Get the data
Every workplace is different! It is important to understand the needs of your particular employees and the barriers they face while commuting to your specific sites. Collecting data will help you pinpoint areas where people would like to be commuting differently but feel they can’t, which can in turn help you focus your travel improvements on areas where you can create the most impact.
How to collect travel data
There are two types of survey that should be done to understand your workplace’s travel landscape; a site survey and an employee travel survey. Read our tips on both below.
Postcode mapping
Postcode mapping provides a simple, accurate way to visualise where staff are travelling from which can help employers make the case for more investment in workplace travel as well as understand where to make changes and target initiatives.
HR departments usually have access to employee postcodes, so should be able to provide anonymised postcode data. With that, you can use MyMaps to plot these postcodes on a map. You can then map out where employees live and how many are within a distance that is walkable, cyclable (by push and electric bikes), or accessible by public transit. It can also show where you need more buses or where there are clusters of employees who could potentially lift share. Companies like MobilityWays will also do this kind of analysis for you.
What about GDPR?
A common concern cited by employers is that postcode mapping is against UK GDPR regulations, but it can be done and be fully compliant.
Internally: Employers can internally process full employee postcodes since this serves a legitimate interest to plan travel initiatives and develop commute support for their staff. A Legitimate Interest Assessment template from the Information Commissioner’s Office can be found here. While MyMaps requires a Google Account, this is not a UK GDPR issue since employers would remain the ‘controllers’ of the data.
Externally: Employers can share a complete list of staff postcodes with an external body for analysis, since the UK GDPR does not apply to data that has been anonymised. Employers can anonymise the data before it is shared for external analysis by removing just the last digit from each postcode (e.g., XXX XXX becomes XXX XX). According to guidance given by the Information Commissioner’s Office, the following average characteristics of postcodes should be considered:
Full postcode = approximately 15 households (although a tiny fraction of postcodes relate to a single property so theoretically could be used to identify an individual)
Postcode minus the last digit = approximately 120-200 households
Therefore, removing the last digit of a postcode anonymises the data since it could no longer identify a specific person. More than one digit should not be used, as the accuracy reduces significantly, and it is not necessary for privacy reasons.
Employee Travel Survey
A travel survey asks employees about how they travel to work and how they feel about their journey. It can help you identify barriers to walking, cycling, public transport or lift sharing; and then address them. Survey questions might include:
How do you currently commute and how long does it take?
Would you be open to walking, cycling, using public transport or lift sharing?
If not, why not?
If so, what is preventing you from commuting that way at the moment?
What would most help you change your commute?
Tips for building travel surveys:
www.getgoing.com/blog/how-to-build-surveys-business-travelers-will-actually-take
Sample travel surveys:
Travel surveys are important to understand modes, barriers, staff habits and concerns, but they may not be the best tool for a simple overview of where all staff live. There is evidence to suggest that these underrepresent drivers due to a) the impact of topic interest on survey response (i.e., people are more likely to complete a survey if they have an interest in cycling) and b) the tendency of individuals to deny socially undesirable traits and to admit to socially desirable ones (i.e., those who cycle may be more likely to fill it out). It is also likely travel surveys are easier to fill out for staff who have desk-based jobs and are comfortable with online and written communication. Travel surveys alone may underrepresent drivers and skew results.
Other Data Tools
Spot counts
Travel data can be supplemented with spot counts. Instead of a full survey, you would just ask employees how they travelled to work that day as they come in the door. These spot counts can be repeated on a regular basis (say annually) as you implement your new travel policies to see how effective they’ve been.
Site Survey
A site survey looks at everything related to travel and transport at your workplace, on the ground and in real terms. It will show you what’s working and where you can improve. Sample questions might include:
Where do people park cars on- and off-site, and how easy is this to access?
Are there designated parking spaces for lift shares?
How safe and pleasant is it to cycle or walk to and around the site?
Is there secure, sheltered and well-lit cycle parking?
Are there any showers or lockers for people who cycle or walk?
What bus and train routes service your site, when do they come, and are they easy to get to?
Sample site surveys:
www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Assets/Roads-and-transport/Workplace-Travel-Plan-template.pdf
Updated February 2025