The effects of smarter choice programmes in the sustainable travel towns: research report

Abstract

Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester are all medium-sized, relatively free-standing towns, located in the north and middle of England. Following a competition, they were designated ‘Sustainable Travel Towns’, implementing a programme of measures from 2004 to 2009, intended to reduce car use. Taken together they spent £15 million, of which £10 million was special Government funding provided by the Department for Transport. Baseline surveys in each town in 2004 showed that traffic growth was a significant issue of public concern, with between 80% and 94% of respondents considering it to be a problem. The same surveys showed strong public support to give more sustainable transport modes (buses, walking and cycling) a priority in transport policy. There were some differences in local conditions and problems, and each town made its own choice on how much to spend on each of a range of different measures. They all spent most on personal travel planning (from a third to nearly half of revenue spending), followed by travel awareness campaigns, promoting walking and cycling, and public transport marketing. Smaller amounts were spent on workplace and school travel plans. The programmes were implemented by teams of 6-10 staff in each town. The main period for assessment of impacts was 2004 to 2008, taking care, as far as possible, to avoid confusion with the first impacts of recession at the end of 2008. Taking all three towns together, the total number of trips per head made by residents reduced slightly. Car trips per person reduced and trips by more sustainable modes increased. Bus trips per person grew substantially, by 10-22%, compared with a national decrease of 0.5% in other medium-sized towns. The number of cycle trips per head grew substantially in all three towns, by 26-30%. The number of walking trips per head grew substantially, by 10-13%, compared to a national decline in similar towns. There were indications of complex behaviour change, involving transfers between modes, changes of destinations and changes in trip numbers, not all of which can be fully analysed with the available data. The biggest reduction in car driver distance came from changes to leisure trips, then shopping and work-related business. On conservative assumptions, the implied benefit-cost ratio of the achieved outcome in the three towns, allowing only for congestion effects, is in the order of 4.5. Including environmental, consumer-benefit and health effects on the basis of recent Department for Transport modelling could broadly double the congestion-only figure. The report makes recommendations to assist local authorities in planning and delivering a successful large-scale Smarter Choice Programme. This document may be downloaded at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/smarterchoices/programmes/