What initiatives are you involved with that are helping to reduce car use? Share with us sustainable travel projects and ideas that help that change mindsets, increase public transpo...

The Young People’s Travel Forum was set up to pilot a new way of working which would bring a range of public, private and community stakeholders involved in the provision of transport infrastructure and/or services in order to share their knowledge, expertise and other resources with a view to exploring children and young people’s travel issues and generating potential solutions.

The Forum is made up of a range of West Sussex County Council Officers, public transport operators who work alongside young people from Youth Cabinet and the wider community, as well as other local stakeholders. The Forum has been collaborating during the past four years to help steer a program of research designed to assess the transport needs of young people in West Sussex aged 5-19 and in full-time education with a view to involving a range of stakeholders and young people in particular, in the planning and decision-making processes.

A Young People’s Travel Forum Workshop Event formed the final stage of the first program of research into young people’s travel behavior and solutions. Reflecting best practice in partnership working and engaging children and young people, this workshop provided a ‘space’ for mutual learning and deliberative democracy by encouraging young people to discuss and debate current transport issues with transport providers. It also facilitated working together to solve problems and plan better quality services. Professionals actively learnt from young people by listening to their views and experiences. Equally, young people were able to learn more about the issues involved in transport provision from the professionals and about the constraints within which they need to operate.

A common theme which was highlighted in the research and in workshop discussions related to the need for more access to "Real-time" running information was an issue. As a result of this feedback, around 250 local bus stops were fitted with "QR" (Quick Response) and "NFC" (Near Field Communication) technology allowing waiting passengers to see how long it will be until their bus arrives on compatible mobile telephones, without the substantial and time consuming expense required to fit a display screen. This facility was then placed at all the main stops in Crawley, Horsham and Haywards Heath town centres, and on other routes in West Sussex.

Following a successful trial of the QR codes and NFC on these routes a wider roll out programme has commenced, which will ultimately result in Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) being available at over a 1,000 bus stops.

The Blackburn with Darwen CONNECT project is a comprehensive ‘smarter choices’ campaign combined with the provision of improved walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure. These activities will enhance travel choices, helping to improve access to employment and training opportunities whilst reducing car usage.

We link and recruit residents directly onto schemes such as skyrides and car sharing. We encourage and sometimes co-ordinate cycle to work schemes and walk to work days. We work in partnership with our Healthy Living team and promote the cycling and walking events, for example, local walks take place most days, whether a short easy pace walk round the park to a harder two hour walk on the outskirts of the borough.

Working with businesses and education/training providers, BwD CONNECT promotes lifelong behavioural changes that reduce carbon emissions and encourage the transport system to be an engine for economic growth. The CONNECT for Communities has a particular focus on assisting unemployed people with transport advice and for some, help with travel costs if attending interviews, accessing training or when gaining new employment.

Having updated transport information aimed at staff on the College’s intranet, the College has collated similar information, presented in a ‘student-friendly’ format, for learners on its main website.
It is anticipated that this will be especially useful to learners in the run-up to the College’s forthcoming enrolment and induction periods; see www.derby-college.ac.uk/index.php/travel-options.html for details. Details on this site and the staff intranet are updated when appropriate.

The aforementioned enrolment will see the College hosting transport information desks at its larger campuses. Learners will be able to sign up to receive personalised transport planning to help them reach College – particularly thanks to the College’s liaison with Derby Connected www.derbyconnected.com. This service is in addition to the provision of information on the various transport modes available to all the College’s users - including discount schemes made possible through partnership with other organisations and companies encompassing the College’s own bus service, cycling, public bus, rail, moped loan plus walking.

The Minister asks for a service 'as easy as jumping in the car'. This will require a totally fresh approach.

The NHS made private health care discretionary. You could not have banned people from buying private health care but they left in in droves when they found there was a service they were already paying for!

Someone has to be bold enough to change the rules. So bold that they take urgent steps to providing public transport on the same modal as public health. Paid for and commissioned through taxation.

I am trying to devise a survey for the residents that live around our air quality management areas to find out how far they travel a week and by what means etc with a view to trying to reduce the number of unsustainable journeys through the air quality management areas. Rather than re- inventing the wheel I wondered whether there might already be a survey that I could base ours on. Is this something that you or anyone else on the forum could advise me on please?

Our scattered mental health Trust has very recently implemented a pool of power-assisted bicycles. It is very early stages but there are one or two staff watching from a distance and wondering. They are on my radar!
Interestingly I have ridden to a few sites within a 4 mile radius and found that, door to door, the time involved in cycling is the same as walking to your car, driving to your destination, finding a parking slot, walking to the building. In fact it might be quicker on a bad day.
I aim to promote the time equivalence as one of the major benefit to using this form of transport. Not only does this bike save carbon emissions and saves money it also saves time. Whoever would have though that?