The Heathrow Commuter Team has won the ‘Transport Team of the Year’ category at the 11th annual London Transport Awards.
The awards recognises the people and projects that make a real difference to transport across London. In a hugely competitive category, the Heathrow team faced stiff competition from TfL, the Metropolitan Police and the Hackney, Islington and Haringey Councils.
The Heathrow Commuter team aims to bring about a major behavioural change in a complex environment. In striving to ensure that no more than 65 percent of the airport’s 76,000 staff commute daily in a single-occupied car, the Heathrow Commuter team works with airlines, local authorities and bus and rail companies to provide a range of sustainable transport options. These include the only cycle to work scheme at an airport in the UK, the largest single-site car share scheme in the world, and the UK’s only free travel zone.
Membership of the cycle hub increased by over 800 people in 2013, taking the total to 2,500, with over 10 percent more employees cycling to work compared to 2012. The team is also set to double the number of staff using the bus to get to work, after overhauling ticket purchasing systems.
Meanwhile, car-sharing has increased by 25 percent through incentives that include preferential parking bays and an emergency ride home facility, taking membership up to 8,100, with over 2,000 sharing every week.
Simon Earles, head of Surface Access Strategy at Heathrow, said: ‘We’re delighted with this award. We aim to be a leader in sustainable transport and the success we’ve achieved to date underlines our commitment to reducing the number of people driving to the airport, improving passenger experience and whilst enhancing Heathrow’s role as a fully integrated transport hub.’
Separately, Heathrow Airport said that it will provide national tourism agency, VisitBritain, with over GBP4 million worth of advertising space throughout 2014, to promote the UK’s regions and nations.
