A worked travel plan target and monitoring framework
Most travel plan targets cannot be measured. Here is an illustrative worked framework with baseline timing, survey method, tolerances and a capped remedy menu.
A travel plan stands or falls on whether its targets can be measured. Most cannot. A target to promote sustainable travel is not a target, and a target to reduce car use by 10 per cent gives no baseline, no measurement method and no end point, so nobody can say in year three whether it has been met.
What follows is an illustrative worked framework for a residential scheme of around 80 dwellings on the edge of a town, with a bus route within walking distance and no controlled parking. The numbers are illustrative and the structure is the point.
What makes a target measurable
Four properties, and a target missing any of them will cause an argument later.
- A measured baseline, taken from the site itself or from a comparable local source, rather than an assumed national figure.
- A defined metric, stating which trips are counted, in which period, by which mode.
- A stated tolerance, so ordinary variation does not read as a breach.
- A measurement method and sample size fixed in the document, not left to whoever writes the monitoring report.
Mode share is the usual metric because it is self normalising: if occupancy rises, the percentages still mean something. Absolute vehicle counts do the opposite, and on a small scheme they turn household changes into apparent failures.
Baseline surveys and when to run them
The baseline for a new residential scheme is normally the first monitoring survey after a defined level of occupation, not a pre-development count of an empty field.
Set the trigger at occupancy rather than a date. A survey at 30 per cent occupation samples early movers, who are systematically different from the settled population, and the resulting figures will be argued about for the rest of the plan's life.
For this illustrative scheme the baseline is set at 75 per cent occupation, surveyed in a neutral month, with the survey repeated in the following two years and in year five.
An illustrative worked set of targets
| Mode | Baseline at 75 per cent occupation | Year 3 target | Year 5 target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car driver | 62 per cent | 58 per cent | 55 per cent |
| Car passenger | 10 per cent | 10 per cent | 10 per cent |
| Bus | 8 per cent | 11 per cent | 13 per cent |
| Walking | 14 per cent | 15 per cent | 16 per cent |
| Cycling | 6 per cent | 6 per cent | 6 per cent |
These figures are illustrative. Three points about the shape of the table matter more than the numbers.
The shift is concentrated in one mode, because a plan that claims small gains across every mode is claiming a change it cannot influence. Here the bus is the mode with capacity and the measures are aimed at it.
Cycling is held flat rather than given a target, because the scheme has no continuous cycle route to the town centre and a target that depends on infrastructure outside your control is a target you will miss. Say that openly in the plan.
The tolerance is stated separately: a miss of up to 2 percentage points on the car driver figure is within tolerance, and the review trigger requires a miss beyond that in two consecutive surveys.
Monitoring frequency and survey method
Specify the method in the document itself.
- A household travel questionnaire distributed to every occupied dwelling, by post and online, with a reminder after two weeks.
- A minimum response rate of 30 per cent of occupied dwellings, stated as the threshold for a valid survey.
- A one week automatic traffic count on the site access, covering a neutral midweek period and one weekend.
- Surveys in a neutral month, avoiding August, the Christmas and New Year period, school holidays and half terms.
- Raw data appended to the monitoring report rather than summarised.
- A repeat survey at the developer's cost where the response rate threshold is not reached.
The response rate threshold is the clause that protects both sides. Without it, a 9 per cent return can be presented as evidence of either success or failure, depending on who is presenting it.
Remedial measures if targets are missed
The framework needs a defined menu and a cap, agreed at the outset, so that a miss produces a known response rather than an open ended liability.
For this illustrative scheme the menu is: an additional year of discounted bus tickets for new occupiers, a second round of personalised travel planning, additional secure cycle parking at the two visitor locations, a car club space with a two year subsidy, and improved wayfinding signage to the bus stop and the footpath link.
The cap is a stated maximum sum, index linked, covering all remedial measures across the life of the plan. The process is a remedial action plan submitted within eight weeks of the monitoring report, for approval by the authority, with measures implemented within an agreed period after approval.
Without the cap, an obligation to implement such measures as the authority may require is unbounded, and a lender will treat it accordingly.
The travel plan coordinator role
Name the role, not a person. The plan should say who is responsible during the construction and early occupation phase, who takes over when a management company is in place, and what the contact arrangements are for residents.
The functions worth writing down are short: distributing the welcome pack, running the surveys, producing the monitoring report, and acting as the point of contact for the authority. Funding for the role belongs in the obligation, with an end date matching the plan period.
Welcome packs are the measure most often promised and least often delivered. Specify what is in the pack, when it is given to a new occupier, and who provides it, or it becomes a leaflet nobody printed.
Securing the framework by condition or obligation
Physical measures belong in conditions: cycle parking provided before occupation and retained thereafter, the footpath link built to a stated specification, a charging point installed. Conditions are enforceable, do not need monitoring fees, and survive the sale of the site.
Behavioural measures, monitoring and remedial obligations belong in the section 106 agreement, because they involve ongoing obligations and payments that a condition cannot deliver. Keep the plan itself as an approved document attached to the agreement, so that both parties are working from one version.
Include an end point. The obligation should be discharged when the final monitoring report is approved, with a deemed approval after a stated period so the plan does not stay open because nobody read the last report.
A Travel Plan drafted to that structure is a short document, and the supporting analysis sits in the Transport Assessment rather than being repeated in the plan. The same discipline of agreeing the inputs before the argument starts applies to development appraisals, as we set out in viability appraisal inputs: a schedule to agree first.
One honest limitation. Mode share targets for a residential scheme are influenced far more by the bus service, the walking routes and parking control than by anything a travel plan coordinator does, and a plan that pretends otherwise invites an unachievable target. Better to propose a modest, measurable shift and deliver it. Browse the PlanScope report index to see which transport documents a scheme of this size is likely to need.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. This is general guidance rather than legal advice, so agree targets, survey methods and obligations with your local highway authority for a specific scheme.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a travel plan target measurable?
A measured baseline rather than an assumed one, a defined metric stating which trips are counted and by which mode, a stated tolerance so ordinary variation is not a breach, and a survey method and sample size fixed in the document. Mode share works better than absolute vehicle numbers because it stays meaningful as occupancy changes.
When should the baseline survey be taken?
At a defined occupancy level rather than on a calendar date. A survey at 30 per cent occupation samples early movers, who differ systematically from the settled population, and those figures will be disputed for the rest of the plan's life. Setting the baseline at around three quarters occupation in a neutral month is more defensible.
What response rate should a travel survey achieve?
Set a threshold in the plan, commonly around 30 per cent of occupied dwellings, and state what happens if it is not reached. Without a threshold, a very low return can be presented as evidence of success or failure depending on who is presenting it. Agree who pays for a repeat survey.
How should remedial measures be structured?
As a menu agreed at the outset with a capped, index linked maximum sum, triggered when a target is missed beyond the tolerance in two consecutive surveys. The process should require a remedial action plan within a stated period for the authority's approval. An open obligation to do whatever the authority requires is unbounded.
What belongs in a condition and what in a section 106 agreement?
Physical measures such as cycle parking, a footpath link or a charging point belong in conditions, because they are enforceable and need no monitoring. Behavioural measures, monitoring surveys, fees and remedial obligations belong in the agreement, with the plan attached as an approved document and a defined discharge point.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.