Thursday, October 2 2008
One of the biggest travel projects of its kind outside London was launched in Merseyside this summer.
JMP has been appointed by the Merseyside Local Transport Plan Partnership to manage the Personal Travel Planning project from 2008 – 2011. The aim of the project is to support local people to change their travel behaviour and encourage use of the bus, or cycling and walking as preferred modes of travel - particularly for peak hour trips into Liverpool city centre - and help reduce congestion and carbon emissions.
The initiative which started in July, has initially targeted more than 3,500 households along a popular bus route through Childwall, Liverpool, offering personal travel planning (PTP) advice in a bid to establish sustainable transport patterns in the city region. The first year of the project has been branded TravelWise Childwall and has featured an innovative package of personally tailored support; including free travel passes, public transport information, tips on smarter driving and a local area guide.
Throughout August and September, the JMP TravelWise team has been speaking directly with Childwall residents; knocking on doors and attending local events; to help encourage people to take the bus, cycle or walk.
The Childwall pilot will be evaluated by TTR in autumn, with a view to rolling the scheme out across other areas of Merseyside next year. It is hoped that up to 30,000 people will be approached overall, as part of the three-year project to promote TravelWise journeys across the city region.
A pilot PTP engagement project working with residents of new developments is planned for later this year. The project will incorporate in-depth discussions with householders following an initial approach by letter and will be designed to test whether working with New Movers has a large impact. This will be done by including a ‘control’ group for whom intervention is not offered. It is hoped that the project will help develop ‘best practice’ on the most effective way of engaging with New Movers and identify potential procedures for embedding this approach into development planning and for delivering on an on-going basis.