent return rate). Of those responses 445 were from non-operational staff and 1,121 were from operational staff.
This has provided comparison figures for our previous 2011survey, allowing us to observe trends and changes – please see Appendix B for the full HQ Staff Travel Survey Report.
Journey to Work
The main mode of transport to commute to work was by single occupancy car travel for 42.59 per cent of all respondents. Public transport represented just over 24 per cent, 19.48 per cent cycle to work and 3.13 per cent of all respondents walk to work (Figure 1).
When asked about alternatives to single occupancy car/motor vehicle journeys only 8 per cent of respondents indicated that there were no alternatives. The preferred method for an alternative travel option was public transport (44 per cent), followed by cycling (20.79 per cent). The main reason for the choice of travel method was that it was the quickest method (28 per cent).
In response to what would encourage staff to cycle or walk to work, good cycle routes (31.74 per cent), good weather (24.07 per cent) and mileage allowance for cycling (20.43 per cent) were the options which were rated highest in the list of incentives, others such as changing and shower facilities were also noted. Where distance was felt to be prohibitive to cycling, some respondents suggested possible ways to break up their journey’s, by providing comments such as:
“The distance I travel from home to work is too far to cycle but I would like the opportunity to park my vehicle part way on my journey and cycle in the rest”
Car Driver (Alone) 42.59% Car Driver (With Others) 3.32% Car Passenger 0.38% Bus/Coach 2.81% DLR/Tram 0.19% Underground 7.02% Train 14.50% Motorbike 6.07% Cycle 19.48% Walk 3.13% Other 0.51% Figure 1: Main Mode of Transport to Work
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Cheaper travel was the most significant option that would encourage more people to consider public transport over car travel (35.07 per cent).
Business Travel
Business travel was carried out by just over 68 per cent of all respondents. 40.76 per cent of
respondents who travel for business did so less than once a month. However, just over 11 per cent of respondents who travel for business do so every day. Other LFB premises were visited most frequently (65.27 per cent). The most frequent distance travelled in a week on business travel was less than 2 miles. The highest proportion of respondents reported to use public transport (56.17 per cent) when travelling on business, which is high when considering just over 42% use the car as their main mode of transport to work. However, 23.40 per cent use a private vehicle when travelling on business , 8.91 per cent use lease/essential cars, 6.41 per cent use fleet vehicles, 1.86 per cent are car passengers and only 1.76 per cent cycle and only 1.49 per cent walk.
Car Sharing
24.44 per cent of respondents using the car/motor vehicle as their main mode of transport to work indicated that there was nothing that would encourage them to car share, however, 56.45 per cent indicated that there were factors that would encourage them to car share, with the highest being finding someone who lives close by (22.92 per cent) and finding someone who shares the same working pattern (12.84 per cent). 3.90 per cent of respondents noted that they already car share.
Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
1.47 per cent of respondents indicated that they already drive an electric and/or hybrid vehicle as their main mode of transport to work. Of the respondents who do not drive an electric and/or hybrid vehicle, 38.89 per cent indicated that cost was a limiting factor and 39.78 per cent of respondents noted that the lack of charging points near home and work was a concern, preventing them from driving an electric vehicle.
Awareness
When asked about awareness of brigade schemes and facilities, familiarity was low across a range of initiatives to support sustainable travel. Only 24.90 per cent of respondents were aware of video conferencing facilities and only 22.16 per cent were aware of teleconferencing facilities. The greatest awareness was noted for Bikes 4 Work, with 91.51 per cent of respondents being familiar with the scheme (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Awareness of Schemes/Facilities
24.90% 22.16% 91.51% 47.45% 53.70% 5.36% 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%
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Survey Conclusions
What is clear from the survey is that there is a fairly widespread use of the more sustainable forms of transport (public transport, walking and cycling). Despite the recognised restraints of our organisation, we have a particularly high percentage of staff (19.48%) cycling to work as their main mode of
transport, when compared to the 2011 Census results in which just 2.9% (760,000)of the UK population stated they cycled to work. When broken down by local authority, Hackney was the only London borough to appear in the 2011 Census’s top five highest proportion of people cycling to work at 14.6%, and LFB’s cycle rate is outperforming even this. This can likely be attributed to our successful Bikes 4 Work Scheme and a healthy and active workforce culture.
The proportionately high percentage (42.59%) of staff commuting via single-occupancy car travel, is still significantly lower than the 57.5% (15.3 million) of the UK population who stated they travelled to work by driving a car or van in the 2011 Census.
However, despite the positive results observed, the survey does suggest that there may be some opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of our travel further still. There is clear potential around car sharing, electric vehicles and raising awareness of the facilities and schemes we already have in place.
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Targets, Monitoring and Review
These Travel Plan targets and initiatives to support leadership, are derived from consideration of the current position and what is reasonable in light of operational constraints. Progress against these will be reviewed biennially through travel surveys. Where appropriate, targets will be revised upwards for any targets that are easily met.
This Travel Plan will be reviewed every 5 years. Monitoring data will be reported annually in our Sustainable Development Annual Reports, published on our website.
Travel
Mode 12/13 Position Initiative to Support Target/ Leadership
Monitored
Air Travel
• 161,276.86 miles in 2012/13
• CO2 from Air Travel (kg)32,097
in 2012/13 Zero emissions through off-setting
Expenses Claims Off-setting contributions Walking and Cycling • 22.61% of employees
responding to our 2013 survey walk or cycle to work as there main mode of transport
• 3,587 orders made on Bike Scheme since 2008 (including bike accessories) total value of approximately £2.3 million
10% increase from 2011 baseline in staff walking or
cycling to work as their main mode of transport by
2018 Staff Survey Monitoring uptake of “Bikes 4 Work Scheme” Business Travel • Only 22.16% of respondents were aware of teleconferencing
facilities 20% increase in awareness of teleconferencing facilities by 2018
Staff survey
When travelling on business in the 2013 survey:
• 56% use public transport (56%)
• 23% use a private vehicle
• 8.91% use lease/essential cars
• 6.41% use fleet vehicles
• 1.86% are car passengers
• 1.76% cycle
• 1.49% walk
5% increase in use of walking, cycling or public
transport for business travel Mileage Claims Staff Survey Monitoring uptake of “Bikes 4 Work Scheme” Fleet In 2012/13: • 544 fleet vehicles
• Spent £1,310,686 gross on fuel
• Produced 3,491,554 kg CO2
Establish emissions monitoring process for
NOx and PM10s
Fleet composition Fuel Spend
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On-going Commitments
Several on-going commitments will be maintained in order to support our Travel Plan Objectives.
Objectives Commitment Delivery Team/ Department
To reduce environmental, social and business impacts
associated with travel and transport
We will ensure all new and revised brigade policies are assessed for travel impacts through the Sustainable Development Impact Assessment process
Sustainable Development We will off-set carbon emissions from all flights through an
off-setting scheme (such as DEFRA’s) Sustainable Development We will continue to reduce deliveries to fire stations, utilising
our distribution centre and our cross-docking system
Procurement We will continue to provide a “Bikes 4 Work” Scheme HRD
We will provide ‘Bike Doctor’ services at least annually for headquarters office
Sustainable Development We will ensure the provision of secure, covered and well lit
cycle rack storage facilities for a minimum of 4 cycles or 10% of building users plus a minimum of 10% of building visitors, whichever is greater through our Station Design Brief
Technical Service Support (TSS)
Continue to trial electric vehicles with a view to identifying
potential vehicles to introduce into fleet Technical Service Support (TSS)
To promote sustainable travel and raise awareness
of travel choice amongst employees
We will complete a biennial travel survey of staff at all LFB
sites Sustainable Development
We will report biennially on travel survey results and progress of travel plan implementation to Corporate Management Board
Sustainable Development We will continue to produce communications for all staff and
provide information to promote sustainable travel choices and initiatives e.g. “Bike-Week”, Barclays Bikes, public transport choices, via our intranet and internal publications
Communications
We will conduct awareness raising activities of our existing and new policies, provisions and facilities, using our volunteer Green Champions, Toolbox Talks and events
Sustainable Development We will continue to provide an interest free season ticket
Loan Scheme HRD
To provide leadership by example to other organisations in London
and to other Fire and Rescue Services
We will publish fleet performance data and travel survey data, in our externally available Sustainable Development Annual Report
Sustainable Development We will maintain the BREEAM credits for ‘Travel Plan and
Cycling’ as “Priority” credits for LFB for all new builds and major refurbishments, including the credits TRA3-TRA8
Technical Service Support (TSS) To maintain Bronze level accreditation with the freight
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Future Measures
A variety of future measures will be implemented across LFB sites in order to achieve our Objectives and Targets. Measures will be implemented over the following timescales;
Short – should be achieved within 18 months. Short may mean it is achieved at one site in this timeframe and then another site may be targeted.
Medium – should be achieved within 2-3 years. Medium may mean it is achieved at one site in this timeframe and then another site may be targeted.
Long – should be achieved within 5 years.
Target
Area Beneficiary Employees Travel Plan Measures 2013-2018 Timescale
Delivery Department/ Team Flexible and Smart Working Practices
All Evaluate potential to improve “Electronic Working” facilities and practices such as webinar facilities and video conferencing, to reduce the need to travel
Long ITC
Non-operational Recommend a ‘Home Working’ policy, to reduce the need to travel or travel at peak times and to support employees with accessibility issues
Medium HRD
Managing our Estate
Operational Implement and support individual Travel Plans for any new/major refurbishment Fire Stations as have been developed under planning conditions Long Property/ Sustainable Development Team/ PFI Provider All Expand the transport site audit
beyond HQ, utilising station based green champions to complete site audits Long Sustainable Development Team Fleet and Car Schemes
Operational Review emissions limits for vehicles permissible within car schemes and incentivise with increased subsidy for lower emission vehicles, in line with HMRC rates, as and when they change
Long HRD/
Procurement
All Investigate the viability of establishing
a car sharing resource Medium Sustainable Development Team
Operational Engage with the market to identify an innovative approach to improve the efficiency of fire service vehicles and reduce the environmental impact of our fleet, through the EU funded FIRED-uP project.
Medium Procurement / Technical Service Support (TSS)
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Target
Area Beneficiary Employees Travel Plan Measures 2013-2018 Timescale
Delivery Department/
Team
Operational and Public
Introduce Cycle Safety provisions for vehicles into our fleet
Long Technical Service Support (TSS)
All Achieve Gold Standard of the Freight
Operators Recognition Scheme Long Technical Service Support (TSS)
Operational Improve the quality of data we hold in relation to our fleet, with a view to establishing a reliable baseline for air pollution (including CO2 emissions,
NOX and PM10) Medium Technical Service Support (TSS) Driving Practices
Operational Investigate potential for operational kit storage to reduce kit carrying
requirements for those on longer term standby’s who choose to cycle
Long Operations, Prevention and Response All Review Policy 378 - Parking of
non-Authority vehicles, including motor or pedal cycles, on Authority premises, to consider the inclusion of provision for parking applications to be made for outer London stations, allowing the inner London part of a journey to be cycled for those employees living further afield (including an
assessment of whether this would positively or negatively effect miles driven i.e. those using public transport might be encouraged to drive part of their journey)
Short HRD/ Technical Service Support (TSS)
All Amend Policy 514 – Subsistence and Public Transport Expenses, to include a limiting distance to travel on
Authority business using single occupancy car travel
Short HRD
Eco-driving
Operational Agree revision to Policy 813 – Driving Whilst on Authority Business, to include commitment to ‘Eco-driving’ to reduce emissions within the driver training programme
Short Operational Procedures
Operational Implement changes to include ‘eco-driving’ to reduce emissions within the driver training programme to reflect internal policy
Medium HRD/Training
All Implement Eco-driver e-learning for all car scheme users
Medium Sustainable Development
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Target
Area Beneficiary Employees Travel Plan Measures 2013-2018 Timescale
Delivery Department/ Team Team Electric Vehicles
All Investigate opportunities for installing Charging Points on brigade sites
Short Sustainable Development Team
All Subject to ensuring compliance with relevant HMG ICT security standards and controls (relating to the
management of end-user devices) investigate the potential use of electric vehicle and charge point apps such as Polar Network – accessed through brigade issued mobile phones
Short ITC
All Participate in Mayor’s Cleaner Vehicles Initiative
Long Technical Service Support (TSS)
Air Travel
All Introduce restrictions into Policy 514 – Subsistence and Public Transport Expenses, to ensure ALL flights require Commissioner approval and not just those picked up by Policy 596 – Arrangements for Overseas Travel
Medium HRD
All Amend Policy 514 – Subsistence and Public Transport Expenses, to specify that all flights should be booked through the brigade’s current travel booking agency
Medium HRD
All Review Policy 596 – Arrangements for Overseas Travel to include a minimum distance or time for journeys made by air
Long Democratic Services
Cycling and Walking
All Investigate partnership opportunities to signpost staff to cycle proficiency training
Medium Sustainable Development Team
All Evaluate the potential of developing corporate links with/promotion of digital cycling tools such as Pleasecycle
Medium Sustainable Development Team
All Subject to ensuring compliance with relevant HMG ICT security standards and controls (relating to the
management of end-user devices), investigate the potential use of cycling and walking apps such as Strava,
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Target
Area Beneficiary Employees Travel Plan Measures 2013-2018 Timescale
Delivery Department/
Team
Stravel, Citymapper and MapMyWalk – accessed through brigade issued mobile phones
Public Transport
All Pending the outcome of the Central Government trial (where part time workers can buy reduced rate travel for the days that they work)
implement any necessary changes to the season ticket loan scheme for part-time workers
Long HRD
Suppliers
All Set targets with key suppliers to reduce their emissions
On-going Sustainable Development Group/Procure ment
All Introduce emissions targets into our fleet service contract
Long Procurement
Operational
and Public Introduce Cycle Safety provisions for vehicles into key contracts Long Procurement All Require Key Suppliers to achieve the
Freight Operators Recognition Scheme Bronze accreditation
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Appendix A -
Policy Context
Travel plans are an integral part of the Government’s policy for the creation of sustainable communities at the national, regional and local level. They are key elements of national transport, planning and housing policies as well as at the regional, local and organisational policy level.
National Policy Context
The Transport White paper “Creating Growth, Cutting Carbon: Making Sustainable Local Transport Happen” clearly supports and encourages the development of Travel Plans and states:
“The Government wants to encourage and enable more sustainable transport choices. Enabling choice is epitomised by the “nudge” concept, which works with human behavioural tendencies to encourage “good” choices. To count as a “nudge” an intervention must be easy and must not forbid choice. In transport terms, this might be exemplified by reducing unnecessary signs, posts and other street clutter to improve road safety and encourage walking, by travel planning, or by presenting information in such a way as to encourage choice.”
The policies of Central Government regarding sustainable transport policies are set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 13: Transport (PPG13). Paragraphs 87-91 of PPG13 give a clear indication of Central Government’s intention to “promote the widespread use of Green Transport Plans amongst businesses”.
PPG13 notes that “The Government wants to help raise awareness of the impacts of travel decisions and promote the widespread use of Travel Plans amongst businesses, schools, hospitals and other organisations. Local authorities are expected to consider setting local targets for the adoption of Travel Plans by local businesses and other organisations and to set an example by adopting their own plans”. In addition to the promotion of Travel Plans PPG13 also outlines Central Government’s commitment to reducing the number of single occupancy trips by requiring Local Authorities to actively encourage more trips to be completed by public transport, walking and cycling.
Regional Policy Context
The Mayor’s Spatial Development Strategy (The London Plan) (2011) outlines 6 key objectives, 2 of which directly support the development of Travel Plans:
• A city that becomes a world leader in improving the environment locally andglobally, taking the lead in tackling climatechange, reducing pollution, developinga low carbon economy, consuming fewerresources and using them more effectively.
• A city where it is easy, safe and convenient for everyone to access jobs,
opportunities and facilities withan efficient and effective transport systemwhich actively encourages more walkingand cycling, makes better use of theThames and supports delivery of all theobjectives of this Plan.
Specifically, the “Indicative List of Transport Schemes” in the London Plan notes that there should be “Increased use and power of travel plans for workplaces, schools and individuals”.
The main source of policy on transport is the Mayor’s Transport Strategy (MTS) (2010) which outline various policies to encourage sustainable travel. In Proposals 53 and 62 the Mayor commits to
promoting Travel Plans in order to promote walking and cycling. In Proposal 96 the Mayor commits to promoting Travel Plans (as a part of a range of Smarter Travel Initiatives) to encourage more use of lower carbon transport modes, eco-driving practices, better vehicle maintenance and flexible working patterns to reduce CO2 emissions.
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Furthermore, The Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy (CCMES), published in 2011, sets out the Mayor’s ambition to reduce CO2 emissions across London by 60 per cent from 1990 levels by
2025. Chapter 9 requires the GLA Group to reduce corporate CO2 emissions in line with the overall
target. In addition to delivering saving CO2, it is recognised that taking action across the FBs helps to
reduce the organisations’ energy bills, improve energy resilience, and demonstrate leadership in order to enhance the Mayor’s reputation and influence. Specifically Policy 15 focusses on “reducing CO2
emissions from transport in the GLA group” and Action 15.1 requires the production of a Green Travel Plan (GTP) – per organisation – which sets out a series of actions to encourage more sustainable forms of transport for employee and business travel.
Local Policy
It is recognised that London Borough of Southwark, home to our headquarters building, endorses Central Government’s policies for the purpose of reducing the reliance on the private car and affecting a shift in travel mode, away from the use of the private car.
For example through Southwark’s Transport Plan 2011 travel plan development is strongly encouraged: “Travel plans have become an essential tool for the delivery of travel behaviour change. They are increasingly important in helping us to understand why and how people travel and in identifying tools that can help broaden travel choice.”
LFB Policy
LFB’S plans are set out in the Fifth London Safety Plan (LSP5) (2013-2016) which sets out our vision to be a world class fire and rescue service for London, Londoners and visitors. It outlines 6 strategic aims for our organisation. Our sixth strategic aim “Principles” cuts across and underpins everything we do. It covers partnerships, equality and diversity, safety and sustainability.
LFB further demonstrates our commitment to sustainability through our Sustainable Development Strategy. The Strategy sets our key objectives for embedding sustainability through all of our activities, delivering financial savings as well as wider social, economic and environmental benefits to Londoners as part of our day to day work, and specifically it sets out our commitment to Travel Planning.
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Appendix B
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Staff Travel Survey 2013 Analysis
1. Introduction
1.1 A travel survey was carried out on a possible 6550 employees and ran for one month starting on 1 June 2013. During this period 1566 responses were recorded on the electronic database (a 23.91 per cent return rate, which is very satisfactory). Of those responses 445 were from non-operational staff and 1121 were from non-operational staff.
1.2 This is the third staff travel survey to be carried out, with the first being completed in 2007 and the second in 2011. However, the 2007 survey was limited to the 924 employees based at our previous 3 main Headquarters buildings along the Albert Embankment and is therefore not directly comparable and is therefore not referenced in the below analysis.
1.3 The second staff travel survey was carried out on a possible 6966 employees and ran for one month starting on 1 June 2011. During this period 1597 responses were recorded on the electronic database (a 23 per cent return rate). Of those responses 503 were from non-operational staff and 1094 were from non-operational staff.
1.4 The survey was advertised on Hotwire (intranet), Shout, Manager’s Update and via an email to all staff. It was also incentivized with prizes including a top prize of a bike.
1.5 23.63 per cent of respondents were based at the Union Street Headquarters building. 1.6 An analysis of the data has been carried out and the main observations are detailed below.
2. Work Pattern
2.1 The predominant work pattern was shift related (watch based), which accounted for almost 63.09 per cent of respondents.
2.2 25.22 per cent of respondents indicated a day related (office hours) work pattern.
3. Commute to Work
3.1 The main mode of transport to commute to work was by single occupancy car travel for 42.59 per cent of all respondents (Figure 1).
3.2 Public transport represented just over 24 per cent of all respondents.
3.3 19.48 per cent of all respondents cycle to work (includes 268 operational and 37 non- operational).
3.4 3.13 per cent of all respondents walk to work (includes 31 operational and 18 non- operational).
Figure 1: Main Mode of Transport to Work
Car Driver (Alone) 42.59%
Car Driver (With Others) 3.32% Car Passenger 0.38% Bus/Coach 2.81% DLR/Tram 0.19% Underground 7.02% Train 14.50% Motorbike 6.07% Cycle 19.48% Walk 3.13% 0.51% Other
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3.5 Reasons for main method of transport from the 2013 survey data are summarised, and compared to the results from the 2011 survey, in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Main Method of Commute to Work
Main Method of Transport to Work Number operational Staff Number Non- operational Staff % operational
Staff operational Staff % Non- % Total
2013 2011 2013 2011 2013 2011 2013 2011 2013 2011
Car driver (alone) 586 544 81 95 52.27% 49.7% 18.20% 18.9% 42.59% 40
Car driver (with
others) 40 42 12 18 3.57% 3.8% 2.70% 3.6% 3.32% 3.8% Car passenger 1 1 5 2 0.09% 0.1% 1.12% 0.4% 0.38% 0.2% Bus/ coach 16 15 28 36 1.43% 1.4% 6.29% 7.2% 2.81% 3.2% Underground 23 32 87 91 2.05% 2.9% 19.55% 18.1% 7.02% 7.7% DLR/ Tram 1 0 2 0 0.09% 0 0.45% 0 0.19% Train 60 87 167 176 5.35% 8% 37.53% 35% 14.50% 16.5% Motorbike 88 82 7 17 7.85% 7.5% 1.57% 3.4% 6.07% 6.2% Cycle 268 253 37 48 23.91% 23.1% 8.31% 9.5% 19.48% 18.9% Walk 31 30 18 19 2.77% 2.7% 4.04% 3.8% 3.13% 3.1% Other 7 8 1 1 0.62% 0.7% 0.22% 0.2% 0.51% 0.6% Riverboat 0 0 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Total 1121 1094 445 503 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
3.6 Of the 586 operational staff stating lone car journeys as their main method of transport, 108 of them stated the reason for this was “on call duties” and 28 stated operational transport.
3.7 Of the 81 non- operational staff stating lone car journeys as their main method of transport, 18 of them stated that the reason for this was “business requirements”.
3.8 Of the 725 staff driving to work alone or with passengers as their main mode of transport, only 55 of these are based at HQ, and only 13 of those are non-operational.
3.9 Just fewer than 84 per cent of cars used were identified as private vehicles, 11 per cent were identified as either Lease or Essential Car Users.
3.10 When asked about alternatives to single occupancy car/motor vehicle journeys only 8 per cent of respondents indicated that there were no alternatives. The preferred method for an alternative travel option was public transport (44 per cent), followed by cycling (20.79 per cent).
3.11 Almost all vehicles were parked within brigade car parks and parking was without charge. 3.12 The average journey to work time on the main method of transport was 57mins.
3.13 Almost 45 per cent of all respondents identified that they also used a second method of transport to commute to work. These were mainly walking (15 per cent) or single occupancy car travel (6 per cent).
4. Reason for Transport Method
4.1 Respondents were allowed to choose multiple reasons for their transport choices. The main reason for the choice of travel method was that it was the quickest method with 55.94 per cent choosing this response.
4.2 Reasons for choosing transport methods from the 2013 survey data are summarised, and compared to the 2011 results, in Table 2.
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Table 2: Reasons for Transport Method Reason For Choosing Normal Journey to Work Number operational Staff Number Non- operational Staff % operational Staff % Non-
operational Staff % Total
2013 2011 2013 2011 2013 2011 2013 2011 2013 2011 Distance 436 158 190 98 38.89% 14.44% 41.76% 19.48% 39.97% 16.03% Cheapest 564 215 163 70 50.31% 19.65% 35.82% 13.92% 46.42% 17.85% Quickest 613 255 263 182 54.68% 23.31% 57.80% 36.18% 55.94% 27.36% Vehicle required primarily for on call duties 113 111 6 6 10.08% 10.15% 1.32% 1.19% 7.60% 7.33% Vehicle required primarily for operational transport 31 37 3 1 2.77% 3.38% 0.66% 0.20% 2.17% 2.38% Business requirement (non operational use) 15 9 18 22 1.34% 0.82% 3.96% 4.37% 2.11% 1.94% Combine with other activity 37 20 14 7 3.30% 1.83% 3.08% 1.39% 3.26% 1.69% Exercise/Health 280 162 88 43 24.98% 14.81% 19.34% 8.55% 23.50% 12.84% No Alternatives 90 74 67 56 8.03% 6.76% 14.73% 11.13% 10.03% 8.14% Giving Somebody a Lift 21 3 6 0 1.87% 0.27% 1.32% 0.00% 1.72% 0.19% Other 20 50 7 18 1.78% 4.57% 1.54% 3.58% 1.72% 4.26% Personal accessibility requirements 35 0 20 0 3.12% 0.00% 4.40% 0.00% 3.51% 16.03% Total 2255 1094 845 503
5. Incentives to Walk or Cycle to Work
5.1 In response to what would encourage staff to cycle or walk to work, Good cycle/walking routes (31.74 per cent), good weather (24.07 per cent) and mileage allowance for cycling (20.43 per cent) were the options which were rated highest in the list of incentives to encourage cycling, others such as changing and shower facilities were also noted.
5.2 Cheaper travel was the most significant option that would encourage more people to consider public transport over car travel (35.07 per cent).
6. Business Travel
6.1 Business travel was carried out by just over 68 per cent of all respondents.
6.2 40.76 per cent of respondents who travel for business did so less than once a month. However, just fewer than 11.14 per cent of respondents who travel for business do so every day.
6.3 Other LFB premises were visited most frequently (65.27 per cent).
6.4 The most frequent distance travelled in a week on business travel was less than 2 miles.
6.5 The highest proportion of respondents use public transport (56.17 per cent) when travelling on business. However, 23.40 per cent use a private vehicle when travelling on business (Figure 2), 8.91 per cent use lease/essential cars, 6.41 per cent use fleet vehicles, 1.86 per cent are car passengers and only 1.76 per cent cycle and only 1.49 per cent walk.
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Figure 2: Form of Transport Usually Used When Travelling on Business
6.6 90.99 per cent of respondents who travelled for business did so alone and 21.73 per cent of respondents who travelled for business stated that the most bulky or heavy item required when travelling were papers/documents, with a further 4 per cent noting nothing.
7. Car Sharing
7.1 24.44 per cent of respondents using the car/motor vehicle as their main mode of transport to work indicated that there was nothing that would encourage them to car share.
7.2 56.45 per cent of respondents using the car/motor vehicle as their main mode of transport to work indicated that there were factors that would encourage them to car share, with the highest being finding someone who lives close by (22.92 per cent) and finding someone who shares the same working pattern (12.84 per cent).
7.3 3.09 per cent of respondents using the car/motor vehicle as their main mode of transport to work noted that they already car share.
8. Electric and/or Hybrid Vehicle
8.1 1.47 per cent of respondents using a car/motor vehicle as their main mode of transport to work indicated that they drive an electric and/or hybrid vehicle.
8.2 Of the respondents who do not drive an electric and/or hybrid vehicle, 38.89 per cent indicated that cost was a deciding factor.
8.3 39.78 per cent of respondents noted that the lack of charging points near home and work was a concern, preventing them from driving an electric vehicle.
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% Operational Non- Operational
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9. Brigade Facilities
9.1 Only 24.90 per cent of respondents were aware of video conferencing facilities. 9.2 Only 22.16 per cent of respondents were aware of teleconferencing facilities.
9.3 The greatest awareness was noted for the Bikes 4 Work scheme with 91.51 per cent of respondents being familiar with the scheme (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Awareness of Schemes and Facilities
24.90% 22.16% 91.51% 47.45% 53.70% 5.36% 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%
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Appendix C
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Headquarters (Union Street) Site Audit
GENERAL
1. 624 full-time and 56 Part time people work at the Union Street site (as at 14/08/2013). 2. 92 of these are shift based (based on Operational Staff Station Manager and above).
3. 28 seasonal staff (based on Agency Staff returns as at 31/07/13). We do not have complete information on Agency Staff locations; therefore this figure is based on all agency staff, excluding those in Training & Development and Borough teams.
4. Building access hours are from 07:00 to 19:00hrs
PUBLIC TRANSPORT PROVISION
5. Bus stops are located near the site at Southwark Bridge Road, Borough High Street, Blackfriars Road, and Waterloo Road (x4 stops = D, E, F and L).
6. Southwark Bridge Road and Blackfriars Road bus stops have shelters that are well maintained. Borough High Street stop does not have a shelter. Two of the Waterloo bus stops (D and F) have shelters that are well maintained and two stops (E and L) have no shelters.
7. All bus stops with shelters are well lit. 8. Timetables are displayed at all bus stops.
9. The following bus services operate from each stop:
• Southwark Bridge Road = x1 service
• Borough High Street = x5 services
• Blackfriars Road = x5 services
• Waterloo Road Stops: D = x9, E = x3, F = x3, L = x3 10. The buses serve the following routes:
• Southwark Bridge Road = route 344
• Borough High Street = routes 35, 133, 343, 40, 21
• Blackfriars Road = routes 45, 63, 100, N63, N89
• Waterloo Road Stops:
D = routes 59, 68, X68, 168, 171, 172, 176, N68, N171 E = routes 1, 188, N1
F = routes 4, 172, 134 L = routes 26, 76, N76 11. The nearest train and underground station are;
Southwark (approx 5 min walk) Borough (approx 7 min walk) London Bridge (approx 10 min walk) Waterloo (approx 15 min walk)
12. All tube stations are within a 15 min walk, or a 5 min taxi or bike ride; buses do not run directly from Union St to any tube station.
13. The train and tube stations are maintained as follows: Southwark: Very well maintained Borough: Poorly maintained London Bridge: Well maintained Waterloo: Well maintained
14. Services run very regularly from each station as follows: Southwark: trains run every 3-5 min Borough: trains run every 3-8 min London Bridge: trains run every 3-5 min Waterloo: trains run every 3-5 min 15. Closing times for each station are as follows:
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Borough: last train 00:50hrs (Mon-Fri); 23:35 (Sun) London Bridge: last train 00:26hrs (Mon-Fri); 23:35 (Sun)
Waterloo: last train approx 00:30hrs depending on line; 23:39 (Sun) 16. The following routes are served by each station:
Southwark: Jubilee line Borough: Northern line
London Bridge: Northern and Jubilee lines
Waterloo: Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines
17. Public transport information is provided in the Union St User Guide on the intranet Hotwire for staff.
18. Visitors can make enquiries on transportation via staff, reception and the Property Help Desk.
PEDESTRIAN ACCESS
19. There are pedestrian routes to bus stops, train/tube stations and local amenities e.g. shops, post office.
20. All pedestrian routes have a good paved surface and vandalism is not prevalent. 21. Footpaths are well lit.
CYCLING
22. Secure facilities for cycling are provided. 50 cycling spaces are available at Southwark Training Centre.
23. The 20 cycling spaces are covered.
24. There are no cycle paths serving the location.
25. Folding cycles only can be taken on the connecting train services.
26. Cyclists have access to locker facilities within the Union Street building. There are: 25 locker/cupboards for senior officers in cellular offices
191 lockers in the main locker room for uniformed officers and motor cyclists. 60 half size lockers in the stair core toilets for cyclists
32 half height lockers for gym users adjacent to the showers 16 for manual/catering/security staff
27. Cyclists have access to shower facilities within the Union Street building. There are: 7 on the lower ground floor
4 in the small shower/locker rooms on the North East stair core 2 in the shower/locker area on the South West stair core 1 in the Corporate Management Suite
28. There is a Barclays’ Bike docking station to the front of the Union Street building.
VEHICULAR ACCESS
29. No congestion problems have been observed around the site.
30. Visitors are requested to ring the Property Help Desk to pre-book a car parking space. There are 4 visitor car parking spaces in front of Winchester House and one disabled visitor space.
31. Car parking is not available at the work place site for staff.
32. 10 -12 deliveries are received per day to the rear loading bay (post, catering, courier, waste, office supplies).
CAR PARKING
33. 133 spaces are identified for qualifying staff at Union St and Southwark Training Centre and are available as follows:
Winchester House (STC) 21 North Block (STC) 12
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Sawyer St (STC) 40
Warden’s Grove 32
Galliards Homes 28
34. Car parks are secure and well lit. All, except Warden’s Grove car park, have CCTV. 35. Ownership of the car parks is as follows:
Winchester House (STC) owned North Block (STC) owned
Sawyer St (STC) long lease
Warden’s Grove included in lease for Union St Galliards Homes leased renewed annually 36. Car parking spaces are allocated based upon the following criteria:
Category Description
1 Disabled staff
2 Disabled staff visitors - bays to be in accordance with the DDA 3 Elected Members
4 Commissioner/Deputy/Directors/Heads of Service/Assistant Commissioners 5A Uniformed/operational officers who are on call whilst at HQ
5B Officers who need a vehicle to carry out Authority Business. This includes:– 1. Authority vehicles
2. Non-uniform officers who regularly visit fire stations
3. Uniformed officers not on call but who need to visit fire stations 6 Spaces required by fire station personnel
7 Contractors – to maintain building fabric and services 8 Visitors to Union Street / STC
37. No charge for parking is passed on to staff.
38. The costs for the pay as you go parking vary depending on the car park and time required for parking. Average cost is between £15 and £20 per day.
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Appendix D
-Business Audit 2013
1. Interest Free Travel Loan1.1 Interest free loans for the purchase of annual Rail, London Transport Underground and Bus and Coach season tickets from home to place of work are available and all employees are eligible to apply for a loan.
1.2 Employees will repay the loan in 11 monthly instalments by the appropriate deduction from their salaries, starting at the end of the first month following receipt of the loan. It is not possible to extend the period of repayment.
1.3 Employees in receipt of a loan will be expected to use the purchased season ticket in connection with any journeys undertaken on the rail/bus underground on official business.
1.4 Employees may claim for any additional travelling expenses incurred where the journey undertaken is not covered by the season ticket.
2. Training
2.1 Employees travelling to and from a residential training course by rail will be reimbursed the receipted cost or the cost of the most economical fare reasonably available in the absence of a receipt. Saver and Supersaver fares are available for most journeys. There is no entitlement to first class travel.
2.2 Employees travelling by private vehicle will be reimbursed the cost of the most economical fare reasonably available or the appropriate NJC car mileage rates as set out in the appendix
whichever is the cheaper. If employees use their leased car, the mileage will be calculated at the appropriate leased car mileage rate.
2.3 If there is more than one person travelling by car to the same training venue they are encouraged to share cars for which the driver will be entitled to claim an additional rate per passenger per mile.
2.4 Personnel travelling on a residential training course will be entitled to claim for mileage at 45p a mile or equivalent public transport fare which ever is the cheapest.
3. Car Schemes Casual car user scheme
3.1 The casual car users scheme provides arrangements staff where the use of a private vehicle is not deemed to be essential by the Brigade, but which is viewed as beneficial to the efficient conduct in carrying out their official duties.
3.2 Vehicles must be rated at 150g/km CO2 or less. New joiners to the scheme must comply from
the date they join the scheme. Existing users must comply upon their next change of vehicle. 3.3 From the 1 July 2012 mileage rates for the Casual car users scheme shall change to the HMRC
rates of 45p per mile up to 10,000 miles and 25p per mile thereafter.
Essential car user scheme
3.4 The essential car users scheme (ECUS) is applicable to officers in the role of station manager (officers on the Flexible Duty System and officers on the station managers’ Development Programme) to assistant commissioner, who have been authorised by the Commissioner to use their private car in the performance of their duties. It is an alternative to the leased car scheme. 3.5 The lump sum applicable to cars of 1000cc and above (inclusive of the LFEPA supplement of
£220 per annum) is £1,459 per year (£121.58 per month).
3.6 Under the essential car user scheme the mileage rates are: up to 8,500 miles 50.5p per mile and for over 8,500 miles 16.4p per mile.
3.7 Vehicles must be rated at 150g/km CO2or less. New joiners to the scheme must comply from the
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Lease car scheme
3.8 The leased car scheme is an optional alternative to the essential car users scheme which is available to staff who are deemed by the Brigade to be essential users whose duties are of such a nature that it is essential for them to have a car at their disposal whenever required, and staff chose the option to lease a vehicle rather than use a privately owned vehicle.
3.9 This is a single tier scheme with the Brigade subsidy set at £4790 if the car is rated at up to 120 g/km CO2 or £2395 (50 per cent rate) if the car is rated between 121g/km CO2 and 150g/km
CO2 (Policy issue date: 30 September 2011).
3.10 Cars on the scheme will need to be at 150g/km CO2 or less. There will be no Brigade subsidy for
cars rated in excess of 150g/km CO2 .
3.11 Under the lease car scheme, officers lease a car and receive a mileage payment of up to26p per mile when using the vehicle at work, depending on engine type.
4. Congestion Charge
4.1 The Authority offers support to some members of staff who incur charges under the congestion charge scheme.
4.2 Firefighters (up to and including the rank of Watch Manager B) based at stations within the congestion charge zone (Clerkenwell, Dowgate, Lambeth, Soho, Southwark and Westminster) are reimbursed the cost of their journeys to and from work. In addition, other staffs (Senior Officers, Main Grade and Control staff) that are required to use their cars and travel through the congestion charge zone who incur costs may also be reimbursed their expenditure.
5. Bikes 4 Work Scheme
5.1 The Bikes 4 Work Scheme offers employees access to tax free bikes and cycling equipment. 5.2 Cycle Solutions enables employers, to offer their staff bicycles and cycling equipment with
savings of up to 50 per cent from the retail value through a flexible benefit scheme.
5.3 This cycle to work scheme has been made possible through the governments Green Transport Plan.
5.4 Staff should note that the sole requirement for membership of the scheme is that at least 50 per cent of the use/mileage of the bikes or associated equipment must be for work related journeys, either for commuting or business journeys.
6. Cycle Allowances
6.1 Payment will be made on the certificate of the Director/ACFO concerned at the rate of 20p per mile for all mileage travelled on official business to employees using their own pedal cycles in the service of LFEPA.
7. TFL’s Barclays Cycle Hire
7.1 Staff can use the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme for short journeys. For journeys of up to 30 minutes the Brigade will reimburse evidenced usage at a rate of £1 per day (the 24 hour access fee).
8. Flexible Working/Work Life Balance
8.1 The right to apply for flexible working including part-time working and job sharing has been extended to all staff. However flexible working is not an automatic right and will be subject to the operational and business needs of the organisation.
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Job Sharing
8.2 The Authority is committed to the policy of job sharing and would support those who wish to do so. Job share arrangements provide for full-time roles to be normally divided equally i.e. a 50/50 split between two employees.
Part-Time Working
8.3 Working fewer hours can be important for employees to achieve a better work life balance, in particular, for parents, carers, people with disabilities and those wishing to pursue further education.
Compressed Hours
8.4 Compressed hours working enables an employee to continue to work the full-time standard hours as determined by their contract of employment, but over a shorter working week. For example an FRS employee contracted to a 35 hour week normally worked over five days could request to work these hours over a four day period. This mode of working is not available for control room staff on the shift duty system.
Term Time Working
8.5 Term time working is a combination of part time working and compressed hours working and may be suited to employees with children of school age. In this working pattern, an employee will be contracted to work during the school term with no requirement to attend for duty during the school holidays. Term time working will not be available to control room staff on the shift duty system.
9. Transport and Travel Information
9.1 All fire station profiles detail how to get to the site and have links to maps, showing local transport links and information is available in relation to the other buildings, with maps and transport links detailed on external and internal web pages.
9.2 Travel and transport information is supplied on the LFB website for visitors.
10. Remote Access
10.1 Remote access is available to all permanent and contract staff at any role/grade subject to the preparation of a business case for the post or role by the line manager (normally a deputy assistant commissioner/ FRS G role/grade) and agreed by a director or the head of service/assistant commissioner
10.2 Requests for the remote access service are granted to a specific person, performing a specific role and justified according to the accompanying business case at that point in time.
11. Air Travel
11.1 The Commissioner for Fire and Emergency Planning has delegated authority to approve overseas travel for officers to attend conferences, seminars, training courses and study trips and for fact-finding and information gathering purposes subject to such attendance/travel benefiting the Authority in the performance of one or more of its statutory functions and only where no reasonable London or UK based alternative exists.
11.2 Where possible officers are encouraged to travel by rail (e.g. Eurostar) for European visits in order to reduce this organisation’s carbon footprint.
12. Standard Station Design Brief
12.1 Stipulates provision of secure, covered and well lit cycle rack storage facilities for a minimum of 4 cycles or 10 per cent of building users plus a minimum of 10 per cent of building visitors,
