Step 7: Monitoring Progress
Monitoring how well your Travel Plan works in practice using the Targets set earlier is the only way to test whether your initiatives are successful. Therefore, you may need to incorporate monitoring costs as part of your Travel Plan.
The need for objectivity
There is little point in setting targets and implementing measures if monitoring is not then undertaken to gauge success or failure.
Monitoring processes must be focussed, robust and capable of quantifying progress objectively.
If needed, you will then be able to adjust your Travel Plan to improve its effectiveness.
Types of monitoring tools
It is important to develop a range of monitoring tools.
Examples include analysing monthly business mileage, other existing financial management information or conducting intermittent snapshot surveys of travel patterns.
These surveys will be similar in form to the initial, more extensive travel survey, but will usually be simpler and quicker to complete.
It is suggested that surveys be carried out during the spring and autumn, and not during school holidays.
Choose Another Way - My Travel Plan
The My Travel Plan tool provides a facility to easily conduct regular travel surveys and for reporting to senior management and local authorities on progress with a travel plan.
It allows all information on a travel plan to be held in one place and a consistent method of collating survey and monitoring data to be adopted. The tool allows organisations to compare the progress they have made with their travel plan with the national average.
Frequency of monitoring
To ensure the most appropriate and effective measures are being used, monitoring should be carried out every year and then full surveys every 2 to 5 years.
Within public sector organisations, especially local authorities, monitoring processes may feed into reporting on progress towards commitments under Scotland's Climate Change Declaration, Best Value and efficiency agendas.
If you are implementing your Travel Plan as part of a planning condition, you may wish to tie-in your monitoring procedures with your annual meeting with the Local Authority.
NEXT: Step 8: Reviewing & Reporting »
