Hackney ,
15
September
2014
|
12:42
Europe/London

Take part in travel survey and win cash for yourself or business

Travel to work survey

Hackney Council wants to find out how you get to work as part of a huge borough-wide survey to encourage greener travel.

Hackney residents can win £200 cash and employers can apply for grants of up to £1,000 towards sustainable transport promotion or facilities.

In order to apply, businesses will need at least 30 per cent of their employees to respond.

Previous grants have been used to buy electric vehicle charging points, pool bikes, cycle parking, cycle maintenance and transport maps.

The survey will help the Council understand how people travel to work, what would encourage people to walk and cycle more or reduce their reliance on a car. For example, the Council knows that 15.4 per cent of Hackney residents cycle to work but it doesn't know how many people are biking into the borough and from where they are coming.The survey also aims to collate what the Council is doing well in terms of travel and on what it could improve. 

The Council will share its learning with other employers in the borough so that they too can benefit

Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Hackney Council
It's incredibly important for the future of our transport planning that we understand how the borough's workforce is travelling to and from their jobs. We really want to build on our status as London's premier cycling borough and get even more of our residents and workers biking. Walking and cycling is good for staff but also benefits businesses too: evidence shows that staff that travel actively are a healthier and a more productive workforce who take fewer sick days. Cycling also reduces taxi and business travel costs.
Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Hackney Council

Hackney Downs Studio applied for a grant towards installing cycle stands which are now fully used daily.

Louise Wellby, communications manager, said: "The grants enabled us to provide proper cycle parking for our studio residents; they were such a hit we had to provide even more. 

"The car park is now a much more social space with 50 per cent fewer cars - we call it The Village Green. 

"We introduced a car club bay onsite so residents who need to take an occasional journey can do so without the need for owning a car or van and save money.

"Residents and staff love the coloured cycle parking hoops and the space is a much more inviting place to visit."

You have until Friday, 10 October to respond, here: www.hackney.gov.uk/workplacetravelplans.htm

Alternatively, call 020 8356 8470 or email: movegreener@hackney.gov.uk 

The release of the survey marks the start of European Mobility Week, which runs from 16 to 22 September every year, and aims to encourage local authorities to introduce and promote greener transport as alternatives to car use. 

Hackney Council will be holding or promoting a series of initiatives during the week, including pop-up events in and around Shoreditch later this week, free walk-in cycling training (www.hackney.gov.uk/cycle-training) and the Car Free Day street party in the Narrow Way on Saturday, 27 September