Lift travel plan lifts off at Auckland Airport

Lift travel plan lifts off at Auckland Airport

This week’s launch of lift, Auckland Airport’s travel plan, will help workers at New Zealand’s busiest airport find new ways to get to work and home again.

Auckland Airport chief executive officer, Don Huse, says lift is about getting to work differently.

“The lift programme will find ways to make travel to work more attractive, fun and user-friendly. It is about taking steps to help airport employees to better understand travel choices.”

In late 2004, Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL) began a comprehensive study into the issue of surface access routes to the airport. From the findings of the study, a number of initiatives were identified, including developing a staff travel plan for the airport.

The travel plan called lift, initially includes staff from AIAL, the airport food and beverage company HMSC-AIAL Ltd, Air New Zealand, Customs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Aviation Security Service. It is anticipated that the plan will be rolled-out across the entire airport community in mid-2007.

“As part of the travel plan, staff are trialling a carpooling service that enables airport workers to match up with potential carpoolers in their local area so they can contact each other and discuss how carpooling might work for them,” said Mr Huse.

“Transport to and from the airport can then be shared amongst a group of two or more.”

The website provides tips on carpooling and includes privacy considerations – i.e. users can only see other users’ email addresses, not home addresses. Given the variety of shift patterns that are inherent to a 24-hour airport operation, users can update their travel requirements as their shifts change.

“Benefits of carpooling include saving money on petrol, social interaction and the obvious environment and traffic management benefits of having less cars on the road.”

In addition to the carpooling service, other lift initiatives include working with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) and its public transport providers to improve routes to the airport (including a bus link to the rail network at Papatoetoe), and the knowledge of these; a customised journey planner on the lift website; and airport precinct transport ideas – ways of getting around the airport for meetings and lunch time trips.

“As the regional transport authority, ARTA is pleased the airport is one of our partners piloting our new trial Rideshare software service” says Fergus Gammie, CEO Auckland Regional Transport Authority.

“Over the next few years ARTA will be working to improve public transport to and from the Airport so it’s good that we’re building a strong relationship and understanding of the area through the TravelWise Travel Planning Programme now.

If the Rideshare software pilot is successful, we plan to offer it as a standard service to companies who develop their own Travel Plans through our TravelWise programme.

We're finding that Auckland companies are increasingly switching on to the benefits of Travel Plans such as improving travel choice for staff and ARTA is happy to support them achieve this, especially as it contributes to our goal of getting Auckland moving.”

The launch week of lift runs from Monday 12 February to Friday 16 February. Its aim is to publicise the travel plan and encourage people to visit the lift website and register for the carpooling service.

ENDS

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