Investec Guernsey offers staff free bus travel

Thursday 04 March 2010

Investec is offering all staff members free bus travel in exchange for leaving their cars at home.

As part of Investec’s endeavours to be as green an organisation as possible, all 130 staff members in Guernsey are being offered a bus pass entitling them to unlimited travel for one year, a move which the company hopes will radically reduce the number of car journeys made by individual employees to and from the office.

Michelle Le Clerc, Head of Banking Operations who is on the organising committee of Investec’s Team Green, commented:
‘I am really looking forward to seeing how many staff members take up our offer of a free Ormer Card. We want to try to encourage as many members of our team as possible to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to work as we recognise that with 130 employees, we do leave a significant environmental footprint.’

‘We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment. We have recycling bins in the office and also offer staff the opportunity to bring in some of their recycling from home, which we will dispose of on their behalf. We have recently installed an online telephone directory at each work station, ensuring that we do not require 130 new paper telephone directories every year.’

The Ormer Card bus passes will be available for all staff and will be topped up by the Human Resources team as often as each staff member requires it.

‘We appreciate that staff will sometimes want to use their bus passes in the evenings and over weekends and holidays. With the top up system our Human Resources team will be able to top up each pass as and when required as we recognise that not all staff will use their bus pass five days per week,’ added Miss Le Clerc.

Deputy Peter Sirett, Minister for the Environment Department, added:
‘The Environment Department is delighted that Investec is taking the opportunity to provide its staff with complimentary Ormer Multi-journey Cards as part of a ‘green’ initiative to get its staff to make better use of the Island’s comprehensive scheduled bus service. The Department is constantly striving to improve services during commuter periods in order to help reduce congestion (and vehicle emissions) on Island roads at the busiest times of the day and welcomes the efforts of Investec in this regard.’

Jeff Senior of Island Coachways is hoping that other corporates will follow Investec’s lead and provide Ormer Cards for staff to encourage using the bus service.
'It is great to see a company taking a proactive green step and using our bus services to do so. We are hoping that this will inspire other companies and commuters alike to change their habits, get an Ormer Card and leave the car at home,' he said

Investec has committed to running the initiative for one year at which stage the success of the scheme will be reviewed. Since the details of the scheme were announced at Investec last month, more than 50% of staff have expressed an interest in taking part in the scheme.