Small firms could save lives, reduce congestion and increase productivity by considering alternatives to employees’ commutes, according to Work Wise UK, the organisers of this Wednesday’s National Commute Smart Day.
Commute Smart Day, supported by the RAC Foundation and the TUC, aims to highlight the issues and problems of commuting in the winter months, and to raise awareness of ‘smarter working practices’, including flexible working times, staggered journeys and part home working.
With the clocks having gone back last weekend, many commuters are now looking at the prospect of doing both journeys in the dark unless their employers adapt.
“Small firms might be able to adopt practices that allow workers to commute at least one way in daylight,” a Work Wise UK spokesperson explained today.
“This would reduce the peak demand at rush hour times. This in turn reduces accident rates, which jump when the clocks go back.”
RAC analysis of the Government statistics, 'Road Casualties Great Britain 2005', reveal that there was a 57% increase in the number of pedestrians killed from October to November 2005.
National Commute Smart Day is particularly aimed towards smaller firms, which often find it more difficult to consider the more flexible working practices that larger firms usually have in place.
However, flexible working could cut time spent commuting, the spokesperson said, therefore increasing time spent productively in the workplace.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2006
