Step 5: Setting Targets
By setting targets, you will be able to assess whether your Travel Plan is achieving its objectives.
The targets of your Travel Plan must relate to its objectives and should be based on the results of your surveys and audits to ensure that they are realistic.
If your objective is "to help reduce local road congestion", your targets may include "to reduce the number of single occupant car journeys to work by 10% by 2010" or "increase the proportion of staff commuting to work by active travel or public transport by 20% by 2010".
If you include indicators in your Travel Plan, you will be able to monitor them to identify whether your targets have been met and your objectives achieved.
You could also consider specifying targets for different groups of transport users. This could include targets for staff, for visitors, for deliveries, by department or by mode (such as single occupancy vehicles or cycling).
If your organisation has groups of users with very different needs, you may want to differentiate between groups. For example, an educational establishment might have different targets for undergraduate students, post-graduate students and staff.
However, care is required when setting targets for different groups. For instance, if you favour senior management by setting less stringent targets for them, you are likely to lose the support of more junior staff!
All your targets should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
Both negative and positive targets should be included. For example, 'reduce single occupancy vehicle movements' and 'increase walking'.
NEXT: Step 6: Identifying and Implementing Measures »
