Exploring planning tribunal decisions on travel plans for new developments

Travel plans, also known as transportation demand management (TDM) plans, can be required through the planning approval process for new developments. Where decisions on development applications are appealed, a planning tribunal may review the decision, including the requirement for a travel plan. This research aimed to explore planning tribunal decisions on travel plans for new developments. Using a case study of Victoria, Australia, an analysis of 178 planning tribunal reports from 2005-16 showed that travel plan requirements were accepted in 88% of cases. Larger planning tribunal groups were found to be associated with higher acceptance of travel plan requirements. Travel plan requirements with more prescriptive/tailored wording were over 20 times more likely to be accepted compared to those with generic wording. Recommendations for improving practice include the development of more clearly worded travel plan conditions, provision of training programs and guidelines, and the introduction of supportive planning policy.