Simon Collings

Sustainable Transport Consultant

With more than 12 years of transport consultancy experience, Simon has gained a depth of knowledge and a range of skills relevant to sustainable transport.

The main areas in which he can provide advice and services are:

Travel Plans

Increasingly private and public sector organisations are benefiting from the introduction of employee travel management strategies - otherwise known as travel plans. Simon has been working in the field of travel plans since 1998 when he was responsible for developing and managing the very first Government programme to promote the take-up of travel plans amongst UK organisations. Since becoming self-employed Simon has worked with a number of individual organisations to help them develop and implement travel plans.

Simon can help with:

  • Developing a business case for a travel plan and gaining management buy-in
  • Site audits to assess the barriers and opportunities for promoting alternative modes of travel
  • Staff travel surveys, focus groups and postcode plotting to explore existing travel patterns and the potential for different measures to achieve changes in travel behaviour 
  • Developing partnerships with local authorities and service providers, such as public transport operators
  • Preparing action plans for managing the development and implementation of the travel plan
  • Implementing specific measures to promote public transport, cycling, walking, car sharing and flexible working
  • Marketing and communication strategies to help raise awareness and promote alternative modes of travel
  • The preparation and review of travel plan documents

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Fleet Management & Business Travel

Commercial vehicle use and employee business travel by car are responsible for almost 50% of all road vehicle mileage in the UK. This represents a huge cost to organisations as well as to the environment. Simon works with organisations to help them identify and implement cost-effective measures that will improve the environmental performance and productivity of their business and commercial transport operations.  Areas that Simon can advise on are:

  • Developing a business case for implementing measures to reduce the environmental impact of busies transport operations
  • Preparing a ‘green’ fleet policy
  • Specification of cleaner fuels and cleaner and more fuel efficient vehicles
  • Systems for capturing and monitoring mileage and fuel consumption data
  • Reducing in-use fuel consumption and emissions, e.g. through advanced driver training programmes
  • Strategies for reducing mileage of fleet vehicles and of employees travelling on business

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Individualised Marketing

Individualised marketing is an innovative approach to achieve travel behavioural change. The concept involves enabling individuals to make informed choices by targeting them with transport and travel information tailored to their precise circumstances. 

Simon has experience of working on individualised marketing projects as part of a work place travel plan.  For example, he helped design a programme to target car driving employees at Heathrow, living close to good local bus routes. The programme identified and recruited staff through an advertising campaign, home postcode plotting and talking to new recruits. Free sample tickets and Personal Journey Planners were provided to employees who expressed an interest in using the bus. The Personal Journey Planners packaged together specific information on bus times, frequencies and fares and where to catch the bus, in relation to where each individual employee lived.

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Marketing & Communications

Marketing and communications are pivotal to achieving sustained travel behaviour change. Simon has a wide range of experience in promoting sustainable transport and travel, from national information programmes to area wide travel planning and individualised marketing.  He works with PR and design specialists to provide a complete sustainable transport communications solution. Simon can help with:

  • Developing a marketing and communications strategy
  • Producing promotional leaflets, flyers and posters
  • Media relations
  • Internet communication
  • Designing and delivering promotional events, conferences, seminars and workshops

Simon is also experienced in chairing and speaking at events.

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Energy and Emissions Assessments

Simon is experienced in assessing the energy and emissions impact of transport policies, programmes, technologies and measures. He has worked for the Department for Transport and several local authorities on studies to evaluate the air quality and climate change impacts of alternative transport polices and measures.

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Auditing & Accreditation

Simon is experienced in auditing against ISO 9001 and 140001 and in auditing the environmental performance of companies’ transport operations. He worked for the Department for Transport in helping to design the Motorvate accreditation scheme and has since become an auditor for this programme. He has also been commissioned by BAA to manage their Clean Vehicles Programme accreditation scheme.

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