Team Valley Links

The Team Valley is a unique place of vast employment, award winning educational opportunities and nationally recognised retail outlets.

It is also a victim of its extraordinary success as the supporting roads become quickly congested as commuters and visitors strive to enter and leave by the same road networks over the same periods of time. Hence the creation of this new incentive to help make a difference – we give you something, such as information on cheaper travel or money saving discounts to enjoy at Team Valley retailers and you give us something in return – a willingness to try sustainable travel to help free up our roads.

Our ambition is simple, to offer viable, cheaper forms of transport, which will benefit you financially and improve your health by addressing how, why and when you travel.

From Monday to Friday the same drama is played out on the roads supporting Team Valley as the entrances and exits become clogged and congested between the hours of 8am to 9.00am and 4.30pm to 5.30pm. The main offenders are our cars and there are hundreds of them. Our specific aim is to offer you viable alternatives in order to unclog the roads and make all of our journeys more cost effective and less stressful.

We recognise this is not possible for everyone, however, if we can introduce and promote developments amongst those who can take advantage of sustainable modes, everyone can benefit.

There are cost savings to be had from walking, cycling and car sharing and you can also improve your health and fitness, reduce your stress levels and generally improve your quality of life as a consequence of not sitting in endless traffic jams!

You don’t need to travel by an alternative mode everyday but if you can leave the car at home once a week you can still make a difference…every little helps!

There are many benefits to walking and cycling. Firstly, walking doesn’t cost a penny and once you are fully equipped cycling is a cost effective way to travel. A small amount of regular exercise can improve your levels of fitness and the easiest way to increase the frequency with which you exercise is by incorporating it into your working day. Walking and cycling to work offer the opportunity to do this whilst also saving you money.

Yes! In order to encourage cycling as a way to commute or as part of your daily duties, the Department for Transport introduced a Salary Sacrifice Cycle to Work Scheme which enables you to benefit from a brand new cycle and cycling equipment up to 40% cheaper than the usual retail price. So, you get fit and save money at the same time. For more information on the Salary Sacrifice Cycle to Work scheme contact our travel plan co-ordinator.

To find out about walking and cycling routes around Team Valley, visit Smarter Choices

It is easy to find details about public transport routes between home and work as well as many other destinations. Go to Travel Options to plan your door- to-door route.

The cost of public transport varies, depending on your journey, but in many cases journeys are cheaper than you think. Buying weekly, monthly or even annual tickets through your employer, some even benefit from a salary sacrifice tax saving scheme, can make the most significant savings.

To find out how to save on journeys to work by public transport click Travel Options

Car sharing involves sharing your journey with someone who is travelling the same (or similar) route as you. You don’t need a car to be able to take part – you can look for a lift as well as offer one.

You can share as often or infrequently as you like and sharing need not be limited to commuter trips -why not share your journey to the shops? It offers a great opportunity to save money, do your bit for the environment and reduce congestion, making everybody’s journey quicker and easier.

Car sharing is a great way of reducing the number of cars on the road, given sharing results in fewer single occupancy car trips. There are obvious benefits to this – reduced journey times, less queuing and congestion, reduced emissions from vehicles, a nicer environment for those walking and cycling and best of all you can reduce your commuting costs significantly - if you share with one colleague you could halve your costs, share with two others and save two thirds!

Car sharing should not impact upon your insurance premiums, provided you do not make a profit from it. However, it is advisable to contact your insurer to double check before you start sharing.

Many companies offer assistance with finding an alternative if your lift lets you down – whether this be by finding an alternative partner to give you a lift, identifying an alternative mode by which you can travel or organising a taxi for your journey. To find out the arrangements within your organisation, contact your company coordinator.

All good employers want a happy, contented workforce and understand that offering flexible benefits to their employees is a sound investment for future goodwill and productivity. Perhaps your employer is unaware of some of the new business incentives surrounding sustainable travel ideas? If you would like more information to pass on to your employer, please contact the Travel Plan Coordinator.

Fifth Avenue has its own Area Travel Plan, which has been developed to promote sustainable travel within the businesses located at the Fifth Avenue Business Park on Team Valley. This work was specifically undertaken to reduce congestion and parking problems on Fifth Avenue. We hope to build on this previous activity by adopting a collective approach to tackling these ongoing problems to make the journey to and from work easier for all.

In short yes! In addition to the benefits to your existing staff and their productivity, you will significantly widen your areas of recruitment enabling you to find the calibre of employee, which you require for your business needs.

Embracing a sustainable travel agenda will also help create an environmental kudos for your business which in turn could open doors which previously seemed unobtainable, it will also enable you to make significant savings to your business travel budget and greatly reduce your demand for car parking.

In order for you to plan and guide such activity, we suggest you consider creating your own travel plan.

A travel plan is a simple strategy for managing the travel generated by your organisation, with the specific aim of reducing its environmental impact.

They typically combine measures to support walking, cycling, public transport and car sharing and are reinforced with promotion and incentives along with the management of workplace parking.

Experience shows the benefits accruing from a travel plan can be extensive. Which benefits are most important to your company will depend on your circumstances and will determine the emphasis of your particular travel plan.

Your business, its staff, its customers and the local community all stand to gain by your actions.

Not necessarily. We are ultimately striving to build an Area Travel Plan (ATP) through our Team Valley Links Community.

An Area Travel Plan is a package of measures, which aims to promote sustainable travel amongst a group of organisations. The main aim of www.teamvalleylinks.com is to reduce the reliance on the private car and promote environmentally friendly alternatives, or indeed, reduce the need to travel at all.

There are a number of reasons why an Area Travel Plan might be developed. It may be necessary in order to secure planning permission for a new development. Alternatively, an organisation might be committed to promoting a greener corporate image or improving access to its premises for existing / potential staff.

Not dramatically. Most employers quickly see the benefits of encouraging their staff to travel to work by non-car modes as your company, as well as staff, stand to benefit from greater reliability of staff journey times, reduced demand for car parking, a healthier more active workforce and a demonstration of commitment to environmental issues.

If you would like to discuss in person how embracing a sustainable travel culture would benefit your business, contact the Travel Plan Coordinator

Whether you are wishing to shop, attend an interview or have business to attend to on Team Valley it is easy to find details about public transport routes between your home and your intended destination. Click on Travel Options to plan your door- to-door route.