You are here: 8.0 Transport > Tra 01 Public transport accessibility

Tra 01 Public transport accessibility

(all buildings)

Number of credits available	Minimum standards
Building type dependent	No

Aim

To recognise and encourage development in proximity of good public transport networks, thereby helping to reduce transport-related pollution and congestion.

Assessment criteria

This issue is split into two parts:

Accessibility Index (up to 5 credits - building type dependent)
Dedicated bus service (1 credit)

The following is required to demonstrate compliance:

Up to five credits - Accessibility Index

The public transport Accessibility Index (AI) for the assessed building is calculated and BREEAM credits awarded in accordance with the building types, AI benchmarks and BREEAM credits in Table 30

The Accessibility Index is determined by entering the following information in to the BREEAM Tra 01 calculator:

2.a

The distance (m) from the main building entrance to each compliant public transport node

2.b

The public transport types serving the compliant node, e.g. bus or rail

2.c

The average number of services stopping per hour at each compliant node during the operating hours of the building for a typical day (see compliance notes and Table 31

One credit - Dedicated bus service

For buildings with a fixed shift pattern, i.e. where building users will predominantly arrive or depart at set times, one credit can be awarded where the building occupier provides, or commits to providing a dedicated bus service to and from the building at the beginning and end of each shift or day.

This credit is only available in cases where a development is unable to achieve any of the available credits using the Accessibility Index criteria (i.e. its location has a low public transport Accessibility Index).

Checklists and tables

Table 30.Credits available for each building type relating to the public transport Accessibility Index (AI) score.

Accessibility Index	≥ 0.5	≥ 1	≥ 2	≥ 4	≥ 8	≥ 10	≥ 12	≥ 18
Building type			BREEAM credits available
Offices, Industrial, Long term residential institutions, Other building - Staffed	-	-	1	2	3	-	-	-
Preschool, School	-	-	1	2	3	-	-	-
Retail, Higher education - Off campus, Hotels and short term residential institutions, Other building - Visitors	-	-	1	2	3	3	4	5
Higher education - On campus	-	-	1	2	3	4	5	-
Rural location sensitive buildings, Other buildings - Rural,	-	-	1	2	-	-	-	-
Residential dwellings	1	2	3	4	-	-	-	-

Compliance notes

Ref	Terms	Description
Shell and core (non-residential and residential institutions only)
CN1	Applicable assessment criteria	Both options: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply. Refer to Appendix D – Shell and core project assessments for a more detailed description of the shell and core assessment options.
Residential - Partially fitted and fully fitted
CN2	Applicable assessment criteria - Single and multiple dwellings	Both options: All criteria relevant to the building type and function apply. Refer to Appendix E – Applicability of BREEAM New Construction to single and multiple dwellings, partially and fully fitted for a more detailed description of residential assessment options.
General
CN3	Campus developments. See criterion 1	Where 80% or more of the buildings on a campus style development, e.g. further or higher education sites, are within 1000m of the campus’s main entrance, then the campus main entrance can be used as the reference point for the assessment of distance to compliant public transport nodes for this issue. The campus main entrance is that which is accessed by the majority of the assessed building's staff or students or visitors. A site may have more than one main entrance which between them account for the majority of staff, students and visitors that access the site. In such a case either entrance can be used as the basis for the calculation. Where less than 80% of the buildings on the campus development are within 1000m of the campus main entrance, the assessed building's main entrance must be used as the reference point for the assessment of distance to compliant public transport nodes for this issue. This rule implies that for large campus developments, when distances are too great to be comfortably covered by walking, the needs of the building users would be served better by locating the public transport nodes inside or on the periphery of the campus. Where the building is not part of a centralised campus then its main entrance must be used as the reference point for the assessment of this issue.
CN3.1	Dedicated bus services. See criterion 3 .	The credit for the provision of a dedicated bus service is available for any building type with a fixed shift pattern; examples could include schools, offices, retail, factories etc. The bus must provide transfer to the local population centre, public transport interchange or be a door-to-door service. The credit is provided as an alternative, where the AI of the building is too low to achieve any BREEAM credits, but where the building users will have the option of a dedicated bus service. However, a dedicated bus service can be included in the public transport Accessibility Index calculation as a means of contributing towards achieving credits via this method (regardless of the shift pattern). Where this is the case, the distance from the main building entrance to the drop-off or pick-up point (the transport node) of the service should be used.
CN3.2	Phased developments. See criterion 3 .	In the case of a large phased development where new transport facilities will be provided, but at a later stage than the building being assessed, the assessment can consider such facilities provided that a commitment has been made to provide transport facilities within the shortest of the following periods: The transport facilities will be available for use by the time 25% of all phases have been completed and are ready for occupation OR The transport facilities will be available for use within 25% of the total build time for the phase in which the assessed building forms a part, measured from the completion date of that phase. The most appropriate rule for the development in question must be used, ensuring that the time building users have to wait before having use of the transport facilities is as short as possible. Where the transport facilities will not be available for use within a period of five years from occupation of the building, they cannot be considered for determining compliance with the BREEAM criteria.

Methodology

Calculating the average number of services

For the purpose of the calculation, the frequency of public transport is the average number of services per hour. This is calculated by determining the number of stopping services at the node during the peak arrival or departure times for the building or the building's typical day's operating hours (see definition 'operating hours'), divided by the number of hours within that period. For example: the average number of services for an assessment of a building that operates between 08:00 - 19:00 hrs (11 hours) and is within proximity of a bus stop with 35 stopping services during this period is 3.2 (equivalent to an average service frequency of approximately 20 minutes).

Multiple services

Services that operate from more than one node within proximity of the building, i.e. two separate bus stops served by the same bus, must be considered only once; at the node in closest proximity to the building. Different services at the same node can be considered as separate.

Bidirectional routes

Routes will be bidirectional; however for the purpose of calculating the index, consider only the direction with the highest frequency.

Evidence

Criteria	Interim design stage	Final post-construction stage
1, 2	Scale map highlighting the location of the building and all public transport nodes in proximity of the building. Timetables for each service at each public transport node considered. The calculated Accessibility Index for the building. Where appropriate, information about the dedicated bus service. A completed copy of the Tra 01 calculator.	As design stage. Where relying on a calculation carried out at the design stage to demonstrate compliance post-construction, if the period between the design and post-construction stage reporting is greater than 12 months, then the AI must be recalculated using up-to-date public transport timetable information. As interim design stage.
3	A formal letter from the future building occupier confirming provision of and details for the dedicated bus services.	As interim design stage.

Criteria

Interim design stage

Final post-construction stage

1, 2

Scale map highlighting the location of the building and all public transport nodes in proximity of the building.

Timetables for each service at each public transport node considered.

The calculated Accessibility Index for the building. Where appropriate, information about the dedicated bus service.

A completed copy of the Tra 01 calculator.

As design stage.

Where relying on a calculation carried out at the design stage to demonstrate compliance post-construction, if the period between the design and post-construction stage reporting is greater than 12 months, then the AI must be recalculated using up-to-date public transport timetable information. As interim design stage.

A formal letter from the future building occupier confirming provision of and details for the dedicated bus services.

As interim design stage.

Additional information

Relevant definitions

Accessibility Index: A measure that provides an indicator of the accessibility and density of the public transport network at a point of interest (in the case of BREEAM, a building). The index is influenced by the proximity and diversity of the public transport network and the level or frequency of service at the accessible node. For example, a building that has a single public transport node 500m from its main building entrance with one service stopping every 15 minutes, i.e. four services per hour on average, will score an AI of approximately 1.90. Alternatively, the same node with one service every 15 minutes, but 300m from the building entrance will achieve an AI of 2.26. The same node with two services stopping every 15 minutes will score an AI of 2.85. The greater the number of compliant nodes, services and their proximity to the building, the higher the AI.

Additional building type classifications

Higher Education (H.E.)

Education that continues beyond the compulsory level, e.g. colleges and universities.

Higher education - Off campus

H.E buildings located on a campus where less than 25% of students are resident on the campus or within 1km radius from the campus main entrance.

Higher Education - On campus

H.E buildings located on a campus where 25% or more of the students are resident on the campus or within 1km radius from the campus’s main entrance.

Other building - Staffed

A building predominantly occupied by staff or employees with occasional business related visitors.

Other building - Visitors

A building occupied by a number of core staff or employees with a larger number of consistently frequent visitors or users (either resident or non-resident).

Other building - Rural

Building types specifically required to be located rurally as a result of their function, i.e. a building which would never be located within an urban area, e.g. a national park visitor centre (see definition of rural and rural location sensitive buildings location).

BREEAM Tra 01 Calculator tool

A spreadsheet-based calculator used to determine the Accessibility Index for the assessed building and the number of BREEAM credits achieved.

Compliant transport node

A compliant node includes any bus service with a stop within 650m and any railway station within 1000m of the assessed building's main entrance, measured via a safe pedestrian route (not 'as the crow flies'). The service stopping at each node must provide transport from, or onward travel to, either an urban centre, major transport node or a community focal point, e.g. doctor's surgery, library, school or village centre. Only local services should be assessed and any national public transport services should be excluded from the analysis, unless such a service can be said to provide a local commuter service.

Main building entrance

The main building entrance is the entrance to the assessed building which is directly connected to the main building reception, circulation routes, lifts or stairs and is available to the majority of the building's staff and visitors on arrival. It is not the site entrance (unless the site entrance is also the building entrance, e.g. building with a boundary on a public highway).

Operating hours

BREEAM seeks to define the building's accessibility to the public transport network for the period during which the majority of building users will travel to and from the building. In most cases the normal operating hours of the building can be used. Where shift patterns see the majority of building users (over 80%) arriving or leaving during a certain period, for example an office building where the majority of office workers arrive between 8.00-10.00, then that period can be used as an alternative to the operating hours of the building. This accounts for some building types that operate a 24-hour day and on a shift work basis. During what typically would be deemed unsociable hours, and therefore periods where there is little if any public transport operating, such periods are not required to be accounted for in the assessment of this issue. Where the assessed building operates on a 24-hour basis or the operating hours are unknown at the time of assessment, then refer to and use the table of default operating hours, which can be found in the additional information section of this issue.

Rural location (Urban location)

A rural location is defined in this context as a site clearly not within or on the boundary of a small, medium or large urban cover. An urban cover will have a population of 3000 people or more, located within a tract of continuously built-up urban land extending 20 hectares or more. Therefore, the definition of rural includes village locations, green field sites or small urban centres with a population of less 3000 people within a tract of land no greater than 20 hectares. Such locations will most likely be on a local bus route to larger urban areas or other local towns and may have local shops and other facilities.

Rural location sensitive buildings

This definition includes any of the building types (listed below) where there is a demonstrable social or economic need from a rural population for the service or demand, which the new building is intended to meet; and therefore locating the building at an alternative site which could have higher public transport accessibility levels, i.e. within an urbanised area, is unfeasible. The following building types are examples of those that may fall into this category.

Offices where providing services to the local community
Industrial where providing services to the local community
Retail where providing services to the local community
Preschool, primary and secondary school where providing services to the local community
Residential dwellings where providing accommodation to the local community.

Typical day

The typical day is that which represents the period when travel to and from the building by its users and visitors will be at its highest. For most buildings this should be taken as a midweek day. In choosing a typical day the assessor should check that timetabled information for that day is, within reason, representative of the public transport provision for the entire operating week (excluding Sundays).

Other information

Table 31Default hours of operation by building type for a typical day

Building type	Default hours
Commercial	08:00 - 19:00
Preschool, school	07:30 -10:00,15:00 - 17:30
University, Higher Education	08:00 - 19:00
Retail: Shopping centre	09:00 - 19:00
Retail: Supermarket	08:00 - 22:00
Retail: Service provider	08:00 - 18:00
Retail: Convenience store	07:00 - 22:00
Retail: DIY or retail park	08:00 - 20:00
Retail: shop	08:30 - 17:30
Residential dwellings and residential institutions	08:00 - 19:00
Hotel	08:00 - 19:00
24-hour use building	07:00 - 20:00
Note: These hours are provided as a guideline: differing hours can be used, where justified by the assessor, as a result of regional or national culture, customs or routine.