Cavan employers encouraged to apply for Smarter Travel Mark

Cavan County Council is encouraging employers in County Cavan to join it in applying for the Transport for Ireland ‘Smarter Travel Mark’.

The Smarter Travel Mark is a three-tier certification that recognises and celebrates organisations that support active and sustainable travel on the commute and beyond for their workforce, students and visitors, resulting in a reduction in single-person car usage.

Application for the Smarter Travel Mark is open to workplaces and campuses of any size from the private or public sectors.

Securing Smarter Travel certification provides national recognition of your organisation’s commitment to active and sustainable travel, promotes integrating physical activity into staff and student commuting, enhances your organisation’s reputation as an employer that supports active and sustainable travel, and helps benchmark its active and sustainable travel practices.

As part of Cavan County Council’s efforts to promote Smarter Travel amongst its own workforce, staff participated in the ‘Walktober’ challenge, clocking up a hugely impressive 38 million steps across October.

To mark the end of the Walktober campaign, and to highlight the benefits of Smarter Travel initiatives, council staff took part in a Walktober lunchtime walk on Tuesday, 29th October, joined by Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Cllr TP O’Reilly.

Cllr O’Reilly hailed the efforts of Cavan County Council’s Active Travel unit in promoting Smarter Travel initiatives and encouraged local employers to follow in the council’s footsteps: “During today’s walk, I spoke to several council staff who said this simple, fun programme had helped them develop new, healthier travel habits, which meant less time on the couch and less time behind the wheel of a car. Taking part in Smarter Travel is a great way for organisations to help boost your employees’ health while making a difference in reducing carbon emissions in your community”.

Patricia Smith, Administrative Officer with Cavan County Council’s Active Travel Unit, said the initiative had been a great success: “The staff here in Cavan County Council have really embraced Smarter Travel projects such as Walktober and had great fun. It’s a fun way to get people moving, while introducing some friendly rivalry and competition between colleagues. There is plenty of support available for public or private sector organisations and educational campuses who wish to promote Smarter Travel among their staff. Simply visit smartertravel.ie to take the first step”.