Making Car Sharing and Car Clubs Work - Case ... - The Civil Service

MAKING CAR SHARING AND CAR CLUBS WORKCASE STUDY SUMMARIES1 E.ON UK, THE COMPANY THAT RUNS POWERGENGeneral Background1.1 E.ON UK HQ is located on the outskirts of Coventry, in a semi-rural location. E.ON UK isthe biggest employer on the Westwood business park, with some 1000 staff based at theCoventry headquarters. The building was originally occupied in 1994, primarily with stafftransferred from Solihull. A building rationalisation programme in 2000 (which resulted in thesale 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 originallyplanned for 600 staff (with 450 car parking spaces). That, combined with the release of 150overspill car parking spaces on adjacent land, resulted in significant pressures on carparking at the site.1.2 Extensive staff consultation comprising an on-line questionnaire, combined with GISpostcode plots of staff home locations, resulted in the development of a number ofsustainable transport measures, branded under the company travel plan, in an effort toreduce pressures upon car parking. From the survey findings, it became evident that carsharing would form the main focus of the travel plan strategy, addressing the specific needsof staff (who generally live at dispersed locations, not able to be feasibly served by publictransport, walking, and for the majority, cycling incentives).Operating Structure1.3 The car sharing scheme is managed by the travel plan coordinator, with the full senior-levelsupport of the organisation.Matching software / database1.4 It comprises custom built software (using an SQL database), which runs through thecompany intranet site, matching potential partners. This approach was determined at anearly stage, partly due to the lack of viable commercial products, but also as a means of bestutilising the in-house IT capabilities.1.5 The scheme links with the existing staff database, enabling any car sharer to directly accessthe ‘staff profile’ as a means of assessing whether a potential match is suitable. Hence, it isnot necessary to ask significant questions during registration (such as car sharepreferences) – this streamlining of the induction process has assisted in increasing uptake inregistrations. 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. Uponregistration, 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 theback-office software uses this through the inbuilt GIS to determine potential sharers. Inaddition, to overcome data security, the scheme asks for additional ‘voluntary’ information toimprove the locational characteristics, these being: full address; or a local landmark (forFinal V1.1, Dec. 2004 - 1 -