Guest blog: Smarter working and better transport needed to beat the commuter blues - By Frances O'Grady, General Secretary of the TUC

/
Guest blog: Smarter working and better transport needed to beat the commuter blues - By Frances O'Grady, General Secretary of the TUC

Travelling to work can be unbearable. Long commutes feel like wasted time, and clog up our transport networks. Commute Smart Week is a great opportunity to talk about how we can make the journey better, shorter, or even eliminate them.

As November bites, many of us will be commuting in the cold and the dark. Trees will have shed their leaves. You don’t have to live in the Pennines, where the first snows fell a month ago, in order to get the feeling that simply getting to work can itself be hard work. 
And things are not getting any easier. The average yearly commute has increased by 10 hours since 2010. One in seven employees are now commuting for more than two hours a day, up by 900,000 since last year. 

Read More

Guest blog: Cycle safe, cycle smart over the winter months - By Fredrik Carling, CEO of Hövding, the world's first and only airbag for cyclists

/
Guest blog: Cycle safe, cycle smart over the winter months - By Fredrik Carling, CEO of Hövding, the world's first and only airbag for cyclists

The growth of cycling in the UK has taken many people by surprise, especially considering the British long-standing love of the motorcar.  People are embracing cycling in many ways – from the daily commute to competitive pursuits, as riding has been widely acknowledged as a great way to stay fit.  However as we move into the winter months, British cyclists do need to be aware of the potential dangers and how to minimise their risk on the roads.

On average, 5.7 million UK adults cycle regulary every month and many British organisations aim to increase this number by accelerating their promotions of cycling, working hard to highlight the benefits that the sport provides. The ‘Cycle to Work Scheme’ is just one example of plans that encourage cycling commuters, promote a healthy workforce, and provide environmentally friendly travel options.  

Read More

Guest blog: Commuting, People, Planet and Profit - By Steve Mosser, CEO, Sensée→

/
Guest blog: Commuting, People, Planet and Profit - By Steve Mosser, CEO, Sensée

On average, UK citizens spend an hour a day commuting to and from work. Over and above the actual time involved, there is also a significant number of other downsides: the high cost of public transport, escalating fuel costs, traffic jams, bad weather, packed commuter trains, personal risks related to late night commuting (visibility and safety), transport delays and cancellations, leaves on the line… I could go on.

You may have assumed that I don’t like commuting. And you’d be right - I don’t! But it’s not my dislike of commuting that that’s important or relevant during National Commute Week, it’s how companies can support Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals by implementing flexible – and smarter – ways of working that also happen not to involve commuting.

"People, planet and profit", also known as the ‘triple bottom line’, is a term used to describe CSR which was coined by John Elkington in 1994, and I’d like to explore briefly the relevance of those terms in the context of the daily commute.

Read More

Guest blog: Help for the age-old home/commute/office/commute/home cycle - By Roddy Campbell, Founder and Chief Executive of Vrumi →

/
Guest blog: Help for the age-old home/commute/office/commute/home cycle - By Roddy Campbell, Founder and Chief Executive of Vrumi

I am really pleased to have been asked to write a blog post for Work Wise UK, especially for Commute Smart Week, about what Vrumi, the company I founded two years ago, can do to help the age-old home/commute/office/commute/home cycle.

What’s changed in the way we work, in the last five years?  Really, the cloud; the ubiquity of all our work being available where we are all the time, not just email.  So workplaces are not factories you go to where the tools sit, the only places the work can be done, but rather places of collaboration, of combinations, of thought, of social and collegiate interaction, of creation.

Read More

Guest blog: Health in a Hurry - the impact of rush hour commuting on our health and wellbeing - by Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health

/
Guest blog: Health in a Hurry - the impact of rush hour commuting on our health and wellbeing - by Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health

Estimates show that 90% of the UK workforce commute to work every morning. This is due largely to the industrialisation of modern modes of transport, which has revolutionised and mobilised our workforce. In London, for example, just under 50% of workers commuted using public transport in 2011. Surveys completed in 2008 and 2013 showed the rise of the ‘extreme commuter’, individuals willing to travel more than 90 minutes each way to get to work, with further indications that this may be a growing trend. It is often assumed that those who commute long distances receive pay-back in terms of enhanced job prospects, higher wages, or the ability to live in more affordable areas. But what cost do we pay for these conveniences and opportunities?

Read More