The Transport and Travel team at Wellington Regional Hospital (WRH) are implementing the Wellington Regional Hospital Travel Action Plan; with around 5,000 people working at WRH there is significant transport demand so the team are working with staff to try out new ways of getting to and from work that are not only easier for staff but also easier on the planet. The plan aims to achieve less reliance on single occupancy car commuting and encourage staff to use public transport, active transport (such as biking), and car sharing for their commute.
The team not only want to encourage staff to explore other options for their commute, but also provide much needed support for staff in this area that can be stressful, leading to increased staff satisfaction and improved wellbeing.
Read on to learn more about Federico’s role and what sustainability means to him.
Tell us about your role.
“My role involves making it easier and more accessible for people working at Wellington Regional Hospital to share vehicles, use public transport, walk or bike to work.
We are in constant talks with Metlink regarding their bus and train schedules that are relevant to hospital commuters
We organise via Pedal Ready, upskill cycling courses for people to polish up their biking skills and to get them ready to cycle to work. The Pedal Ready sessions were a success this last year. We organised level 1 and 2 sessions in Hutt Hospital and all three levels out of Wellington hospital. We even had to add an extra level 3 session due to popular demand! We will be repeating this in the coming months and also looking at organising sessions for Kenepuru (dependant on demand).
What do you love most about your job?
“Helping people reach their travel mode shift goals is very rewarding. There are a lot of people willing and able to try alternative ways of getting to/from work and we can work together to help them achieve this.”
What's your biggest work achievement?
“Organising cycling courses for adults and then seeing them commute to work on a bike has been quite gratifying.”
How do you get to work?
“Mostly by bike or bus.”
Why do you think it’s important to promote public transport/ sustainable ways to get to work?
“I guess the obvious reason is to reduce our environmental impact, but also research shows that active/shared travel will most definitely improve employee health and will create a friendlier and more productive work environment. Also, finding a carpark around the hospital will become increasingly difficult in the years to come; we should make the most of the cycle ways that make biking to the hospital easier and safer than ever. Other ways to try more sustainable ways of getting to work is by sharing a ride to work (carpooling).
What would the future look like for you?
“I am in the process of finishing a Bachelor of Science majoring in Mathematics and Data Science at Victoria University of Wellington. I have been doing this part-time for the last three years and time wise it works very well with my part-time role here at the hospital.
I have always been drawn to numbers and data, and in this day and age where a little over a floppy disk of data (1.7Mb) is created every second per person I thought that there might be some interesting insights in there to found. I am learning the tools and techniques necessary to sift through this monumental amount of information and I am enjoying it very much so far.
It’ll be quite interesting to see how I can apply some of the knowledge gained through my degree in this role or other opportunities that may arise.”
How important is sustainability to you and in your role?
“I remember visiting Fox Glacier 15 years ago and then returning a few years after to see how much the glacier had receded. It was a bit shocking at first; then reading about it I found that there are certain things we can all do to help halt this seemingly disastrous trend.
By engaging ourselves and also by helping people find new, more sustainable ways to commute to work, we will definitely be improving not only our quality of life, health and wellbeing but also helping the environment to recover.
I work very close with the sustainability team and we are always looking for different ways to improve sustainability in the workplace.”
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