Surrey County Council has extended the reach of its traffic decongestion programme and signed up Watson Wyatt, Legal & General, Philips and Sutton & East Surrey Water. The scheme has been extended beyond Dorking to include Reigate & Banstead and Guildford. The new employers will sit on committees to reduce congestion on Surrey's busiest roads, following a similar pilot project in Dorking.
Members of the Dorking Decongestion Forum, including UnumProvident and the Mole Valley District Council, have been encouraging staff to use a bus service and a car-share scheme through an online register. Some 56 staff use the bus service in Dorking, and around 130 employees have registered for car pooling in the month since inception.
Mel Mehmet, travel management executive for Surrey County Council, expects much higher take-up within the new areas due to their higher population. "Dorking was a bite-size trial, the Reigate & Banstead scheme will go out to a potential 12,500 employees and Guildford will be even bigger," he said. Transport fares vary according to the level of employer funding, with some fully funded, and other fares on a user-pays basis.
The Reigate & Banstead Decongestion Forum was launched last month, while the council is in consultation with employers in Guildford.
