Case Study Summaries - Richard Armitage Transport Consultancy ...

MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORK CASE STUDY SUMMARIES
1 E.ON UK, THE COMPANY THAT RUNS POWERGEN
General Background
1.1 E.ON UK HQ is located on the outskirts of Coventry, in a semi-rural location. E.ON UK is
the biggest employer on the Westwood business park, with some 1000 staff based at the
Coventry headquarters. The building was originally occupied in 1994, primarily with staff
transferred from Solihull. A building rationalisation programme in 2000 (which resulted in the
sale of the adjacent building to the HQ which had previously been used by E.ON UK staff),
meant that the 1000 staff now based in the building, are located in offices that were originally
planned for 600 staff (with 450 car parking spaces). That, combined with the release of 150
overspill car parking spaces on adjacent land, resulted in significant pressures on car
parking at the site.
1.2 Extensive staff consultation comprising an on-line questionnaire, combined with GIS
postcode plots of staff home locations, resulted in the development of a number of
sustainable transport measures, branded under the company travel plan, in an effort to
reduce pressures upon car parking. From the survey findings, it became evident that car
sharing would form the main focus of the travel plan strategy, addressing the specific needs
of staff (who generally live at dispersed locations, not able to be feasibly served by public
transport, walking, and for the majority, cycling incentives).
Operating Structure
1.3 The car sharing scheme is managed by the travel plan coordinator, with the full senior-level
support of the organisation.
Matching software / database
1.4 It comprises custom built software (using an SQL database), which runs through the
company intranet site, matching potential partners. This approach was determined at an
early stage, partly due to the lack of viable commercial products, but also as a means of best
utilising the in-house IT capabilities.
1.5 The scheme links with the existing staff database, enabling any car sharer to directly access
the ‘staff profile’ as a means of assessing whether a potential match is suitable. Hence, it is
not necessary to ask significant questions during registration (such as car share
preferences) – this streamlining of the induction process has assisted in increasing uptake in
registrations. This approach also reflected E.ON UK’s culture, recognising that staff are
‘sensible and able to make up their own minds’ when contacting potential partners. Upon
registration, users are provided with a welcome pack, including tax disk holder, branded
‘stress ball’, key-ring, and wider publicity material relating to sustainable travel.
1.6 Users accessing the system are asked to provide the first 3 digits of their postcode, and the
back-office software uses this through the inbuilt GIS to determine potential sharers. In
addition, to overcome data security, the scheme asks for additional ‘voluntary’ information to
improve the locational characteristics, these being: full address; or a local landmark (for
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