TRA 01 - Sustainable Transport Solutions

AI calculation – changes to public transport services during the assessment - KBCN1527

The AI is calculated as part of the design stage transport analysis and its value relates to the site location and to informing transport-related design decisions. This must be based on current information, including any planned and publicly-notified changes at the time the transport assessment is carried out. This should be used as the AI benchmark for the assessment. Where later, unforeseen changes to public transport availability are implemented before post-construction certification, the AI benchmark should not be updated at post-construction stage. Assessments should not be disadvantaged by, or benefit from such changes.

Alternative transport measures not applicable to the project - KBCN0965

It is acknowledged that certain alternative transport measures may be considered not applicable to the project under assessment, due to building type, scope of refurbishment, etc. Upon provision of clear justification for the exclusions, in such instances, in order to ensure a fair assessment, an alternative calculation method has been introduced. This method is only applicable where there are less than six measures deemed to be appropriate and in all other instances the methodology outlined in the manual applies. The Assessor will:

Identify the number of measures applicable to the assessment;
Determine the number of measures that have been complied with;
Determine the percentage of measures achieved, and based on this, the proportion of credits achieved.

Please see the worked example below, where the Assessor:

Deems that five alternative transport measures are appropriate for the project;
Demonstrates compliance with three of these measures;
Determines the percentage of compliance, ie 60% (three out of five measures). This results in the awarding of 60% of the three credits available to this assessment, ie 1.8, which, to ensure robustness, will be rounded down to the nearest whole number, with a final one credit achieved.

The number of credits achieved is proportioned to the percentage of compliant measures against the total number of measures applicable to the project.

Bristol Transport Access Level (BrisTAL) - KBCN1426

The Bristol Transport Access Level (BrisTAL) method provides a way of measuring the level of public transport connectivity within the city of Bristol. It is derived from the Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) approach used by Transport for London. As such, the ‘Access Index (AI)’ output from BrisTAL can be used as evidence of compliance against the BREEAM and HQM Accessibility Index requirements. Please note that project teams must ensure that they use the version of the BrisTAL that is current at the time the transport assessment is undertaken. This is available here: https://maps.bristol.gov.uk/pinpoint/

03 08 2022 - Updated to clarify that the dataset used must be current at the time of the transport assessment, but this does not need to be updated at post-construction stage

Car sharing – calculation of priority spaces - KBCN0282

The calculation of priority spaces for car sharers should account only for the car parking capacity that is dedicated to the staff working in the building, without considering the spaces for customers or visitors. As such, car sharing spaces should be clearly segregated from customer/visitor parking areas.

06/09/2023 - Title only updated to align with naming protocol
23/03/2017 note added clarifying requirement for segregation

Community transport schemes in rural areas - KBCN00013

In rural areas, where scheduled public services are insufficient to gain credits via the calculation of the Accessibility Index, community transport schemes, including 'on-demand services', can be used to achieve the 'dedicated bus service' option. In such cases evidence must be provided to demonstrate:

It serves a rural area
It is available to all potential users
The service is established at the time of the assessment being submitted
The service is of an appropriate scale for the community it serves

Content reworded to highlight the availability of the on-demand service to all potential users. 24/04/2017

Demand-based bus services in AI calculation - KBCN1338

Demand-based bus services operated by public transport providers can be included in the calculation of the Accessibility Index. The project team will need to determine an average number of stops per hour to allow input into the AI tool.

Electric vehicle (re)charging stations/points/spaces - KBCN0934

For BREEAM purposes, a vehicle charging station/space includes a facility that is dedicated to charging vehicles. Provision of a mains-powered electrical socket will not be deemed compliant.

13 October 2023 - Title and wording updated to align with terminology used elsewhere in our guidance.

Electric vehicle charging stations - KBCN0684

As per the 'Alternative transport measures' criteria, the percentage requirement for electric charging stations should be based on the total car parking capacity for the building. Where the assessment covers only part of a building or development this must be based on the total car parking capacity unless the parking for the assessed development is clearly segregated and available only for the use of its building users.

23 03 17 Reference to car sharing spaces removed. See also KBCN0282

Electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) – Priority spaces - KBCN1429

The current criteria for EVCS do not address provision for priority spaces, such as those allocated to disabled use and car sharing. The assessor and design team should, therefore, take a pragmatic approach to this and, where the overall number of required EVCS permits, an appropriate proportion of these should be provided for priority spaces. This will not be deemed as 'double-counting' as the number of EVCS required should be considered independently of other requirements. The intent is that electric vehicle charging spaces are available to all building users (where possible).

Electric vehicle charging stations – shell & core assessments - KBCN1247

For BREEAM NC shell only/shell & core, RFO Parts 1 and 2 only and partially-fitted residential assessments, compliance can be demonstrated by installing all the necessary infrastructure, (i.e. capacity in the connection to the local electricity distribution network and distribution board, as well as sub-surface ductwork to receive cabling to parking spaces), to enable the simple installation and activation of charging points at a future date.

18/10/2021 Applicability to BREEAM Scheme and Assessment Type clarified, in line with the intent.
15/11/2019 Incorrect reference to pre-installation of 'cabling' removed.

Future transport nodes - KBCN0966

Where a transport node is currently inactive but will become active soon after project completion, it can be included when calculating the existing AI. To demonstrate this, confirmation of the start of service date and service frequency from the appropriate public transport authority or company will be required.

Greater Manchester Accessibility Level (GMAL) - KBCN1394

The Greater Manchester Accessibility Levels (GMAL) method has been created to provide a way of measuring the density of public transport provision at any location within the Greater Manchester region. It is derived from the Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) approach used by Transport for London. As such, the Greater Manchester Accessibility Index (GMAI) scores generated by the GMAL method can be used as evidence of compliance against the BREEAM and HQM Accessibility Index requirements. Please note that project teams must ensure that they use the version of the GMAL dataset that is current at the time the transport assessment is undertaken. This is available from the data.gov.uk website (https://data.gov.uk/dataset/d9dfbf0a-3cd7-4b12-a39f-0ec717423ee4/gm-accessibility-levels-gmal).

02 08 2022 - Updated to clarify that the dataset used must be current at the time of the transport assessment, but this does not need to be updated at post-construction stage

No data for AI at Design Stage - KBCN0551

If there is insufficient data for a future transport service to include this in the calculation of the AI at the Design Stage, it should not be accounted for. If at Post Construction stage the data is available, this can be incorporated. Whilst certain Design Stage requirements can be based on commitments to achieve a certain performance, this must be based on verifiable data.

16/04/18 Wording amended to clarify that this applies to future services and to allow applicability to UK NC 2018

On-demand public bus services - KBCN1404

These can be recognised as follows:

The location of the transport node should be determined as the nearest available pick-up point to the assessed building
The frequency of the service should be considered as the published maximum wait time (or actual average wait time, if the service is established and this data is available)
Such services, whilst they may serve multiple destinations, should be considered as a single route
It must be demonstrated that information on the availability and how to access the service is made available to building users

This is limited to genuine on-demand bus services, which are operated as public transport with multiple pick-up and drop-off points and does not extend to private hire, taxi or other similar operations.

Park and Ride Schemes - KBCN0754

'Park and ride' bus services run from one or more car parks to a city centre or other destination to allow travellers to park their car at a convenient location and complete their journey by bus. These generally stop at transport nodes en route to allow passengers to board or alight. Provided the service meets the aim of the Issue with reference to the guidance, they can be considered for this Issue in the same way as any other bus service.

PTAL report supporting evidence - KBCN0230

For developments in Greater London where a Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) report is provided, this report does not need to be supplemented by additional evidence to demonstrate compliance with criteria. The assessor should be satisfied that the PTAL report is current and accurately relates to the assessed site.

PTAL web-links - KBCN0705

For a detailed description of the PTAL methodology, see the 'Assessing transport connectivity in London' document at the following link: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/connectivity-assessment-guide.pdf The link to calculate your PTAL score is: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/urban-planning-and-construction/planning-with-webcat/webcat

UK NC2014 Technical manual - hyperlinks to be updated accordingly in next re-issue.

Safe pedestrian routes: definition, measurement and verification - KBCN0238

Definition Safe pedestrian routes include pavements and safe crossing points, which may be controlled or, for example, be identified by tactile paving, a crossing island or a dropped kerb. An element of judgement may be required, in which case justification should be provided. Measurement Distances could be measured, for example, along a pavement, across a road at a safe crossing point and along the pavement on the other side. The distance should not be measured diagonally across a road, following the most direct route. Evidence from Google Maps or other digital sources may be used to indicate routes and distances, provided that the scale is appropriate and clearly indicated. Verification The assessor’s site inspection is an important aspect of the assessment of this issue as it must confirm that all relevant information is current and should include photographs of any key areas. This may also help to identify safe crossing points or hazards which may not be apparent from a desktop study. For BREEAM NC and RFO assessments, Google Streetview may be acceptable as evidence to demonstrate safe pedestrian routes and the presence of key features or amenities at Design Stage only. Such information must be verified as above for Final Certification.

07 Mar 2024 - No changes have been made. This appears as 'updated' due to an administrative error.
11 Jan 2024 - Wording re-structured for clarity
19 Dec 2023 - Applicability to BIU V6 confirmed

Total credits available - KBCN00095

The number of credits available is determined by building type, as detailed in the table. Where the maximum score for the Accessibility Index (AI) is not achieved, additional credits can be awarded up to that maximum for the Alternative transport measures listed in the following table. This approach is intended to recognise the relative importance of sustainable transport solutions to different building types.

Refurbishment and Fit Out / UK / 2014 / 04 - Transport /