The travel landscape is very different today than the one we left behind in mid-March. Many individuals will have paused their previous commuting habits – saving them both time and money – and some will have used this time to re-assess their travel behaviour.
There is always going to be a need to keep public transport services running for those people that need to use bus, tram and train and the safety and wellbeing of public transport users and its employees remains a top priority for Travel South Yorkshire.
Richard explained: “It has been a great opportunity for people to re-think what they did before and ask is there a better way I could be travelling? One that is less stressful and contributes towards reducing our environmental impact?
“During the period of lockdown, more of us were able to explore our local areas and many more people re-discovered cycling – and in some ways walking. Walking or commuting by bike can be easier than you think, particularly if you consider the length of a journey.
“Around 40 per cent of journeys that are 1km or less are driven in a car – resulting in a negative impact on our health and the environment. However, a walk of 2km can be done in as little as 20-25 minutes for many. A 5km journey by bike for a new cycle commuter (depending on the route) could be in the region of 30-40 minutes.
“If you’re more than 2km away from your workplace, is there an option to reduce the trip length by car and walk the final part of the journey? Getting started with a more active commute whilst the weather is ‘nice’ also helps to embed the change and make the commute a more pleasurable one.
“There are several ways employers can help support this change – if they don’t already know, find out how their staff were commuting before lockdown measures came into place and ask how they plan on travelling to work going forward.
“For example, can the employer look at working patterns and/or enable earlier/later starts and finishes to the working day to ease pressure at typical commuting times? It is also about finding out what employees need to help them to adjust their commute.
“If there are areas that need addressing to help people to walk or commute by bike, we would encourage you to share your comments on Sheffield City Region’s interactive map online.”
Get in touch with Travel South Yorkshire’s Active Travel team to find out how they can help: sustainabletravel@sypte.co.uk or visit www.travelsouthyorkshire.com/business
Sheffield City Region’s interactive map can be viewed at www.cyclewalkscrmap.sheffieldcityregion.org.uk
