Terminology
A company travel plan (CTP) is "a strategy for an organisation to reduce its transportation impacts and to influence the travel behaviour of its employees, suppliers, visitors and customers" (Rye, 2002). Very often, the travel plan focuses on employee travel behaviour.

CTPs are also referred to as Employer Transport Plans and have in the past been known as Green Commuter Plans or Green Transport Plans. The word "Green" has been dropped as an organisations motivation to implement a travel plan is rarely environmental. This is despite transport policy promoting CTPs as a means of reducing negative environmental impacts of road vehicles.

The term CTP is UK parlance. Elsewhere in Europe CTPs are referred to as site based mobility management. The phrase mobility management alone refers to more than a CTP; it is an umbrella term encompassing all attitudinal and behavioural measures which can include information provision. In the US CTPs are known as transportation demand management (TDM). As with mobility management, TDM can be an umbrella term for more than just a CTP.

CTPs consist of a package of measures, which are implemented to reduce solo car driving. The choice and combination of measures varies from one organisation to another. A ride sharing scheme is a common measure. Regardless of the organisation in which a CTP is implemented and the choice of measures, CTPs should have a number of common elements. These elements are a co-ordinator within the company (ideally full time), communication with staff, a staff travel survey (to identify travel patterns and potentially useful measures) and monitoring. The communications should raise awareness amongst staff of the need to reduce car use and discuss the measures to be implemented. Allowing staff input to the choice of measures and how they are phased in generates a sense of ownership and commitment to follow through and reduce their car use. Many organisations include incentives to take up alternatives; some also initiate disincentives for car use and all should celebrate successes to maintain changes in travel behaviour. The changes in travel patterns (successes) can be identified through monitoring and such evidence will also help justify future plans.

The stages involved in changing travel patterns through a CTP are the same generic stages of behaviour change discussed under individualised marketing campaigns to reduce car use.

Styles of CTP
The style of CTP is a function of an organisations culture and the measures it implements. Many organisations have a strong car culture, which they are unwilling to challenge. Thus, anything which could be perceived as a threat to car use may not be implemented. This could be one reason why ride sharing is so popular. Other organisations may not have communications structures which easily facilitate negotiation with staff, which could make potentially unpopular measures such as disincentives difficult to implement.

The secondary outcomes a company may seek from reduced car use can also influence the style of a plan. The primary reason for a plan may be to improve accessibility to help solve recruitment and retention problems. However, the organisation may choose to focus on measures that will also improve health and potentially increase productivity and reduce absenteeism.

Source: Rye 2002 with adaptations.
* Measures that can be incentives. Incentives commonly have a financial element. However, this is not essential. Introduction of flexible working hours could be communicated as an incentive as employees will have the flexibility to work around possible public transport delays, additionally, it is an improvement in working conditions, which could mitigate other less popular measures.

There are a number of variations on CTPs, primarily school travel plans (STPS) and hospital travel plans (HTPs).

School Travel Plans
STPs differ from CTPs in a number of ways. Firstly, there are many more pupils than staff, thus measures are targeted at pupil transport. STPs are more likely in schools in congested urban areas where there is little drop off space or schools where many pupils are driven to school. These are often primary schools. The key elements of an STP are the same as a CTP. However, communications will be with children in the classroom and parents through letters home and school meetings.

Measures to encourage walking and cycling are often similar to those implemented in CTPs, but may include road safety and safe cycling courses. These are well established programmes in many schools with support from local authorities. A walking measure unique to schools is the 'walking bus'. Many parents are reluctant to allow younger children to walk to school alone, thus one or more adults (usually parents) walk their own children to school, collecting others en route.

Public transport measures tend to be engineering measures to facilitate vehicles pulling into the school safely. These facilities will also benefit any existing school bus services which may be absorbed into the plan. Working with operators can also enable routes to be altered to serve schools and possibly the provision of discount travel cards.

Measures relating to car use could include car pooling organised along the principles of the 'walking bus' described above. Parking regulations and/or restrictions can also be implemented in and around the school.

Hospital Transport Plans
Another variant is the HTP, which includes measures targeted at patients, especially out patients and visitors, as well as staff. The communications and travel survey element of the plan can be particularly difficult with regard to patients and visitors. For most people, hospital attendance is hopefully not a frequent or long term activity, thus, where car use is the habitual mode per se, that is likely to be the default choice. Thus, communications need to reach along way outside of the hospital such that potential patients and visitors are aware of alternatives (or where to obtain the relevant information) when the need arises. This work may be beyond the time and budget of many HTPs, thus they may rely on more general travel awareness and/or individualised marketing campaigns in their catchment area. Nevertheless, the travel survey can include existing visitors and patients (where appropriate).

The measures implemented through an HTP are similar to CTPs in relation to staff, as well as patients and visitors. All of these groups can benefit from re-routed bus services, as well as walking and cycling measures. Parking restrictions and regulations around the site can dissuade visitors from driving. Extended visiting hours can spread demand and make using public transport easier. Working with ambulance services or other community transport providers to supply collective out patient transport is another option.

Charging
CTPs do not include charging by definition, however, certain measures implemented through the plan may include charging. The introduction of parking charges is the obvious example. The charge can be ring-fenced to provide alternatives or incentives.

Technology
The technology needed to implement a CTP is minimal. At the most basic level a database to analyse staff travel surveys and/or operate a ride sharing scheme is all that is needed.

Optional uses of technology include ticket machines to collect parking charges, secure bicycle lockers, information provision via company intranet or dedicated visual display units (these can be especially useful in organisations with a variety of different groups access sites in large numbers, e.g. hospitals and universities) and computer equipment to facilitate telecommuting.