An in-depth survey of travel behaviour in two English towns and one city has revealed the huge potential for reducing car traffic and tackling congestion through relatively small and simple changes to people’s daily travel patterns. The research, conducted by Socialdata in collaboration with Sustrans, the UK’s leading sustainable transport charity, shows that walking, cycling or public transport provide practical alternatives for up to 54 per cent of local car trips.
Over four thousand people in Lowestoft, Watford and Exeter were surveyed and the results provide a snapshot of how people travel and, importantly, the changes that are possible to improve the quality of life for everyone.
In a typical week residents of these places spend an average of one hour every day travelling and average daily travel distance is around 14 miles. The greatest proportion of trips are made for leisure reasons, with shopping and work each accounting for around one in five trips and one in ten trips are for school or educational reasons.
Nearly 25 per cent of all trips are made on foot, just over three per cent by bike and eight per cent by public transport. Almost two thirds of trips are in a car, with 43 per cent as a driver and 21 per cent as a passenger.
But, while the evidence suggests an ongoing reliance on the car, Sustrans’ researchers discovered that nearly all residents are unhappy with this trend – 87 per cent of residents think that car traffic has increased over the past few years and the overwhelming majority judged this negatively. At the same time, there is massive support for alternatives such as walking, cycling and public transport, with nine out of ten people considering sustainable transport to be a priority for planners and policy makers.
The vast majority of car trips are within the town or city and of these around 40 per cent are under two miles, a distance that could easily be travelled by most people on foot or by bike. When you add to this the fact that nearly a half of all car trips (48 per cent) could be replaced by walking, cycling or public transport without the need for any improvements to transport infrastructure, the research concludes that there is a real opportunity to make a significant change.
Sustrans’ TravelSmart Project Manager Rob Wall explains the significance of the work: “The information reveals the enormous potential for people to occasionally leave their car at home and use alternative transport. This has very clear benefits - if everyone replaced just one return car journey per week with another way of travelling traffic would be reduced by more than 10% and people would be on the way to taking their recommended 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least five times a week. This research challenges the notion that people are unable to make changes. We look forward to working with councils in these areas to see these results turned into the positive action that will make a real difference to people’s lives.”
The project is being funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Wellbeing Programme as part of a consortium of leading walking, cycling and health organisations.
Source: Sustrans
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New research shows it is possible to leave our cars at home more often
