“But I didn’t have a lasting passion for tax policy.”
Hamish found an education job, where his role in the organisation’s Sustainability Committee got him thinking about sustainable choices – particularly sustainable travel.
“As someone who has an economics background, it’s something that interests me. How do we use our limited resources to their best capacity?”
Hamish is now the Travel Planning Coordinator for the Southern District Health Board, the University of Otago and Dunedin City Council.
“My role is to implement the workplace travel plans that each organisation has developed or is developing, to help their staff travel more sustainably and actively to and from work.”
Hamish says Dunedin’s large employers have a role to play in changing the way people get around the city.
“Actions taken by one organisation will affect others. For example, if we can improve parking utilisation within the university, which will take the parking pressure off the areas surrounding the university – which may reduce parking challenges for DHB staff.”
By working together, the three organisations can also try new things.
“Between us we have several thousand staff, so there’s a lot of people we can encourage into something new.”
Changing habits is hard, but Hamish has some tips for anyone thinking of ditching the car and trying a different mode of transport.
“The first step is to give it a go, but it might also help to seek advice. If you haven’t caught the bus for a long time, it might be quite different from how it used to be, so talk to someone who does it regularly.”
Hamish himself walks the talk – or should that be, rides it?
“My preferred way to get around is on an ebike. I’ve got wet weather gear, so I can ride any day there isn’t ice!”
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