Page contents
- About this policy
- Measures
- Contribution to LTP4 objectives
- Delivery
- How our policies will affect the way you travel
About this policy
Principles
- Avoid unnecessary petrol car use by reducing the number and length of trips needed by improving land use planning, travel planning and levels of digital connectivity.
- Shift travel to more sustainable modes: public transport, walking, and cycling, away from car use.
- Improve emissions intensity and energy efficiency of vehicles and operational efficiency of roads through technology improvements.
Purpose
Awareness campaigns and other activities to encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport and zero emission vehicles (ZEVs).
Policy statement
The measures under our other eight Policy Areas will enable people and goods to travel more efficiently, with less impacts on our environment and our communities. However, they will only help us to achieve our objectives if enough people change their travel behaviour. An ongoing programme of activities to make residents and businesses aware of opportunities to change behaviour, how to do so, and the benefits, will therefore be essential to make sure that enough people travel differently, at least some of the time.
Measures
Continuing and expanding our work to encourage more behaviour change
Given the scale and rate of change required, extensive and effective campaigns are needed to encourage and support the change.
We will roll out a variety of approaches to influence different sectors of the community, building on our successful travel awareness campaigns of the last 20 years, including Travel SMART. For instance, targeted campaigns may focus on raising awareness amongst those travelling to key destinations such as workplaces or retail centres, highlighting the travel options available. The communications will convey key information such as the local and global benefits from reducing the use of cars, particularly large cars using petrol or diesel.
Adopting technology and incentives
Technology provides a range of additional opportunities to influence behaviour, for instance smartphone apps to incentivise particular forms of travel behaviour with digital rewards or scores such as the Love to Ride and BetterPoints app. We will explore the best use and application of these platforms to support our LTP4 objectives.
Exploring mobility credits
Mobility Credits provide an innovative way of delivering targeted transport behaviour change. They can take a number of forms. For example, owners of the most polluting vehicles can be asked to scrap their cars in return for a 'mobility credit'. This credit can then be used to pay for a range of public and shared transport, including buses, trains, bike share, car clubs and car rental. The aim is to reduce car ownership and encourage travel mode shift. If Mobility Credits are linked to Mobility as a Service (MaaS), the credits become part of the wallet people have on the app and can be used to directly pay on selected modes of transport.
For example, Coventry City Council is working with Transport for West Midlands on a 'Mobility Credits' trial. In a national first, Coventry residents with an older, polluting car will be able to exchange their vehicle for mobility credits. The credits can be spent on public transport, as well as new transport modes such as car clubs, bikeshare or new bus services. Anyone taking part in the trial will be able to access their credits through a mobile app, which allows them to plan, book and pay for journeys using mobility credits. We will monitor the results of this and any similar trials.
Contribution to LTP4 objectives
Net zero carbon emissions: Comprehensive behaviour change measures will be important to maximise awareness of each of our other eight Policy Areas and increase the response to the measures. This will help to increase the speed and scale of carbon emissions reduction by making changes across all policy areas that Avoid, Shift and Improve travel.
Sustainable growth: Behaviour change measures will be required to a greater or lesser extent to deliver each of the other eight Policy Areas. For businesses, focus will be particularly on measures to encourage:
- Recognition of the environmental and economic costs of travel and planning to reduce it wherever possible, for instance through more careful route planning or use of online alternatives to travel.
- Adoption of less-polluting modes for business travel and freight wherever possible and encouraging their employees to do so, for instance through workplace travel planning, potentially integrated with incentives delivered through the MaaS system.
- Conversion of commercial fleets to electric vehicles or moving over to using car club vehicles.
Well-connected communities: We will explore the potential for developing a programme of travel training sessions for jobseekers and those who are not currently employed, on a low income or do not tend to use public or shared transport. Our aim is to improve travel options by providing a better understanding of the transport services available, including ticket options, and by meeting any needs to remove travel barriers and broaden travel horizons. This will help to better connect individuals and communities to services and opportunities such as education, training and employment. Mobility credits will also provide the opportunity to support sustainable travel choices and social mobility. For instance, supporting jobseekers with mobility credit allowances would open up opportunities for accessing employment and training. These measures could potentially be linked with job centres and university programmes to identify individuals in need, and support their travel needs.
Clean air and excellent quality of life: We will promote the health and wider benefits associated with a shift to active travel modes, along with the benefits of using public and share transport and moving to ZEVs which include improved local air and noise pollution. Increasing levels of travel mode shift and ZEV uptake will bring communities benefits ranging from reduced traffic intrusion and associated impacts to improvements in health and air quality. Measures will include empowering and encouraging young people and their parents to walk, cycle or scoot to school, improving their health and wellbeing, bringing environmental benefits and building healthy habits for the future, as well as improving road safety around schools.
Delivery
Interaction with other Policy Areas
Behaviour change measures will be required to a greater or lesser extent to deliver each of the other eight Policy Areas. We will promote and support the other eight LTP4 Policy Areas and encourage a change in travel habits. Changes will include steps to shop and live more locally, use online services more, walk or cycle wherever possible, use public or shared transport for longer journeys, and understand the need to pay more to park and for certain speed limits to be lowered. Experience highlights that the most successful behaviour change campaigns focus on incentives and encouragement, rather than on telling people what ought to be done.
Sustainable schools travel
We will continue to build on our successful Sustainable Schools Travel Strategy to empower and encourage young people and their parents to walk, cycle or scoot to school, improving their health and wellbeing, bringing environmental benefits and building healthy habits for the future. This has strong links to, and is also discussed under, the Active travel and personal mobility policy area.
As part of our work with schools, we will also continue to roll out school travel plans using the national Modeshift STARS online portal and will promote and market these services to schools throughout Surrey.
Vision Zero
As outlined under our Efficient Network Management Policy Area, we are currently developing a new Road Safety Strategy for Surrey. This is built upon 'Vision Zero', with the aim to achieve a highway system with no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic. This links to the Sustainable Schools Travel Strategy through our road safety outside schools policy . We will develop focussed behaviour change measures to promote and facilitate these strategies.
COVID-19 recovery
The period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic offers a one-off opportunity to achieve behaviour change, as evidence shows that people are most willing to alter behaviour during periods of change. As a 'new normal' emerges after COVID-19 restrictions, there will be opportunities to influence the form it takes. We will provide the awareness raising, information, and incentives required to maximise uptake of our other Policy Areas and ensure we achieve all the LTP4 objectives, creating a greener, safer, healthier Surrey for all.
How our policies will affect the way you travel
Find out how this policy and our other transport plan policies will affect how you choose to travel:
