Exploring the Smarter Choices Agenda amongst Micro Companies and SMEs Lynsey Harris Integrated Transport Planning Ltd

Scope of paper  Work undertaken  Research  Other office arrangements  Factors affecting the smarter choices agenda  Perceived differences in the uptake of measures between SMEs and larger organisations  Practitioner responses  Conclusion and recommendations

Research  Questionnaire distributed to occupants of Sharespace  Majority of responses received by employees who used sustainable modes  Most popular reasons for choosing their modes of transport were cost, reliability and speed of the journey  Sustainable transport important mostly due to environmental impacts  Measures employed at present - wfh and flexible hours  Not much enthusiasm for any other measures  Willingness to try other modes rested on the bus and cycling  Lack of interest in forum to discuss issues

Other offices  Information gathered on Green Park, Reading and the new development at Kings Cross and brief comparison made.  Parking  Encouragement  Supporting facilities  Bus services  Tele conferencing facilities  Car share  Leadership  The future

Factors affecting smarter choices  Location  Private car parking  Office ownership  Effect of organisation size on uptake of measures

Practitioner responses  Jeremy Prince (Nottingham City Council)  TransACT  amount of money has provoked interest  most common initiatives cycling and IT solutions  Need to get the approach right  Benefit of clustering  Colin Black (JMP and Chairman of ACT)  Office management company refits opportunity  Area Travel Plans / BIDs  Ali Clabburn (Liftshare)  Initial business case to gain support  Project champion and use of simple promotional material  TMO/As (USA)

Conclusions  Sheer number demands attention  Different measures need for different sized companies smaller = informal and personal  2 main approaches to SMEs  SMEs need to recognise the issues, the channels available to them and the importance of joint working

Recommendations  Office Management Companies  Buy in from the outset  Consultation with occupying businesses  Local Authorities  Aim for SMEs realising they have different requirements  SMEs  Recognise the opportunities  Make sensible location choices