Behaviour change smarter choices theory and practice

Structure  Policy context: Travel demand management and why smarter choices have become important  The theory and reasons behind smarter choices  The smarter choices tool kit  Case s

Martin Higgitt

JMP Consultants Limited

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE: SMARTER CHOICES THEORY AND PRACTICE

Structure

 Policy context: Travel demand management and why smarter

choices have become important

 The theory and reasons behind smarter choices

 The smarter choices tool kit

 Case study of i-Travel York

 Where next?

What are ‘smarter choices’?

 Promotional measures to encourage the uptake of sustainable travel

options

 ‘Smarter choices’ or ‘soft measures’ include:

• Marketing and communications

• Public transport information and promotion

• Travel planning with:

• Employers

• Schools / colleges

• Residents (Personal travel planning, PTP)

• Station travel plans

• Shared mobility – ride-sharing, car clubs etc

• Promoting alternatives to travel

POLICY CONTEXT

A brief history: the end of the road for Predict

and Provide

 During 1990s, acknowledged that “Predict and Provide” could not work:

 More road capacity encouraged more traffic demand

 and worsened conditions for other modes

 Also, financially unaffordable, environmentally damaging and politically

untenable

Traffic levels

100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180

1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 2025

National Traffic Forecasts, 1996

A brief history: Travel Demand

Management and Smarter Choices

 Travel demand management approach starts to take over in 1990s

 Research project in early 2000’s for Department for Transport shows

potential impact of demand management measures if delivered in intensive and comprehensive way

non-urban peak non-urban off-peak

national

% traffic

Travel Demand Management and

Smarter Choices

 Leading to initial

‘Sustainable Travel

Demonstration Towns’

 4 year programmes in 3 pilot

towns showed average 9%

reduction in car use in first

and growth in other modes

Darlington Sustainable Travel Demonstration Town, Final Evaluation Social Data, 2009

Most trips are short

People’s perceptions of alternatives are often wrong

Half of car trips could be undertaken by alternative

THE REASONS BEHIND SMARTER CHOICES

The reasons for smarter choices

 Not enough simply to

provide alternatives

 Everyday travel habitual

 Need to make people aware

of alternatives

 and give them a reason for

using them

The role of smarter choices

 Not enough just to provide alternatives

 Reasons:

• People need awareness of

alternatives

• People need perceptions tackled

• People need motivation to try

THE SMARTER CHOICES TOOLKIT

Marketing and communications

Public transport information and marketing

Employer travel planning

 Development of a travel plan

 Implementing the travel plan

Challenges

Challenges: Beat the Street promoting Active travel

School travel planning

Shared mobility

 Car clubs and ride sharing

 Shared bikes

CASE STUDY OF YORK

Example: i-Travel York programme

Introduction to York

sustainable travel

demand for housing and

jobs whilst keeping network

moving and preserving

special character of city

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Introduction to York

schemes in UK

 1990s: Park & Ride - one of first places to introduce

Now a ring of 6 P&R sites

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The LSTF programme

facilities, information enhancements

promotional measures: Bike It, Bike Belles, Cycle

Challenge, annual festival, Sky Rides

planner, travel apps

infrastructure

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programmes: Active Leisure

health walks and social rides,

Bike Belles, Big Challenge

MyTravel York: online information

updates and promotions

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Residential delivery

demographics and transport

services

at different times of day / days of

week

put together for households

community events

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Workplace delivery

and offers relevant to host

organisation: e.g salary sacrifice,

discounted season tickets,

company liftshare scheme etc

in for engaging organisation more

deeply

workplace offer

plan the PTP intervention and to

talk through wider offer

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i-Travel York

 Follow-up surveys with 550 participants from 2013/14

 Broader monitoring shows walking, cycling & public transport use

PTP FOR NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS

The theory

 “Life-change moments” = great time to speak to people

 Research shows how people review their travel needs during a move:

• 87% thought about travel issues at some point in relocation

process

• “Search and selection” stage is when most thought given to travel

• “Post-move” stage: lots of consideration once in new location

• 57% reported a change in main mode for at least one regular

household journey

Before After

 Copenhagen:

 Sample of people given free public transport ticket

 Only those who had moved or changed job increased use

 Stuttgart

 Some new movers to area with good PT given season ticket and

information, others not

Bauberg, Rolle and Weber (2003)

The evidence

An example from York: Derwenthorpe

 New residential estate in York

with 500 homes

 1/3 of homes currently occupied

 Designed as an

‘eco-development’

 Some households bringing in

more cars: will create problems

when fully developed

Photos (c) Jonathan Pow, courtesy of Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Photos (c) Jonathan Pow, courtesy of Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Photos (c) Jonathan Pow, courtesy of Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Transport facilities

 Car-free walk and cycle route through development towards city

centre

 High frequency bus route adjacent to development

 Car club vehicle in development

Design of PTP programme

 Leaflet dropped to all households advertising service and incentives

 Travel advisers try visiting 3 times (day time, evening and Saturday)

 Engage in conversation:

• Baseline survey about household travel patterns

• Description of the transport facilities available

• Offering vouchers and incentives

• Encouraging households to take up a ‘challenge’

 Bespoke resource packs assembled and given to households

 Family Fun Day organised as a finale

Offers developed for the initiative

 Significant incentives:

• £150 voucher towards bike purchase

• £150 voucher towards public transport

season ticket

• Community bike loan scheme

• Car Club membership, plus £50 drive

time

The Family Fun Day

 Community bike loan hand over

 Bike try out session

 Dr Bike

 Travel advice stall

 Treasure hunt for families with young

typical for ‘normal’ PTP

 Before and after surveys show

reported behaviour change of

 12 people took up community

 8 people got bike serviced

 1 person on guided bike ride

 Some families from

neighbouring area

FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR SMARTER CHOICES

Some top tips

 Particularly effective when done in association with service or

infrastructure improvements

 Life-events

 Travel demand management

 Nudge: making sustainable travel options the default

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Integrate with service improvements

Focusing on disruption

Nudge

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