Businesses from across South Yorkshire attended a free business breakfast seminar today (Monday 7 April) to find out their employees could save up to 30% off their bus travel.
The greentravel2work seminar was organised by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), in partnership with p&mm greentravel2work and bus operators. It was used as a platform to launch a new service which offers employers a third off local bus travel. This could potentially benefit hundreds of thousands of employees from across the county.
Businesses that attended included the four district councils, Meadowhall Shopping Centre, The Primary Care Trust, local Chambers of Commerce, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, local hospitals, universities and the Home Office.
The seminar, which supports the Government’s Green Travel Plan, encourages more organisations to use greener modes of travel, reduce their carbon footprint and make South Yorkshire a cleaner, greener place to live and work.
To claim the discounted travel, businesses must sign up to the scheme for 12 months. As well as cheap travel the ticket also offers employers and businesses the opportunity to save on their National Insurance contributions.
David Brown, Director General of SYPTE, said: “The seminar was a great success and we have received some great feedback from local businesses across the county.
“We are committed to reducing congestion in South Yorkshire and introducing products that will ultimately attract more people on to public transport. This is a great way to save your employees money and help reduce your business's carbon footprint.”
After the event there was some excellent feedback from local businesses and many felt, by introducing the scheme, it would encourage staff retention and help enhance their corporate image as an employer of choice.
Alice Truswell, Transport and Travel Plan Manager at Meadowhall Shopping Centre said “The seminar was great. The process is the first one I have seen that is easy to implement and also provides real benefits to change commuter behaviour.
“It is definitely something that we will be introducing at Meadowhall and I have already started the ball rolling.”
The seminar was held at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel, in Sheffield and over 40 businesses from South Yorkshire attended.
Speakers at the event were David Brown, Director General at SYPTE, Daniel Nugent from p&mm greentravel2work and Helen Humphries from Nottingham City Council.
At the event Helen explained she had introduced a similar scheme in Nottingham in 2005/2006, which has won five national awards and improved staff retention. Helen carried out a survey in Nottingham, which showed 69% of employees believed it was important for organisations to be environmentally responsible and 32% considered changing employment for a company who offered a green benefits package.
The greentravel2work seminar is just one of the ways SYPTE is working in partnership with local bus operators and businesses to help people think about changing their travelling habits to ‘greener modes of travel’ such as public transport, walking, cycling and car sharing.
Notes to Editors:
If you would like more information please contact Julia Price, Senior Communications Officer on 0114 221 1413, 07919 111361 or email juliap@sypte.co.uk