CORDIS Archive

Project period:

1st January 1998 to 31st October 1998

Date:

February 1999

Research Co-ordinator:

University College London (UK)

Administrative Co-ordinator:

Transport and Travel Research Ltd (UK)

Partners:

PLS Consult A/S (DK)
Delft University of Technology (NL)
TMT Pragma (IT)
University of Zürich (CH)
RATB Romania (RO)

The Partnership

• University College London, Bartlett School of Planning, London, United Kingdom
  Research Co-ordinator

• Transport and Travel Research Ltd, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
  Administrative Co-ordinator

  Partners
  

• T.M.T. PRAGMA SRl., Rome, Italy
  
• PLS Consult A/S, Aarhus, Denmark
  
• Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
  
• Regio Autonoma de Transport Bucuresti, Bucharest, Romania
  
• Zürich University, Zürich, Switzerland
  
• TRENDS Europe, Athens, Greece

  Objectives
  This project aims to identify the types of measure which are available to promote travel reduction, and to evaluate the effects and potential of these measures. The project aims to inform transport policy makers by demonstrating good practice in achieving travel reduction across a range of strategies including transport policy, land use planning and the use of technology.

  Technical description
  The project has involved the following components:
  

• Investigation of the nature and scale of the growth in transport in Europe over the last 10 years including levels of car dependence and recent changes in trip purposes, trip distances and trip frequencies, providing the context within which the opportunities for avoiding the need to travel can be assessed; · Development of a comprehensive classification of the range of policy options available to reduce the need to travel incorporating both substitution and switching strategies;
  
• Development of a framework for the assessment of the benefits and impacts of each policy option;
  
• Review of the strategies to avoid the need to travel which have been implemented in each case study, including cities and interurban areas;
  
• Assessment of the impact of these strategies in terms of the scale and nature of changes in trip frequency, modes of travels, destination activity and so on;
  
• Investigation into the potential for each strategy and the barriers to implementation, by means of interviews with local decision makers in each city case study, together with a qualitative assessment of the potential for transferability and comparability of results across Europe;
  
• Production of a quality, publishable exploitation report - the Good Practice Guide - providing details of good practice for the implementation of strategies to avoid the need to travel.

  The project uses a range of case studies from seven European countries to evaluate the implementation and impacts of travel reduction strategies. The principal case study cities are:
  

• Aalborg, DK · Bristol, UK
  
• Bucharest, RO · Enschede, NL
  
• Rome, IT
  
• Zürich, CH

The project has been carried out over the period from January 1997 to the end of 1998.

Results and conclusions
The project has demonstrated that travel reduction has been achieved over a wide variety of circumstances and by a variety of means: it has been achieved though policies for restraining car use, promoting alternatives to car use, land use planning and technological solutions, and has been demonstrated in all countries studied and at all scales of application. A range of agents and individuals can make valuable contribution to travel reduction, from local authorities and national governments to employers and transport operators.

Broadly, it can be concluded that travel reduction is most likely to occur where a series of policies are in operation which reinforce each other towards the objectives of travel reduction. Thus, examples have been shown in which strategy packages combine restraint on car use with promotion of alternatives (i.e. which include both 'carrot' and 'stick' measures).

The project has also identified three significant caveats. Firstly, it has been seen that 'travel reduction' is often difficult to quantify, and must be deduced indirectly. This means that the assessment of - and potentially the justification for - travel reduction strategies is not necessarily straightforward. Secondly, it has been seen that sometimes travel might be 'pinned down' in one instance, but might be 'released' elsewhere, or that any freed-up vehicles or roadspace may be used by others. This points to the need for a co-ordinated and consistent approach to achieve the best possible results. Thirdly, in some cases any travel reduction 'gains' are overwhelmed by travel growth in a relatively short period of time. Nevertheless, successes of a small magnitude have the potential to be replicated elsewhere to achieve greater travel reduction benefits on a wider scale.

Overall, it has been found that careful development and implementation of policies can create successful conditions in which travel reduction may be achieved. Awareness of potential barriers and pitfalls - cases where contradictory outcomes result - can help achieve success. The role of public information is also particularly important, in order to encourage a change in attitude to travel, and hence a shift in behaviour.

Collaboration sought
The project has closed with the completion of the Good Practice Guide: Encouraging Travel Alternatives: A Guide to Good Practice in Reducing Travel. The results are being exploited by project partners (for a list of contacts see Annex).

Exploitation and dissemination plans
Main dissemination and final project deliverable: the DANTE good practice guide: Encouraging Travel Alternatives: A Guide to Good Practice in Reducing Travel.

The major output of the project is a European Guide to Good Practice in Reducing Travel, entitled "Encouraging Travel Alternatives", aimed at transport professionals and decision-makers. As well as providing examples of some thirty types of travel reduction measure, the Guide also discusses the underlying mechanisms of switching and substitution and the ways in which these might be combined towards the objectives of travel reduction. The Guide also provides comparisons across the case studies and hence the potential for transferability of results. Finally, the Guide discusses the different kinds of barriers to implementation and barriers to realising travel reduction outcomes. With its use of case studies, illustrations and cross-referencing, the Guide aims to present the complexities of travel reduction in an accessible format.

Project results are also due to appear in a special issue of the journal Built Environment (Vol.25, No.2 'Travel Reduction: Policy into Practice'), in various individual papers and in book form.

Contact details

David Banister, Stephen Marshall
Bartlett School of Planning
University College London
22 Gordon Street
London, WC1H 0QB
United Kingdom
Tel: (44) 171 380 7501
Fax: (44) 171 380 7502
Email: d.banister@ucl.ac.uk,
s.marshall@ucl.ac.uk

Laurie Pickup, Sandra Mathers
Transport and Travel Research Ltd.
The Old Estate Office
16/17 Stanton Harcourt
Stanton Harcourt
Oxfordshire, OX8 1RJ
United Kingdom
Tel: (44) 1865 883046
Fax: (44) 1865 880742
Email: ttr_oxford@compuserve.com

Massimo Marciani
T.M.T. PRAGMA SRl.
Via Salaria , 290
00199 Rome
Tel: (39) 6 854 6051
Fax: (39) 6 841 1858
Email: tmt.pragma@iol.it

Jens Peder Kristensen
PLS Consult A/S
Olaf Palmes Alle 20
Aarhus N
Denmark
Tel: (45) 89 44 4800
Fax: (45) 89 44 7833
Email: jpk@pls.dk

Erik Louw, Kees Maat
OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies
Delft University of Technology
Thijsseweg 11
NL-2629 JA Delft
Netherlands
Tel: (31) 15 278 3005
Fax: (31) 15 278 4422
Email: louw@otb.tudelft.nl,
maat@otb.tudelft.nl

Madalina Vitan
Regio Autonoma de Transport
Bucuresti Boulevard Dinicu Golescu nr. 1
77111, Sector 1
Bucuresti
Romania
Tel: (401) 614 7130
Fax: (401) 311 2652
Email: ov.romosan@ratb.kappa.ro

Rico Maggi, Juerg Maegerle
Socioeconomic Center
Zurich University
Bluemlisalpstrasse 10
CH-8006 Zurich
Switzerland
Tel: (411) 2572135
Fax: (411) 252 1690
Email: Rico.Maggi@lu.unisi.ch,
maegerle@sozoec.unizh.ch

Tasos Tilis
TRENDS Europe
9 Kondylaki Street
111 41 Athens
Greece
Tel: (301) 21 10 227
Fax: (301) 22 89 943
Email: trends@compulink.gr

 

ANNEX
DANTE Collaboration Sought

Number	Organisation	Country
1	Glasgow City Council	UK
2	South Gloucestershire Council, Planning Transportation and Environmental Services	UK
3	Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority	UK
4	South Yorkshire PTE	UK
5	Norfolk County Council	UK
6	Bath and North East Somerset Council	UK
7	Merseyside Engineering Group, Liverpool City Council	UK
8	Transportation Department, Birmingham City Council	UK
9	Birmingham City Council 2	UK
10	Health and Transport Research Group, School of Health and Social Welfare, Open University	UK
11	EURONET/ University of West of England, Bristol	UK
12	Nottingham City Council	UK
13	SUSTRANS, Bristol	UK
14	Bristol City Council 1	UK
15	Bristol City Council 2	UK
16	Bristol City Council 3	UK
17	Bristol City Council 4	UK
18	Bristol City Council 5	UK
19	Bristol City Councillor	UK
20	CityLine, Bristol	UK
21	The Boots Company, Nottingham	UK
22	The Boots Company, Facilities Management, Nottingham	UK
23	Hewlett Packard, Bristol	UK
24	York City Council	UK
25	Environment Unit, Huddersfield	UK
26	Department of the Environment, Transport & the Regions	UK
27	Transport 2000 Ltd	UK
28	Wiltshire Transport 2000	UK
29	Centre for Housing Research & Urban Studies	UK
30	National Federation of Bus Users	UK
31	WS Atkins South West	UK
32	London Borough of Camden	UK
33	Cork Corporation	Ireland
34	Interactions Ltd	Ireland
35	Dublin Corporation	Ireland
36	Municipality of Rotterdam (PIR)	NL
37	Municipality of Rotterdam 2	NL
38	Stockholm County Council	Sweden
39	Danish Environmental Protection Agency 1	Denmark
40	Danish Environmental Protection Agency 2	Denmark
41	City of Copenhagen, Road Division	Denmark
42	Akershus County	Norway
43	POLIS	Belgium
44	Car Free Cities Network/ Eurocities, Brussels	Belgium/ Network
45	European Sustainable Cities	Belgium/ Network
46	Comune di Bologna	Italy
47	ATAC Roma	Italy
48	ORL Institut	Switzerland
49	EcoPlan	Switzerland
50	Tiefbauamt der Stadt Zürich	Switzerland
51	Synergo - Planning and Project Management	Switzerland
52	Synergo 2	Switzerland
53	University of St. Gall SIASR	Switzerland
54	Abay & Meier, Zürich	Switzerland
55	Metron Verkehrsplanung AG, Brugg	Switzerland
56	Stadpolizei Zürich	Switzerland
57	Dienst für Gesamtverkehrsfragen, Zürich	Switzerland
58	SNZ Ingenieu Buro AG	Switzerland
59	Büro für Verkehrsökologie/ ZEUS Project, Bremen	Germany
60	City of Bremen	Germany
61	COREM Project Co-ordinator, Institute of Shipping Economics, Bremen	Germany
62	AUSIAS Project Co-ordinator, Electronic Traffic SA, Valencia	Spain
63	GEA 21, Madrid/ Muncipality of Aranjuez	Spain
64	Bucharest Municipality 1	Romania
65	Bucharest Municipality 2	Romania
66	Bucharest Municipality 3	Romania
67	Bucharest Municipality 4	Romania
68	Bucharest Municipality 5	Romania
69	Bucharest Municipality 6	Romania
70	INCERTRANS S.A.	Romania
71	LPT Operator of Suceava City	Romania
72	Primaria Mucipiului Suceuva	Romania
7	Hunedoara County Council 1	Romania
74	Hunedoara County Council 2	Romania
75	Cityhall 6th District	Romania
76	LPT Operator of Sf. Gheorghe City	Romania
77	Arges District Council 1	Romania
78	Arges District Council 2	Romania
79	Arges District Council 3	Romania
80	LPT Operator of Arad City	Romania
81	Romanian Union of Public Transport Operators	Romania
82	LPT Operator of Sibiu City	Romania
83	Bucharest Traffic Police 1	Romania
84	Bucharest Traffic Police 2	Romania
85	LPT Operator of Galati City	Romania
86	"Aer Pur" Romania	Romania
87	Sibiu Municipality	Romania
88	LPT Operator of Constanta City	Romania
89	Urban Design Centre	Romania
90	Metrorex	Romania
91	Ministry of Transport	Romania
92	Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus	Belarus