Tyne & Wear Local Authorities, in association with the Tyne & Wear Smarter Choices Team and the Highways Agency are holding the 'Making Sustainable Travel Work' travel networking event, at the conference facilities at St. James' Park football ground, Newcastle upon Tyne on Thursday 16th October 2008 from 9:30am to 1:00pm.

This event is the first of its kind in Tyne & Wear and is open to all employers in Tyne & Wear including businesses of all sizes and from any sector; those involved include local authorities, government agencies, health trusts and private businesses.

The programme of private and public sector speakers from across the region will include:

• The Tyne & Wear Smarter Choices Agenda - Tyne & Wear Smarter Choices Team
• The Business Benefits of Travel Planning - Lynn Cramman, Travel Plan Coordinator from Cobalt Business Park
• Business Travel Planning - David Malone, Regional Travel Plan Coordinator for the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital Foundation Trust
• The Reinvigoration of the Tyne & Wear Metro and what it can mean for the region - NEXUS

Following the presentations, delegates will be free to browse the exhibition stands, provided by a multitude of sustainable transport and travel planning experts, and there will be an opportunity to network with the wide mix of Tyne & Wear public and private sector attendees.

Attendance is free of charge, however, this event is only open to a select number of delegates, therefore if you are interested in attending please complete the form here and we will contact you to confirm availability . If you have already received an invitation and have already replied there is no need to complete this form.

The event will also be the launch vehicle for the Tyne & Wear Travel Plan Network, which will act as a mechanism for passing on current information and specialist advice from the Tyne & Wear Smarter Choices Team about travel planning, with the objective of passing on the following potential benefits to businesses and their staff.

For businesses:

• Reduce demand for parking
• Reduce mileage claims and other business travel costs
• Enable customers and visitors to access your site hassle free
• Improve your image with both employees and customers
• Ease delays to deliveries and the movement of goods off site
• Reduce staff absenteeism
• Assist with recruitment and retention of staff by making journeys to work easier and cheaper
• Improve staff punctuality by reducing congestion delays and supporting more reliable means of transport

For staff:

• Assure parking for those with the greatest need to access a vehicle
• Help provide less stressful options for travel to work
• Reduce journey times to work
• Give opportunities to build exercise into the journey to work
• Reduce the cost of travel to work

Membership to the network will be free of charge and available to all businesses across Tyne & Wear. Sign up here to become a member of the network emailing list. Please note that when signing up to the network you can unsubscribe at any time by contacting Stephen Psallidas on 0191 2033413 or stephen.psallidas@nexus.org.uk. In addition this information will only be used by the Tyne & Wear Smarter Choices team and will not be passed onto third parties.