Working smarter is worth millions

May 22 2007 By Graeme Whitfield, The Journal

Smarter work practices could save businesses millions of pounds currently wasted on congestion, it was claimed last night.

Figures released by the Work Wise campaign and compiled by the RAC show that if people worked from home one day a week, rush hour traffic would be cut by up to 20% - the equivalent of eliminating the school run.

Without such changes, the Eddington Report has predicted that congestion will be wasting around £22bn of time in England alone by 2025. The RAC estimates that teleworking could significantly impact on the worst congestion hotspots, and increasing the use of video conferencing could cut business travel by around 3% each year.

Its report, Motoring Towards 2050, suggests that as well as reducing traffic congestion and improving the efficiency and quality of life for workers, teleworking can also improve rural employment and promote all-inclusive working.

It says that nearly 50% of drivers are sympathetic to working from home and think that over half of the working population will do so by 2050.

The benefits to the economy in reduced congestion cost would be up to £1.9bn by 2010, according to the flexible working pressure group Work Wise.

Work Wise UK chief executive Phil Flaxton said: "A key benefit of the introduction of new smarter working practices is that it leads to a decline in the overall amount of travel.

"The requirement to travel to and from work at the same time to the same place every weekday, and to travel many miles for meetings, is largely unnecessary, considering the technology available, and the nature of the global market, today."

It has been estimated that 25 million people in the UK commute to and from a fixed place of work, of whom 18 million go by car.

Travel is a major source of pollution and emissions that contribute towards climate change, with the Stern Report predicting environmental disaster for the planet unless something is done in the near future to curb the problem.

Peter Wignall, managing director of the Workplace Travelplan Company, said: "Many people spend large chunks of their working week stuck in traffic jams, or on crowded trains or buses, commuting to their employment.

"We believe that employees and employers should consider the alternatives - like working from home for all, or part, of the working week.

"Improved telecommunications technology and affordable broadband means more motorists could cut back on some journeys."

The call for new thinking to avoid rush hour traffic has come as National Work Wise Week comes to an end.

Supporters of Work Wise in the North-East include regional development agency One North-East.