Case Study of a Travel Planner
Case Study - Conrad Haigh - Integrated Transport Manager, Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC)
Conrad Haigh has been working in the travel-planning and sustainable transport field for around 14 years now and has built up a reputation as a top travel planner with a remarkable CV to bout. His exciting career has included multi million pound budgets, deals with high profile clients such as BskyB, Southern Rail and TfL and the organisation of key events such as the Millennium Festival of Cycling.
Mr Haigh's career shows that through hard work, dedication and the right skills, a great career can be made as a travel planner in its own right. However you need to be willing to move job and location and apply yourself to the fullest with every opportunity that presents itself or that you make yourself.
Before becoming a travel planner Conrad had a career as press photographer of a local paper. After returning to university and completing a Joint Honours degree in Media & Business with Information Technology at The University of Manchester, Conrad had a brief spell as an account manager of a corporate communications, marketing and public affairs agency, mainly looking after the PR needs of MTL Trust Holdings a public transport company, before moving in a parallel direction to join the UK's National Cyclists' Organisation (CTC) in a media officer position.
He handled CTC's national PR and media management, as well as being Project Manager of National Bike Week (NBW) and the Millennium Festival of Cycling. In his role, Conrad managed to turn National Bike Week (NBW) from a campaigning tool into a promotional event as well as delivering the most successful nationwide Millennium Festival project, the Millennium Festival of Cycling.
Conrad's next position was as Work Place Travel Plan (WTP) Co-ordinator for Hampshire County Council. This position meant he was responsible for the development, marketing and implementation of Hampshire's travel plan programme and saw him become a founding member of the South East WTP co-ordinators Network.
After a short spell with the County Council he joined AEA Technology as a senior consultant and was responsible for such projects as TransportEnergy Best practice concentrating on the Promoting Travel Plans, across the UK. He was also one of the management team of English Regions Cycle Development Team.
Next up was the position of Workplace Travel Planning Manager at TfL. This involved a substantial multi million pound budget and a team of 17 travel planners. In his time at TfL, Conrad was responsible for the development of TfL's iTrace, TRAVL travel plan monitoring system, among many other things. He negotiated and arbitrated between businesses, local government and service providers to promote use of sustainable transport and secured high profile travel plans such as BskyB and the 02 Dome. Conrad developed TfL's, New Way to Work programme delivering 1,400 Travel plans in London Businesses and creating an average mode shift of 12% away from Single Occupancy Vehicle journeys in businesses with travel plans across London.
From there he joined MVA Consultancy in the role of Director of Smarter Travel. In this role he managed a portfolio of behavioural change projects implemented by MVA, across the UK, including Southern Rail's Station Travel plan Programme and the flagship of the Scottish Government's Smart Choices, Smarter Places programme Falkirk Council's Take the Right Route Personalised Travel planning Programme.
Other ventures from travel planning have seen Conrad represent the CTC, Hampshire County Council and MVA in the media and at political functions including House of Commons receptions and speaking at the Welsh Assembly.
Conrad is a member of the Charted Institute of Highways and Transportation's Sustainable Transport board, the Transport Planning Society and served as Director on the ACT TravelWise Board for more than five years. In 2007 he was made Joint Chair with responsibilities of overseeing the ACT merger and in 2008 was awarded the prestigious ACT Travel Planner of the year.
Currently Conrad is working for ATOC as Integrated Transport Manager with responsibility for overseeing and co-ordination, projects that increase the use of Sustainable Transport as a mode of access and egress from train stations. This includes the £4.5Million Bike N Ride programme, the Station Travel plans Programme, Plus Buss integrated ticketing and the UK's Cycle Rail Awards.
Hopefully this profile gives some insight into a career in travel planning and sustainable travel and shows that the opportunities are out there if you want to succeed.
