Ikea, cruise giant Carnival and Solent University are signing up to the scheme, which aims to transform employees’ commuting habits.

Together the three employ more than 4,000 people in the city, and they are to be the test subjects in a pilot of a free workplace travel planning service to encourage the use of sustainable transport like buses and car sharing.

Dave Fullen, an event participant from Express Engineering, based on Kingsway, Team Valley says ‘There are usually 12 of us but this year our numbers have swelled to 27, which includes a back up driver in a van. This is a yearly event for us which is great fun and a fantastic opportunity to raise money to support a worthy cause’. 

Eight of the participants will be riding cycles obtained through the Department for Transport Cycle to Work Scheme introduced by Express Engineering, enabling their employees to benefit from new tax-free bikes. 

After leaving Express Engineering on Friday morning for Whitehaven, the event will commence with a 35-mile cycle to Keswick where the troop will spend their first night. An early Saturday morning start will see the team cycling through Greystoke, Penrith and a gruelling cycle up Hartside Pass; through Alston, up to Nenthead and eventually down into Eastgate, a journey of approximately 65 miles.

On Sunday the team will tackle yet more stamina testing landscapes until they reach Consett where they will split into two groups, one to finish in Sunderland and the other in Tynemouth. On completion, the participants will have raised well over ukp1,000 sponsorship money for the Chris Lucas Trust, a charity which cares for children and young adults with cancer, and raises funds for medical research.

Anyone wishing to learn more about the Department for Transport Cycle to Work Scheme, or information about other sustainable travel events on Team Valley or measures to support sustainable travel for employers and employees, visit Businesses / Support Cycling at www.teamvalleylinks.com

Although it has always been the job of the NHS to treat patients who are already ill, more and more primary care trusts are focusing their efforts on preventing problems developing in the first place. 

Travelling to and from work by more sustainable methods can be one of the ways of increasing fitness levels and reducing stress.

teamvalleylinks.com can help you find a way of travelling more sustainably to and from Team Valley.

Photo: Peter Wignall, first left, managing director of The Workplace Travel Plan Company and a member of the WWNE steering group.  David Gibbs, third from left, Travel Plan Co-ordinator for Team Valley.  Cllr. Gary Haley, far right, Cycle Champion, Gateshead Council.  All, with others employed or studying on Team Valley, taking part in the Team Green Britain Bike Week

For more information about teamvalleylinks.com contact dgibbs@uk-land-estates.co.uk

For more information about the Work Wise campaign contact sarah.stewart@workwisenortheast.org

Sales of travel tickets in Tyne and Wear are increasing as public transport users take advantage of the flexible and unlimited travel deals on offer.

Network One, which sells ukp16m of travel tickets annually, launched its new travel zones in April this year and since then has seen nearly a 4% rise in the number of tickets being purchased, based on the same two months last year.

The travel tickets, which allow travel by bus, Metro, ferry and rail using just one ticket, offer travellers a choice of one day, one week, four weeks and 12 month combinations, saving passengers' money on the cost of individual journeys.

Network One travel tickets are also available for students, those on New Deal and those with Newcastle United season tickets.

Employees could be given more flexible hours and work schedules adapted in order to allow at least one day every fortnight to be one spent working remotely.

Train companies might also be encouraged not to penalise those who only spend part of the week at the office by overhauling season tickets.

The proposals outlined by the Coalition are an attempt to create a low-carbon economy,  but traditional travel patterns must change to achieve this, according to transport minister Norman Baker.

The Liberal Democrat plans to discuss his initiative with Treasury and other ministers to instruct them as to how his ideas can be put into practice.

He said: 'Part of my brief as transport minister is to sometimes encourage people not to travel. I want to be the first virtual transport minister.'

Mr Baker's initiative could ease the pressure on Britain's transport network.

The recently opened Travel Centre in the Axis Building at Maingate, Team Valley, played host to 52 cyclists keen to share their experiences of cycling and feast on free breakfasts.

The event was supported by Councillor Gary Haley, Gateshead Council's Cycling Champion, who said "An event such as this is an excellent opportunity to promote cycling as a healthy, cheap alternative to the daily commute by car, it is also a much safer and faster form of transport than many none cyclists imagine.  I look forward to supporting other cycling events by teamvalleylinks.com in the future".

In addition to the breakfast gathering, participants and staff working in the Axis Building had an opportunity to enjoy a range of modern commuting and leisure cycles from Low Fell Cycles.

Photograph supplied by UK Land Estates.  From left to right:

Peter Wignall Workplace Travel Plan Company / teamvalleylinks.com

Phil Moorin - UK Land Estates

David Gibbs - teamvalleylinks.com / UK land Estates

Lorraine Aicheson - UK Land Estates

Hazel Ord - UK Land Estates

Councillor Gary Haley - Cycling Champion, Gateshead Council