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Reducing Business Mileage

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This toolkit offers some great ideas on how to reduce business mileage; introducing any one of these plans could help reduce your business costs.

 Why try to reduce business mileage?

  • It can save you money on travel costs
  • By encouraging staff to travel more sustainably, they can become fitter, healthier and happier
  • It may encourage staff to travel more sustainably to and from work, as well as during work hours, and
  • It may help towards your business travel plan.

Business Mileage

Restructuring your business mileage policy can make business travel more cost effective. Options could include:

  • Introduce a cycling and/or walking mileage allowance.
  • Reduce your business mileage rates – high business mileage payments can encourage employees to drive unnecessary miles due to the financial gains.
  • Provide a ‘flat rate’ for mileage payments which does not discriminate in favour of larger cars.

Business Travel

Reducing the number of car trips made for business travel can not only reduce costs but can also increase the amount of productive staff time. This can be achieved by making alternative travel choices more attractive than lone driving:

  • Introduce tele/video-conferencing facilities
  • Consider purchasing public transport season tickets for staff making regular business trips to the same destination, or buy ‘pool tickets’ so that any member of staff can take the ticket for meetings, training, or whenever required;
  • Use pool bikes for going to meetings or training that are short distances away – individuals can cycle up to 7 miles depending on their level of fitness. Read more about this in the ‘Pool Bikes’ Toolkit;
  • Co Bikes are electric bikes, located at docks around the city centre – if your business is located near a Co Bike dock, why not use Co Bikes for short business journeys round Exeter city centre
  • You can borrow Brompton folding bikes from the Brompton Dock outside of Exeter St Davids, offering an easily portable hire bike
  • Encourage travel using public transport by providing your staff with up-to-date travel information;
  • Co cars are pool cars which can be booked by staff for business trips or site visits as and when they are needed. Co cars have business packages and all businesses need to complete the organisation’s application form
  • Provide business pool cars, which can be booked by staff for business trips or site visits as and when they are needed;
  • Encourage staff to car share when travelling to training or meetings; and
  • Incorporate electric vehicles into your company car fleet.

Further information and support

Want to encourage smarter travel to work at your organisation? Businesses in Exeter, Barnstaple and Newton Abbot are eligible for free business support to start travel planning, including support offers for individual members of staff. Email traveldevon@devon.gov.uk to find out more. 

 

Please note: When following our toolkits, please also refer to the government guidance for safer travel.

This page was last updated November 2020.

URLs

 

 

traveldevon@devon.gov.uk