Letter

Go green and stay in the black

Dear healthmatters — While supporting John Stewart’s article (The road to healthier streets,issue 25) I would point out that there is a group who can make a difference — namely the institutional accountants. Managing an organisation’s transportation demand can make big savings, especially if rigorously and accurately audited. Transport costs are notoriously insidious, and the annual cost of car parking places alone can range from £500-£2,000 per space. In one UK college, the land value of car park space was reckoned to be between £1.5m and £2m, with property being leased off site to accommodate academic functions.

Many US institutions have taken transportation demand management seriously, with satisfying results. One has saved $2.8m through reducing by over a third single-occupant car commuting, and hence the need for 2,500 parking spaces, yet also giving free or subsidised transit. A college has over 40 per cent of its 52,000 students holding a county-wide bus pass, for which each pays just $9 a month. In Britain an NHS trust has saved the cost of a 600 place multi-storey car park by promoting a demand management regime.

Finally, it isn’t just the transport element which organisations must think about. The car user has a portable storage facility, accessible at all times. Only now, with modern electronically monitored luggage lockers, can something similar be offered to those without cars. Similarly the convenience of access, transfer times and comfort for waiting, must be addressed to be truly attractive alternatives.

So let’s look at the transport issue not as an altruistic green exercise, but as a positive money-saving action in our own organisational interest, and see how much quicker the changes occur.