Get staff moving

The goal

Auckland Museum’s Travel Plan is about encouraging our staff to green commute, drive less often to work, try other modes of transport which will also benefit their health and wellbeing and create a sustainable museum fit for the future. 

We want to continue to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce the vehicle footprint in the Auckland Domain. We want to improve our kaitaiki (guardianship) in this city - individually and as an organisation contribute to a greener Auckland.

The solution

We started with an organisational-wide travel survey that helped us understand the motivations for staff travel choices and the barriers to leaving their car at home.

From the survey, we worked out that if we provided more easily accessible information, tools and resources around planning public transport, better facilities for walkers and cyclists as well as individualised journey planning and carpooling programmes to our people they are likely to try alternative modes of transport.

We then developed a list of priorities and established some ambitious travel plan goals.

A Travel Plan roadmap was developed that communicated clearly the upcoming changes and supporting events to motivate our people and create anticipation and excitement.

Travel Plan priorities and goals

1. Reduce the number of staff driving to work
2. Improve end of journey facilities and provide staff discounts
3. Improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, accessibility and connectedness
4. Enable more public transport options
5. A focus on reducing unnecessary business travel

Actions

In less than one year the Museum has:

• Conducted a travel survey of our staff and volunteers
• Developed and launched our Travel Plan
• Hosted two Travel Expos in partnership with Auckland Transport
• Created and successfully launched the AM Carpool Scheme with 15 dedicated carpool parks and a contingency plan for further parks if required
• Built a new custom made bike cage providing bike parking for 42 bikes and e-bike charging stations, drying and hanging/storage facilities
• Provided 20 lockers for staff who green commute and run/walk during their lunch breaks
• Planned to improve showering facilities available for all green commuters
• Implemented a new PAYG parking scheme for staff and removed (free) staff permit parking
• Developed a guaranteed Emergency Ride Home Scheme supporting our people who green commute
• Provided staff discounts promoting cycling and walking to walk
• Provided numerous prizes and giveaways – water bottles, pedometers, Museum gift shop vouchers on top of all the freebies from Auckland Transport
• Promoted free motorcycle and scooter parking and created more dedicated scooter parking for our staff and volunteers
• Created dedicated Travel Plan intranet pages providing information, tools and resources for our people on all the initiatives, changes, mode information, FAQ’s etc
• Launched a Business Travel Hop Card pilot in the Collections Department which we plan on rolling out more widely later this year

What’s next for the Travel Plan?

• Free biking confidence courses 
• Continue improvements to end of journey facilities, including integrated showering and changing facilities
• Public transport – exploring discounts for AM staff and volunteers to commute to work and business meetings
  
  

www.aucklandmuseum.com

This initiative is helping Auckland Museum meet Business Commitments 8 - Helping staff flourish and succeed, and 12 - Businesses have carbon reduction programmes towards carbon neutrality.