How employers are shedding their parking problems

Providing employee parking is a common headache for employers, especially in cities. It is enormously costly, there are rarely enough spaces for all staff, and unsatisfactory provision can affect staff morale and productivity. Indeed, two-thirds of UK office workers are stressed by workplace parking, especially when it makes them late or leads to colleague tensions. Fifteen percent get into work over an hour early to ensure they get a parking space. Some say they are having to give up jobs because they can’t find anywhere to park.

car park

First-come, first-served approaches are no longer fair as we move away from the traditional 9-5 working day. And staff who can’t find spaces in the company car park often waste time and money cruising nearby streets for a curb space – frequently damaging the company’s relationship with local residents.

Finding the fairest way to apportion spaces is only a temporary sticking plaster; the solution lies in reducing the number of cars needing to park on site each day.

carpark2

Liftshare is playing a central role for many businesses adopting new Workplace Parking Strategies, including NHS organisations such as Great Western Hospital in Swindon. With 3,600 staff given parking permits for just 1,800 spaces, they were facing huge challenges. However the introduction of a Liftshare scheme, and our support with their Parking Strategy, meant the hospital was ultimately able to free up an extra 250 parking spaces for patients every day.

Since engaging the services of Liftshare in 2015, Jaguar Land Rover has also seen a parking transformation. Over 10,000 staff have now registered to share lifts, and half of these are sharing on a daily basis. Not only are JLR delighted, so are its staff – one employee reports a £3,000 reduction in their annual commute costs!

 

Parking issues can also be eased by encouraging more use of public transport, or walking and cycling. But as many workers are set in their daily routine, they often need to be made aware of all their options before they consider the benefits of changing how they commute. Liftshare’s personalised travel plans – known as myPTP – are a simple and effective way of achieving this, and typically result in a 17% shift in how staff travel to work. John Davis, Travel Plan Co-ordinator at Wakefield Council, told us that the myPTPs provided for his staff were “extremely well received”, adding that they often produced journey opportunities “such as cycling, public transport or car-sharing that staff had not considered”.

To find out more about how Liftshare could help with your Parking Strategy, drop us a line today and we’d be delighted to discuss your individual situation.

 

Author liftshare

on

You might also like…

See how Liftshare can help your organisation