Help Save The Bircham Bus!

I was about to begin this post by saying something like " in the current economic circumstances when jobs are hard to come by and with several well known businesses closing down, relocating or outsourcing, people are being forced to travel further to look for work in places outside the perimeters or circumference of their normal abode". However, on a second thought, well, actually, this phenomenon is nothing new, and I would start thus: over the centuries, people have sailed to as far as to other continents in search of greener pastures be it gold, coal, cotton, spices, fertile land, cheap labour or even just to be free from persecution. Take it a bit further, you arrive at a time when we were hunter-gatherers until someone thought it would be a good idea to settle down in one place. 

Where the modern mobility for work differs is that we have learned to build stronger homes both physically in terms of furnishings and socially in terms of a sense of belonging. The implication of this is the need for  longer daily commute to those greener pastures while still maintaining membership of our communities. This often poses a financial and logistics challenge. A Tory politician in the 80s, Norman Tebbit,  is notable for suggesting that those who can't find a job in their localities should get on their bike. Well, fair enough, but not when you need to do 70 miles a day on a dark, windy and slippery winter day!

Obviously, there is such a thing as the car and many employers not only require its ownership as part of the job description, but in some cases (I witnessed one) literally demand to see your vehicle and its documentation during the job interview. This even in cases where there is nothing in the job description that requires a vehicle for business purposes. Yes, having a car is a very essential part of our modernity whether it is for work or leisure but it comes at a cost: financial and environmental!  Where a business is located at a place well served by public transport, it places it at a great advantage of attracting a larger variety of people, and variety as we know it, is the spice of life.  However, this is not always possible as a lot of factors come into play when choosing a location.

What distinguishes a great company from an ordinary one is when it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and sustainable mobility (commuting) policies could be a fantastic way to outshine other adherers to CSR. A company I presently work for, CITB-ConstructionSkills, located in the remote, unknown and public-transport-challenged area in West Norfolk known as Bircham Newton thought it wise to explore ways of promoting sustainable commuting for its large workforce, many of whom reside in the nearest biggest city Norwich -35 miles away, and its surroundings. One of the things it did was to start running a bus, famously known as the Bircham Bus,  that picked staff up from various locations in the city and dropping them to work on an initial free trial period.

The Bircham Bus

As one of the users of this bus, I would call it a complete no-brainer! Apart from financial savings, it is a fun and stress-free way to commute to work. And then think of all the good things you are doing for the environment: less CO2 emissions, less congestion, less wear for your tyres. Then think of all the things you could do with your hands-free two-hour commute: fiddling with your phone, reading books on your Kindle, rehearsing for you next theartre performance (yes, it happens), or just catching up on sleep!

Other ways of promoting sustainable commuting is by setting up lift-share schemes, teleconferencing, remote working and generally creating the culture of offering lifts when necessary. The outcome is that both a company and its employees feel good about their well-being and their contributions to the environment. It is important that more companies look into this very important aspect of being socially responsible. There are usually some hesitations and doubts, as with all good ideas, but the benefits are huge. So let us all get on the Bircham Bus!