Three businesses honoured for supporting public transport

Translink Metro awards three local companies as part of new sustainability scheme

Three Belfast-based companies have received the ‘Master’s in Metronomics’ endorsement from Translink Metro.
The Master’s in Metronomics programme was developed to highlight that taking the bus regularly can cut back on traffic congestion and save commuters time and money, inspiring the name ‘Metronomics’.

Allstate NI, The Consumer Council of Northern Ireland and Ulster University’s Belfast campus all took part in the inaugural programme which challenged local companies to keep track of their Metro bus tickets over a two-month period.
Allstate, who employs 1,300 at its Belfast office, brought in the most at 2,100 Metro tickets over the course of the two-month challenge. The Consumer Council brought in 415 tickets from their 30 employees in Belfast. And Ulster University brought in 240 tickets, bringing the total for all three companies to nearly 4,000 tickets.

Speaking of the programme, Gemma Thompson, Brand Coordinator, Translink, said:

“We would like to congratulate Allstate, the Consumer Council and Ulster University for receiving their Master’s in Metronomics. We launched the scheme to challenge Belfast companies to inspire their employees to take Metro to work at least once a week. These three companies are inspiring examples of how Belfast companies can do their part to reduce traffic congestion and promote sustainable transport in our city.

“Of course there are sustainability benefits for taking the bus, but there are also health benefits. Regular bus riders get more exercise and they can reclaim travel time by reading or catching up on email – it’s a nice alternative to sitting in stressful car traffic!

“For other companies interested in taking advantage of public transport, there are a variety of schemes and ticket options to make bus travel easy and cost effective for commuters. Our TaxSmart programme, for example, enables commuters to save up to 32% on annual bus travel. Our Smartlink travel card provides unlimited travel, and our multi-journey tickets are available for a set number of trips. We also recently launched an update to our mLinkApp, enabling passengers’ to now purchase Metro Day Tickets on their smartphone.”

Allstate is one of the companies to receive the Master’s in Metronomics endorsement from Translink. Glen Burgess, an accountant for Allstate, commented:

“Allstate NI prides itself on being an avid supporter of public transport across Northern Ireland. It made sense for Allstate to take part in the Master’s in Metronomics scheme because many of our employees take the bus to work every day and they are advocates of public transport. They have found it’s usually less expensive and more convenient than taking a car.

“My colleagues and I really enjoyed the Master’s in Metronomics programme. We collected tickets and gave away gift vouchers to a number of lucky Metro riders to encourage participation. Our office really got ‘on board’ with the programme and it was a fun way to celebrate those who use Metro every day and encourage non-users.”

Ulster University also took part in the Master’s in Metronomics scheme. Conán Meehan, Vice President Academic & Student Affairs, Ulster University Students’ Union added,

“We promoted the Master’s in Metronomics programme on our Students’ Union Twitter account and through our local group of Green Impact Champions, a network that extends across more than 100 universities to award those who complete a number of tasks to help the environment. We saw the Master’s in Metronomics programme as a way to support sustainability in Belfast, so we were happy to take part.”

The Consumer Council is the third organisation to receive its Master’s in Metronomics. Following the end of the scheme, Jenny Robinson, Senior Policy Officer, The Consumer Council of Northern Ireland, commented,

“The majority of our staff already use public transport to travel to work. However, we challenged ourselves with Translink’s Master’s in Metronomics programme to see if we could do even more. We have found that it is much easier to use Metro Bus services than driving in and around Belfast City Centre. We are delighted to receive our Master’s in Metronomics and we would encourage all consumers and businesses to try the bus or train and in doing so see if they can save money by getting the best possible ticketing deal.”

For more information about the Metronomics scheme, visit translink.co.uk/Metronomics/