LTP 2006 Appendices

Rationale

The West Midlands Area Multi Modal Study (WMAMMS) showed that, with a concerted long-term effort, it would be possible to achieve up to a 15% modal shift in 30 years through improved information, awareness and lifestyle changes, including existing initiatives such as TravelWise. This is more cost effective than building infrastructure to cope with peak demand.  This LTP therefore reflects these recommendations, placing great emphasis on improving travel awareness in order to start to change travel behaviour.

We recognise that car users need to be aware of adequate, attractive and robust alternatives to how and when they use their cars prior to attempting to shift their travel behaviour. Infrastructure and service developments are required to support any such communications campaign.  (If people trial new ways of travelling but are disappointed with the result, they will resort to their old habits and it will be even more difficult to change attitudes second time round).

Current National, Regional & Local Policies

National – In the DfT document, Transport 2010 - The Ten-Year Plan, travel plans are considered key to encouraging a switch from the car to more sustainable modes of transport, with a particular emphasis on work and school journeys.  In A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone, the DfT recognises that a change in travel behaviour is possible for many people.  These documents set out the improvements to infrastructure required to make the change to alternative modes of travel possible.

National planning guidance in the form of PPG13 also promotes the move away from sole occupancy car journeys, by limiting the amount of parking allowed through the planning process.  The guidance states that developers should not develop schemes on the assumption that the car will be the only realistic means of travel to the site. It also requires the developer to produce a travel plan for sites over a certain size.  They are also required for sites that may generate a significant amount of travel in or near Air Quality Management Areas.  The guidance states that planning obligations may be used to achieve improvements to public transport, walking and cycling facilities, where such measures would influence travel patterns.

Smarter Choices - The region is working to the guidelines set out in the DfT ‘Smarter Choices’ strategy and is continually putting these guidelines into practice.  This is being achieved through working with companies, schools and the general public, improving provision of information, improvement of services and working in partnership with local bus and rail operators.

There are key policy documents within the NHS that require the development of travel plans and TravelWise initiatives.  These include the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease; the New Environmental Strategy for the NHS, Sustainable Development in the NHS and the Department of Health's Corporate Governance: Controls Assurance.  These ensure that NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts work with local authorities to develop and implement travel plans.

Regional – The Transport Priorities for the West Midlands produced by Advantage West Midlands and the West Midlands Regional Assembly proactively encourage the use of travel plans to promote sustainable transport.  One of the Region’s five Transport Priorities is to 'Promote a change of Hearts and Minds of the Region's population.'  This includes programmes that encourage the use of public transport, more walking and cycling along with a corresponding reduction in the use of the private car.  There is a wish to introduce the issue of demand management in line with thorough research to promote the use of travel plans for sustainable travel and to make information for all modes of transport more readily available.

Regional Planning Guidance, produced by the West Midlands Local Government Association, also supports the idea of travel plans and the promotion of behavioural change. Policy T4 (Promoting Travel Awareness) recommends an emphasis on the promotion of travel plans that encourage people to travel by means other than the car by raising awareness of transport issues and providing information on other forms of transport.  There is also an emphasis on reducing the need to travel by encouraging the use of telecommunications (including the Internet) for the purposes of business and other service provision (Policy T2).

The West Midlands Regional TravelWise Group, which brings together local authorities, health bodies, central government and other organisations such as the Environment Agency, works to co-ordinate and integrate activities across the Region.  This is supplemented by the Metropolitan TravelWise Group that focuses on Metropolitan issues and uses the Regional Group to ensure effective cross boundary working.

Local – Each authority has its own development plan, which promotes sustainable transport and the use of travel plans through the planning process.  For example in Coventry, one of the key policies is to provide 'an integrated, accessible and sustainable transport strategy'.  Coventry hopes to achieve this through developing and co-ordinating transport facilities in partnership with other bodies including businesses and by promoting alternatives to the use of the private car.

Objectives

We are aiming to achieve 5% modal change through Hearts and Minds/Smarter Choices campaigns by the end of the plan period.  If this can be achieved it will make a significant contribution, not only in transport terms but to the wider goal of improving the quality of life in the West Midlands, and have wider implications and benefits for the community.

• Economic Revitalisation – By playing a vital role in changing travel habits and helping to reduce congestion, smarter choices actively  will have a direct impact on the economic prosperity of the region, making it more attractive place to work, live and to invest.
  • Company TravelWise is a major campaign in the delivery of TravelWise across the region.  This involves companies in the adoption of travel plans, and encourage them to become more actively involved in the travel debate, and more aware of the role and contribution they can make.  This is essential for successful long-term modal shift.  Companies are beginning to recognise a benefit from developing a Travel Plans and TravelWise initiatives, particularly where they currently have problems with parking or difficulties recruiting staff.  Such schemes can improve the operational efficiency of the company.They also encourage a better use of land, using the space for economic benefit rather than for car parking.  Partnership working is increasingly used to deliver benefits to residents of the West Midlands.  These include working with Primary Care Trusts and the British Heart Foundation on health campaigns relating to TravelWise; the CTC and Sustrans on cycling infrastructure and initiatives such as Bike Week, In Town Without My Car Day and Walk to School Week.
• Social Inclusion & Accessibility  – any Smarter Choices campaign must adopt an inclusive approach.  While it includes initiatives to encourage modal shift, a significant focus is on improving the dissemination, availability and accessibility of information to the public , many of whom are already using sustainable modes.  This can be achieved through personalised Travel Planning initiatives to make it easier to find out how to make a journey and increase access to services.
  • Some companies are working directly with Centro and the operators to enhance public transport access to their site.  This provides improved services for employees (or potential employees) who do not have access to a car.  In the most disadvantaged areas, local pockets of high unemployment can be linked through public transport or other transport schemes to companies having difficulties recruiting.  This can have a great impact on the economics of the area.  There is also work to promote access to social facilities such as leisure facilities, shopping centres, banks and post offices.
  • The WorkWise project that is designed to increase accessibility to employment opportunities has successfully been piloted in Sparkhill, Chelmsley Wood and Walsall.  The project involves personalised journey planning advice and free tickets for job seekers to attend interviews or take-up new jobs and has assisted over 4000 people since its inception in 2003.
  • Coventry have piloted the first ever Urban Wheels to Work Scheme.  It is run by Connexions on behalf of Coventry City Council.  This scheme targets 16 - 24 year olds who do not have access to training or employment due to transport barriers.  The scheme works with them to provide journey planning and to support them travelling to their place of training or work.  If there are no travel options available to them, they are put forward for the moped part of the scheme.  This gives the young person Compulsory Basic Training on a moped and all the safety clothing required.  They are also loaned a moped for up to 12 months.  During this period Connexions staff work with the young person to ensure that they find alternative transport by the end of the 12 month period.  This could be car sharing with a friend or colleague or even buying their own moped.  Although this scheme has been run elsewhere in predominantly rural areas, this is the first scheme based in a fully urban area.  It is being used as an example across the country of how an urban scheme could work.
• Sustainable Travel Patterns – The strategy aims to encourage a switch in modal choice to more sustainable modes such as public transport, walking, cycling or home working and to retain current public transport users.  A long-term approach to changing travel behaviour will be essential for sustaining any modal shift achieved in the life of this LTP.  Creating relationships through campaigns targeted at key audiences such as schools, universities, business and the community will reinforce sustainable travel patterns.
• Health & Safety – Smarter Choices campaigns will develop initiatives to encourage people to walk, cycle and be more physically active.  Lower car use could also result in safety benefits such as a reduction in child road accident rates and reduced stress from congestion.  This particularly relates to the work carried out with schools.
  • To ensure the link between health and transport Birmingham City Council has established an Active Travel Group.  The aim of this group is to promote and encourage walking, cycling and walking to public transport services as a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  It brings together officers from sustainable transport, school travel plan officers and Centro plus representatives from the four Primary Care Trusts, British Heart Foundation, Walk 2000 and Walk Your Way to Health.
• Integration – Success in changing travel behaviour will only be achieved through integration - Integration of Smarter Choices campaigns and initiatives in tandem with infrastructure improvements; integration of communication to ensure a common agreement; integration with stakeholders to enhance information and best practice sharing.  The dialogue, which is developed between the companies, schools, the local community and the local authorities has been found to be mutually beneficial, by being able to provide the appropriate level of assistance when it is required.
  • The integration between the different modes of transport can also be enhanced by working with the providers of public transport services, local authority transport planners and local taxi firms.  This can then provide ease of access to one mode from another.  The framework established by the LTP allows close integration of policy initiatives and local programmes are developed to maximise this synergy.

Role of Travelwise / Travel Plans

TravelWise is a well established initiative seeking to promote changes in travel behaviour with a combination of targeted action and ongoing publicity / campaigns.

In July 2004 a TravelWise initiative in Birmingham won the National Transport Association's award for Travel Planning.  Mitchells and Butlers, one of the UK's largest entertainment outlets, won the award for their innovative work in reducing car use.  The scheme included appointing a full time internal TravelWise co-ordinator, carrying out travel surveys, offering discounted public transport tickets via the Company TravelWise scheme along with a relocation package, setting up an in-house car-share scheme and provision of cycling facilities.

In November 2005 the West Midlands Regional TravelWise Group were recognised at a naional event when they won the award for 'Best Travel Awareness Campaign' at the National TravelWise Association conference in London.  The group was chosen for the award because of the success of TravelWise Week 2002, 2003 and 2004 and the TravelWise 2005 campaign.  The group was nominated for the award because it founded TravelWise Week in 2002 and has worked continuously since the first event on raising awareness of the TravelWise cause through events, media work, publicity and a dedicated website.

TravelWise has a well known identity that can be built on to assist in the delivery of the wider Hearts and Minds / Smarter Choices strategy.  To date, whilst a common logo has been used for all initiatives, the initiatives themselves have been focussed on delivering local priorities across a range of themes.  The development of a clear strategy framework into which such initiatives can fit and reinforce each other will be an important step forward.  The National TravelWise Association is supported by the West Midlands Regional Group.  Their initiatives contribute to the overall objective of the LTP by helping to encourage a shift in mode and a more sustainable pattern of travel.  There are however a number of other specific benefits as set out below:

Strategy

The Smarter Choices communication plan is central to delivery of the transport strategy.  The aim is to obtain public buy-in to transport issues by appealing to both the emotional and logical aspects of the debate and thereby begin to achieve a behavioural shift and develop more sustainable patterns of travel.

Bringing about behavioural change is fundamental to this strategy and maintaining a strong programme of Smarter Choices focused activity over the next 30 years will be essential to capitalise on these beginnings and reinforce any modal shift.  However this plan deals only with strategy up to 2011.

The immediate communications programme will adopt a phased approach.  It should guide people through the thought process in a logical manner – firstly, raising awareness of the need, then informing and educating, making the debate more personal before finally encouraging the trial of alternative modes and in the longer term encouraging repeat behaviour.  This will be achieved by four broad initiatives aimed at:

• Companies
• Schools
• General Public
• Developers

The Smarter Choices initiatives will contribute to the overall objectives of the LTP by helping to encourage a shift in mode to increase the number of bus passengers to 355 million by 2011, to increase the number of Metro passengers to 5.8 million by 2011, to assist with the target on cycling and generally establish a more sustainable pattern of travel.

Companies

As stated in the Government's Smarter Choices strategy, Travel Plans are a package of measures adopted by an organisation designed to help them satisfy their travel needs in the most sustainable way practical.  Company TravelWise is the model being used by the LTP Authorities to help local organisations prepare Travel Plans.  It involves working with employees and focuses on their business trips and how they travel to work.  Company TravelWise originated with Birmingham City Council.  Centro and Travel West Midlands are key partners in the scheme.  LTP Authorities are now working with a variety of large and smaller employers across the West Midlands Metropolitan Area.

Monitoring of the initial Company Travel Plans shows significant successes in the majority of companies in affecting modal split, with clear reductions in car use (more than 5% in three years).  In cases where this has not been achieved, changed conditions, such as an office relocation to a less accessible site for public transport, can be identified.

To affiliate to Company TravelWise organisations need to sign the Company TravelWise pledge, which states that the company will 'work towards reducing the environmental and congestion impacts of the organisation's transport activities, with particular reference to employee travel'.  There is no fee involved.

Currently organisations are identified in two main ways.  The first is an analysis of the major employers within each authority to identify the largest employers to target.  The second is through the Development Control process whereby planning applications are monitored to identify those where Travel Plans are appropriate.

The Local Authority helps the organisation to conduct a staff travel survey and make an audit of its own transport policies and practices.  From the results an 'Action Plan' is produced and presented to the organisation.  This contains a list of things they need to do to honour the pledge.  Companies may also receive a postcode map showing where their employees live and how they travel to work.

Local Authorities are working with a number of companies across the area, covering nearly 24% of the West Midlands workforce.  Regular monitoring is undertaken as this is an established LTP target.

In addition to professional advice, Company TravelWise members qualify for special offers.  These are made by 'support companies' with a TravelWise theme who are willing to offer a discount on the product or service they provide.  These include up to 50% saving on annual travelcards and discounts on bicycles and equipment.  The scheme is now regional, so that TravelWise members from across the West Midlands Region can access all the available discounts.

It is important that local authorities lead by example.  Whilst there is still much to be done, progress is being made with local authority travel plans.  Many Authorities now have dedicated Travel Plan Co-ordinators and are working to improve the choices available to council staff.  These include providing Travel Pass schemes, flexible working, cycle facilities, showering facilities and pool cars and bikes.  One example is the former Transportation Department of Birmingham City Council that has achieved a modal transfer from car of some 14% over four years.  Some Chief Officer performance contracts now include targets for reducing car use.

Company Strategy & Target

The strategy is to target employers, industrial estates and business parks.  Where one organisation affiliates, neighbouring organisations are contacted to create 'Area Groups'.  Key employers well served by public transport were the main target but most have now signed up to Company TravelWise.  Therefore innovative new approaches need to be made to recruit smaller companies and those not affected by the planning process.

Good progress has been made with the Health Sector already, with many Hospital and Primary Care Trusts already being active members of the initiative.  Education is also an area being targeted as a specific requirement under the Education Act 2002, both at schools level and at higher education.  Authorities support schools through the Safer Routes to School schemes.  Universities and Colleges are supported through Company TravelWise.

Opportunities for using Section 106 agreements and membership of Company TravelWise as a planning condition will continue to be taken.  It is imperative that we work more closely with Development Control Officers to ensure travel plans are properly monitored.  Developers are provided with information packs offering advice and support with their travel plan and to pass on to final occupiers both business and residential as this is essential to create another avenue for Smarter Choices.

Links with existing business and environmental groups are also being developed.  In Sandwell for example the Black Country Business Environmental Association and Groundwork Black Country also help to promote Company TravelWise.  The Regional TravelWise Group helps officers share expertise and pass on details about interested organisations across the authority boundaries.

Company TravelWise is now the cornerstone of the West Midlands TravelWise Campaign.  It marks a development from 'soft' awareness raising to the delivery of practical help.  It complements initiatives such as Safer Routes to School and Road Safety campaigns.  To ensure a holistic approach links are being established with Cycling Strategies, Local Walking Strategies, Traffic Management, Car Parking Strategies, Air Quality Action Plans, Health Improvement Programmes and, where appropriate, Health Action Zones.

It is recognised that the current review of Local Authority Development Plans is an excellent opportunity to ensure Planning Strategies and Development Control policies contribute to further adoption of travel plans.

Where the preparation and implementation of travel plans and/or membership of Company TravelWise are made a condition of Planning Approval, their delivery needs to be guaranteed.  A working group will be convened with Development Control officers to consider how the quality and effectiveness of a travel plan can be audited and enforced.

Target required by Regional Spatial Strategy: 30% of all employees to work in organisations committed to work place travel plans by 2011.

Schools

The LTP Authorities are working with schools to develop Safer Routes to School schemes ( ‘Safer Routes to School Strategy’).  As part of this, they are developing School Travel Plans.  These promote the alternatives to the car as ways of travelling to and from school to the children, parents and staff.

Over the past twenty years there have been changes in the way that children travel to school.  Car use has doubled, bus and train patronage has remained steady but the proportion of pupils walking and cycling has decreased sharply.  A school travel plan aims to assist in reducing these problems through cutting congestion caused by the school run, reducing traffic danger and supporting pupils who are already travelling by more sustainable means.

Within the West Midlands Metropolitan Area there is now a dedicated team of School Travel Advisors involved in the school travel plan process.  They work closely with staff, pupils and parents to reduce car use on the school run and promote more sustainable modes of transport including walking, cycling and public transport.  It is important to focus upon these aspects while at a younger age to shape pupils travel habits for the future.  School travel plans not only benefit the school and its pupils but also the wider community.

Advisors are located in all authorities, including Centro.  They meet regularly within the region to share best practice and to inform each other of new developments in the school travel area.  School travel is now linked to a number of other school initiatives including Healthy Schools, Every Child Matters and the Children’s Act.

In aiming to improve school travel and the travel plan process grant funding is now available to all schools (excluding independents) who have a travel plan that meet national guidelines.  For primary schools this is approximately £5,000 and for secondary schools £10,000.  This is a good way to get schools on board the travel plan process and also enables the school to introduce sustainable measures such as cycle parking facilities, waiting shelters for parents and bus turning circles.

In addition to developing new school travel plans School Travel Advisors provide ongoing support to help schools to implement, monitor and review their travel plans using measures such as:

• Walking buses
• Park and Stride initiatives
• Public transport improvements and promotion; working with Local Authorities and Centro
• Car Sharing
• Promoting annual events such as Walk to School Week, Bike Week, TravelWise Week
• Cycle Training
• Safer Routes to School Schemes

Centro’s involvement in School Travel Plans includes the following supporting activities:

• Bus behaviour issues
• Provision of public transport information
• Journey planning
• Educational workshops including how to read a bus / rail timetable
• Supporting walking, cycling and car sharing

Current Policies

School travel plans are now linked to many different initiatives including the following:

• Making Smarter Choices Work DfT
• Travelling to School – An Action Plan DfES/DfT
• National Healthy School Standard  - The school travel plan is in the physical activity element part 7 where it looks at encouraging walking and cycling in safe conditions using the School Travel Plan.
• ‘Safe Routes to School project’ – aims to increase the number of young people walking and cycling to school through the provision of safe routes and the promotion of these modes in school travel plans.

Increased Travel

With the increase in the number of extended schools more pupils are now undertaking before and after school activities.  This means that more journeys are being made outside normal school start and finish times by both pupils and practitioners who run these programmes.  In many cases more children are now travelling greater distances to access their preferred educational establishment.  The vocational curriculum also means that more children now need to travel to other educational establishments during school time.

Targets

LTP Target required by Regional Spatial Strategy: This target is for 100% of schools to have travel plans by 2011.  This is a national target set by DfT and DfES and the grant funding is set to support the target in conjunction with the recently extended funding for the Local Authority School Travel Advisors.

Mandatory LTP Target: The following target may be adopted in 2007/8 when monitoring issues have been resolved: No reduction in the ratio between the total number of pupils and the total number of car journeys to school between baseline and 2010/11.

General Public

The general public have been targeted through the West Midlands Regional campaign of TravelWise Week, held in the autumn each year.  The week promotes the different modes available for all types of journeys; journeys to work, to school and leisure journeys.

The aim of the these events is to raise awareness and promote the use of sustainable travel for all journeys and to link into the Department for Transport Smarter Choices campaign which aims to ‘balance the need to travel with the aim of improving quality of life’.

Community TravelWise

The region is currently looking for funding to take forward the Community TravelWise project.  The scheme will be launched in the West Midlands and then rolled out to the rest of the country for adaptation to suit local circumstances.

The aim of Community TravelWise would be to take the TravelWise Smarter Choices approach into places of worship, community groups, leisure facilities and community centres.  This would facilitate enhanced community involvement and ownership of transport issues on a local level.  It could also encourage their users to incorporate the TravelWise concept into their everyday lives on their journeys to work and/or the 'school run'.

Community TravelWise could also assist in overcoming issues of social inclusion and potentially act as a useful tool for the implementation of Accessibility Planning.

Developers

Residential Travel Planning

A residential travel plan is an important tool for delivering accessible communities.  The aims are to reduce the need for car use with added benefits in terms of reduced traffic, congestion, air pollution and accidents.  It achieves this by improving accessibility to local facilities through improving travel choices such as public transport services.  It also increases scope for child-friendly housing layouts with fewer vehicle movements and parking areas and improved access by the wider community to residential developments by sustainable modes of transport.

The aim will be to work with developers and to assist with the implementation of a wide range of services for example:

• Provision of travel welcome packs
• Discounted use of public transport
• Discounted cycles and cycle equipment
• Discounted use of car club
• Cycling / walking maps
• Public transport information
• Personal travel advice
• Information about access to other services and facilities
• Cycle training
• Community travel web site
• Community travel notice-board
• Community travel events
• Bicycle user group / buddy scheme

The benefits to developers and new residents are apparent.  Future residents are likely to be attracted by sites which offer a wide range of transport benefits and an environment where the intrusion of cars and traffic is minimised.

Communications

We will continue to highlight where schemes and improvements have been delivered to time and to budget, and to clearly communicate the case for improvements and LTP investment.  Part of the Smarter Choices communications work is to ensure that transport is also set in the correct context as a means to an end in terms of providing the right conditions for economic growth, greater social inclusion and an improved environment. It is especially important that ‘Hearts and Minds’ communication uses a wide range of appropriate techniques and pathways for messages including specialist BME radio and TV channels as well as publications and other means such as targeted posters, flyers and ‘product placement. ‘Hearts and minds’ communications need to include other messages about good environmental practice (defensive driving) and better road safety practice (lower speeds, responsible pedestrian behaviour, cycling with lights, etc)

As part of the overall Smarter Choices strategy, communications on improvements and investment in all modes will be continued including cycling, walking, highway improvements and maintenance, urban traffic control, and major schemes.  Evidence of this is provided by the planned work during 2006/7 to communicate and promote the Network West Midlands roll out.

Other supporting communications work will continue to focus on promoting improvements to facilities and services, for example promoting Real Time Information as it is installed on bus routes, highlighting investment in park and ride facilities, raising awareness of refurbished interchanges, along with promotion of other initiatives that make up the total travel experience, like safety and security improvements.

Another feature of planned communications will be to target specific ‘trigger groups’ which have a heightened potential to retain on, or convert to, using public transport services.

Centro will also ensure its current comprehensive tactical promotion of rail services, ticketing and supported services, concessionary travel and capital scheme improvements, supports and integrates with the Smarter Choices communications work being undertaken.

Consultation

Two studies have been completed across the Metropolitan Area.  They are the West Midlands Area Multi Modal Study (WMAMMS) and the Coventry Area Network Study (CANS).  The studies reviewed the current transport provision in the two areas covered and, as part of the study, consultation took place with the public and stakeholder organisations, such as public transport providers.  Both studies recognised the need to provide a reliable and viable alternative to the car, by making the use of public transport, walking & cycling more attractive to the general public.  The WMAMMS in particular focussed on the development of the role of 'hearts and minds' in order to change travel behaviour and travel habits.  It is believed that current initiatives cost some £1 million per annum over the whole Metropolitan Area.  WMAMMS recommended an integrated package with greater emphasis on:

• Standardised approach to TravelWise
• Co-ordinated multi-modal travel information
• Travel Plans across the West Midlands Metropolitan area
• Better walking & cycling provision
• School Travel
• Staggered working hours – including flexi time
• Teleworking – including working from home
• Home shopping
• Health & transport initiatives
• Car sharing & car-pooling schemes
• More comfortable public transport with a better image and branding

In the longer term it recommends that a 'state of the art' travel awareness programme is needed.  The framework outlined in the first part of this section seeks to establish this.

Further consultation happens with the companies and schools developing Travel Plans and TravelWise initiatives.  There is staff consultation in the companies and consultation with parents, children and staff in the schools.  This ensures that any planned projects or schemes are successful.  This is because everyone affected has been involved in their development.

Transport Innovation Fund

This fund, established by the Department for Transport, is intended to support innovative approaches to reducing congestion.  The West Midlands Metropolitan Area is one of a number of areas that expressed an interest in seeking funding from this source.

A bid for funding has now been submitted.  Specifically, the TIF bid proposes an in-depth feasibility study, which will identify current and predicted levels of traffic congestion within the conurbation, examine all practical forms of demand management and examine a comprehensive range of options for tackling this.  The study will include exploration of the potential for undertaking pilot project(s) in the West Midlands to examine the longer-term option of flexible road pricing and to investigate complementary transport measures.  The feasibility study will combine technical work with continued consensus building - we will be proactive in engaging with politicians, stakeholders and the public alike, at the appropriate time - within the conurbation.

Funding from this source could support and complement Smarter Choices activities.