Welcome to the OPTIMUM² cookbook!

OPTIMUM² involved 10 pilot sites in the UK and the Netherlands, each testing out different mobility management solutions for business or hospital areas. It was a four year project, funded by the EU INTERREG III B programme.

How does the cookbook work?

There are many reasons why the cookbook could be useful for you. Perhaps you have a particular problem to solve? Or maybe you want to know more about a specific mobility management solution?

Equally, you may already be familiar with mobility management or be exploring its potential for the first time.

You can navigate through the cookbook by either using the menu above or using the hyperlinks in the text. To start, click on one of the menu items on the left. You will then see a more detailed menu appearing in the centre. Alternatively, you can click on one of the sites on the right to learn more about individual pilot projects.

What were the key findings overall?

The most successful pilots were those that had the possibility to build in mobility management thinking from the start of a new or re-development. However, pinpointing the right time to raise transport issues can be difficult; businesses will not respond to the prospect of transport problems in more than 1 or 2 years time.
Senior level support for the concept of managing travel demand is crucial. Without this some initiatives may be possible, but mobility management will not have a long term future within an organisation.
Business and hospitals sometimes lead the way with ideas for innovative mobility products, services and financing mechanisms. Local and regional government can struggle to adapt their regulatory frameworks to keep up with these innovations.
Major roadworks and road closures can be ideal to create opportunities to encourage car commuters to try other modes. But the alternatives provided need to be very high quality and made as easy as possible to use.
Strategic long term measures, such as establishing a mobility fund or developing a central parking system, are best when mixed with ‘quick wins’, such as cycle maintenance sessions and walking promotions.
Businesses and hospitals will not take up mobility management unless it helps meet their objectives or solve one of their problems. Equally, measures that are developed in collaboration with the managers and staff are more likely to succeed.
The reality of the commercial property means that a series of different stakeholders must be involved in the mobility management process. These include developers, land agents, park management organisations, as well as those businesses that occupy buildings. However, the priorities of these other stakeholders change all the time, so it is important to be flexible. One way to manage this process is by setting up Local Travel Plan groups, in which several employers in an area work together on mobility management.
Mobility management training needs to be focused on facilities managers (businesses and hospitals) as well as park management association staff.
It is important to be flexible in your choice of mobility management measures at a site and to monitor how circumstances change, so that the menu of measures can also be changed. A good example of how this was done in OPTIMUM² was in Southwark. Equally, it is important to assess possible risks in your implementation plans as well as possible and to have a "Plan B" in place.

Headline results for the individual pilots

Amsterdam Southern Business Areas: 6% of the 17,000 employees issued with a special public transport pass during motorway roadworks voluntarily switched to public transport after the special pass was no longer valid. Read more...
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital: Intensive and contineous promoting of public transport, cycling and walking works. The car share for staff and volunteers decreased substantially. whereas the Hospital Park & Ride share, bus, walk and cycle share increased substantially during OPTIMUM². Read more...
Apeldoorn Gelre Hospitals: An average reduction of 39% in the number of trips made to the hospitals after the introduction of business process redesign to certain clinical pathways. Read more...
Southwark Business Areas: Successfully set up two business led travel plan groups to engage businesses with mobility management planning and projects. These will live on after the end of OPTIMUM². Read more...
Edinburgh Buisness Areas and Hospitals: Promotion of a new station, bus services and bus stops led to an increase of satisfaction with these facilities amongst local travellers. Read more...
Goudse Poort Business Park: 1,600 out of the 7,000 employees have been given a Mobility Card paid for by their employer, with the revenue going into a Mobility Fund for future mobility services. Read more...

Colchester General Hospitals implemented Get There (Travel Management System), which is likely to be disseminate to other hospitals and large sites in the UK. Read more...
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals show that the use of good Park & Ride facilities van be imposed without rebellious staff. Read more...
Ede Business Areas' accessibility was substantially increased by introducing a shuttle bus and extensivying existing bus lines. Read more...
Hilversum Media Park developed and implemented a highly successfull website, offering real time travel information next to personal travel advice. Read more...