3.3 Potential Benefits of an Increase in Motorcycle Use
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For an organisation
3.3.1
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Increased social inclusion and equality in the workplace, through widening choice for employees and providing opportunities to those who may not be able to easily access public transport services.
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Increased productivity from a healthier, better-motivated workforce as a result of a reliable, less stressful journey to work. A three-month study involving co-operation between a scooter manufacturer and a large accountancy firm into the effects of switching from car to scooter showed decreased stress levels and increased productivity (FNN 2004). |
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Access to a wider human resource pool by expanding the availability of accessible staff where public transport schedules are a constraint. |
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Potential cost savings through taking control of transport expenditure. |
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Reduced on-site parking and congestion issues. |
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Improved access.This can reduce stress for both employees and visitors. It may also improve the reliability and efficiency of deliveries to and from the business. |
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Improved morale. |
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Better relations with the local community. |
For Staff
3.3.2
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Cost savings. |
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Increased access to work and other opportunities. |
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Time savings through reduced commuting time. |
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Employment accessible at times when public transport is
reduced |
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Facilitating multi-purpose trips combined with the daily
commute. |
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Reduced stress and better quality of life. |
To transport costs
3.3.3 Motorcycles are a flexible and affordable alternative to the private car. Employees who ride a motorcycle usually have considerably lower running costs.
This can widen employment opportunities by making reliable private commuter travel more accessible.
To the environment
3.3.4 In the UK CO2 emissions from road transport are the fastest growing contributor to climate change (DETR 1998).
The Government’s Advisory Group on Motorcycling “…concludes that [motorcycles], through lower energy requirements, use less fuel and emit far less CO2 than cars. In terms of pollutant emissions, they emit less CO and are likely, from 2006/7, to be emitting less NOx, and about the same volume of hydrocarbons” (AGoM 2004). Encouraging more sustainable transport modes should be at the forefront of any Travel Plan. Fuel cell and electric motorcycles are becoming available, and are more affordable than zero emission cars.
This is an area where increased take-up could yield emission benefits against all other modes, including public transport.
In reducing congestion
3.3.5 The majority of commuter vehicles used for journeys to and from work have only one occupant. Combined with their small “footprint” this means motorcycles:
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Are efficient in their use of road space, contributing towards alleviating the increasing problem of congestion.
These space benefits are particularly evident at over-capacity junctions.
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Require less parking space provision than four-wheeled vehicles; as many as five motorcycles can be parked in a single space designed for a family saloon (Chapter 5). |
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Enable quicker journey times, often without the stress of being held up in peak time traffic, which leads to individual and corporate congestion savings. |
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