Our daily commute to work: A Green saga?

A recent Travel survey conducted by Travel West for DAC Beachcroft's Bristol office gave a really good insight into our daily commuting choices. Despite the busy financial year-ending period in March when the survey was conducted, there was a massive 54% participation (one of the highest amongst Bristol companies) proving that 'travel' is indeed a hot topic for everyone in this office! And what do you think was the outcome?

Majority of employees use public transport be it bus or train and a good number of people cycle to work. Also striking is that less than a quarter of employees surveyed are car users and their numbers are matched by an equal number of employees who walk to work daily! Bravo walkers!! Good for your health!!! On an average we commute about 20 miles a day spending 81 minutes each day, that's 7 hours a week – a whole extra day, minus the break hour!

And a detailed break up of our journey distances / times is as follows:

And how does this picture look when split by gender and age?

Now, how does this data fit in the larger picture of other companies in the area and Bristol city as a whole? We look at Temple quarter where DAC Beachcroft is located, then zoom over whole of Bristol and then let's compare it with national stats.

Not bad! Seems like we are already 'Green' in our choices of modes of transport – half the car usage compared to other companies in Bristol (and reciprocally higher numbers of bus and train users i.e. public transport) We also have higher car-sharers compared to other companies in neighbourhood. And we are avid walkers compared to everyone else in the city! But there is scope to improve car-sharing, cycling, walking and bus commute. With a bit of commitment and support we will be able to improve those areas and lead Bristol on the Green way!

That was some hard data based on figures, but how do people feel about their journeys? Each one of us has our own personal take. There were so many interesting comments – perhaps this word-cloud made from people's actual comments would highlight the feelings and emotions!

And how many comments did we receive? Talking about what - cars, buses, trains, cycling, walking?

And what are they actually saying? A lot is being said about long commute times and poor road conditions, bad transport infrastructure. The recent roadworks throughout the city has inconvenienced most people in one way or another. Cyclists find roads not too safe and walkers on footpaths find cyclists dangerous! Bus users have complained about particular bus routes and delays, unreliability. Trains are as much talked about as buses, cycles and cars - although actual train usage is relatively less. People seem to use it as a benchmark, be it for theoretical solutions to existing problems or to discuss prohibitive costs associated with trains. People recommend cycling when they are fed up with buses and walking seems to be becoming popular as it rids most transport woes and has health benefits. People have vented out loads of dissatisfaction about bus irregularities, the condition of roads, traffic, inadequate infrastructure in some localities of Bristol, lack of facilities, poor attitudes etc. but most of these issues are for the local transport authorities to address not an individual company like DAC Beachcroft. Never the less, these are issues affecting our employees so something needs to be done to make it better for our staff. There were a few positive comments too - the Travel App provided by Travel West is good, Twitter travel updates are useful and appreciated. The lowering of bus fare was welcomed, although bus companies have a long way to go before they get perfectly happy customers...

Disclaimer: This blog is written in a personal capacity but as a declared employee of DAC Beachcroft. The views expressed here are solely that of the blogger and should NOT be interpreted as official views of the companies referred in the contents. The blogger or DAC Beachcroft does not take any responsibility or liabilities arising out of the contents or comments made on this blog.