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Adelaide City Council’s Integrated Movement Strategy

CHANGING TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR

Discussion Paper 5

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1 INTRODUCTION

Adelaide City Council is currently drafting a new Integrated Movement Strategy that will become its framework

for movement and transport issues in the City.

Currently in the early stages of exploring ideas for the Strategy, Council wants to facilitate a greater

understanding of the issues and get a feel for a range of opinions on some preliminary ideas. It has,

therefore, prepared a series of discussion papers on different aspects of movement and transport in the city.

The papers aim to inform you about some of the main issues and to suggest a range of potential

strategies. The proposed strategies are not necessarily those that will form part of the Integrated

Movement Strategy, nor do they form part of Council’s official position on the issue.

This Discussion Paper is number 5 in a series of 7 and addresses changing travel behaviour. It is not

intended to be a complete discussion, but includes only those topics on which we are seeking input to our

proposed solutions.

We are seeking comment on the proposed strategies. The key proposed strategies are:

Implementation of Travel Behaviour Programs

Better promotion of sustainable transport options through events

Better promotion of sustainable transport options through education and awareness campaigns

Better information for sustainable transport options

Expansion of the City Car Share scheme

Better support for taxis in the city

Expansion of the Free City Bike scheme

Development of a City of Adelaide car pool website

Reduce parking levels in the city

The full list of Discussion Papers is:

Discussion Paper 1 - Managing the city’s movement network

Discussion Paper 2 - Sharing street space

Discussion Paper 3 - Transport and movement in the Park Lands

Discussion Paper 4 - Night time transport and movement

Discussion Paper 5 - Changing travel behaviour

Discussion Paper 6 - Parking

Discussion Paper 7 - Supporting the city

All the discussion papers are available at Your Say Adelaide.

For more information on Council’s overarching Strategic Plan that guides the vision and objectives of the

Integrated Movement Strategy, read Help Shape the Future of your City.

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HEALTH RISKS of inactivity

are 20 times greater than

the risk of a potential

cycling accident.

2 HOW TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK

Your feedback is valued. We would specifically like to know whether you generally support the strategy

options detailed in Section 5.

To provide feedback, use the relevant discussion blog on our Transport in the city webpage.

Alternatively, fill in the feedback form at the back of this paper. You can either return it via e-mail to

n.nash@adelaidecitycouncil.com, or post it to: Nick Nash Adelaide City Council GPO Box 2252 ADELAIDE

SA 5001.

Or you can simply e-mail your comments to n.nash@adelaidecitycouncil.com.

3 CONTEXT

3.1 Why We Need Travel Behaviour Change?

Adelaide is one of the most car dominated cities in the world, with up to 82%1 of trips undertaken by car.

While the journey to work for city trips by car is better at 56%2 it is still considered high compared to other

prosperous Australian capital cities (such as, Sydney 30%, Melbourne 42%).

Given the population growth projections for the city and inner rim suburbs, as per the 30 Year Plan for Greater

Adelaide, the associated travel increases are likely to be accompanied by extensive congestion should current

travel patterns and behaviours be sustained. A preliminary analysis suggests that potentially an additional

205,000 trips (about a 42% increase) will be travelling to, from and within the city by 2038. This suggests that

if residential and business growth in the city is to be achieved in an environmentally sustainable and

uncongested manner, then a substantial proportion of existing and potential future car trips need to occur on

public transport, bike, foot or car share schemes.

Our current travel behaviours and associated reliance on the car is a significant concern for governments (at

all levels) on account of:

Congestion costs: Significant costs are associated with urban congestion. In 2005, congestion was

estimated to cost Adelaide’s economy $0.6 billion, which is forecasted to increase to $1.1 billion by 20203.

Road safety trauma & costs: In Australia, about 1,700 people die from road crashes each year. Just in

Adelaide City over the last 5 years (2006 to 2010) there has been about 2,230 casualty crashes recorded

involving five fatalities. In addition to the personal trauma experienced, the costs associated with an unsafe

road environment are enormous. The annual economic cost of road crashes in Australia was conservatively

estimated to be at least $18 billion in 2005.

Living affordability: Owning and running cars represents a major cost for households, accounting for 15-

20% of expenditure by South Australian households. These costs can be a source of financial stress and are

likely to increase as fuel prices rise.

Decline in health and fitness: As more trips are made by car, fewer are

made (in part or entirely) by walking or cycling – up to 45% of South

Australian adults do not engage in sufficient physical activity for good

health. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease

and other preventable conditions that impact on the public health budget.

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Journey to Work (JTW) 2006 data

2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Journey to Work (JTW) 2006 data

3 BTRE Estimating Urban Traffic and Congestion Cost Trends for Australian Cities, Working Paper No. 71

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High levels of carbon emissions: Greenhouse gases from transport

are a significant and growing component of South Australia’s total

emissions. In 2006, transport accounted for 50% of City of Adelaide’s

carbon emissions.

Cars are an inefficient use of road space: Cars are large users of

space (see Figure 1) both when moving and stationary, and especially

when carrying only one occupant. To date, the public realm of the city

has been significantly compromised to accommodate the car. To

achieve good sustainable transport outcomes in more and more places

throughout the city, some of this space will be needed for other, more

efficient uses, including wider footpaths for pedestrians, bus lanes and

cycle lanes.

3.2 Key Travel Behaviour Initiatives by Council

Travel Behaviour Programs

Council in the past has been involved in Travel Smart programs, but not actively since late 2007. Council

developed its first Green Travel Plan in December 2003. The Green Work Place Travel Plan was

implemented successfully for a period of 3 years, in which a number of actions were delivered by Council

including (but not limited to):

Discounted public transport tickets for staff

Improvement of the cycling end trip facilities for staff

Regular 10,000 Step Challenges where pedometers were available for staff to borrow

Participation in relevant awareness raising events that encouraged sustainable travel behaviour e.g. Ride

to Work Day, Parking Day

Development and delivery of CycleSafe courses, combining classroom and on-road bicycle skills training

(in partnership with Bicycle SA)

Council no longer formerly participates in the Green Work Place Travel Plan despite the successes that were

achieved. A 2007 staff survey indicated 57% of staff travelled to work by public transport, 12% that drove car

pooled, 5% cycled and 3% walked. The greatest success of the Plan was that 20% of respondents that

participated in Green Travel Plan activities changed their travel mode to work from car to bike, foot or public

transport to some degree.

City Car Share Scheme

Currently Adelaide has seven car share vehicles located on-street in the city with operator GoGet. The car

share scheme has predominately been used by residents, but is available for business use. The current

scheme requires members of the scheme to make reservations in advance, pay by the hour and pick up and

return cars from the same location.

Free City Bike Scheme

The Free City Bike fleet currently comprises 180 bikes at seven bike nodes located throughout the city. The

scheme is currently maintained and operated by Bike SA under a sponsorship agreement with Council. The

scheme has been supported with a 30% increase in use annually from 2006 to 2010. The predominant users

of the scheme (70%) are tourists. The current scheme requires users to hire a bike from one of the seven

Free City Bike outlets between 9am and 4.30pm and return the bike to the place of hire.

Figure 1: Space efficiency of various modes of

personal transport

Source: Melbourne Transport Strategy update 2011

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About 50% OF TRIPS TO CITY

are under 10 km….

which can easily be carried

out by BIKE

3.3 Key Initiatives DPTI Support

The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) has been running Travel Behaviour Change

programs and developing initiatives in conjunction with local government since the early 2000s. DPTI has

proactively initiated these programs to inform and motivate people to change their travel behaviour through

voluntary and personal choice, as well as support councils to deliver on local and state government targets for

public transport, cycling and walking.

The current travel behaviour (Travel Smart) programs that DPTI currently support are:

Reduction in car work / commute trips through smarter travel @ work: a program that helps businesses to

reduce the number of single occupant trips used for business and commute travel.

Reduction in car household trips through TravelSMART Households: a program that helps residents /

communities to reduce their car use, and promote safer, greener and more active travel.

Reduction in car school trips through Way2Go: a program that supports greener and more active travel for

South Australian primary schools.

Promotion of sustainable transport initiatives through Local Government Partnerships: a program

designed to build collaborative working relationships with South Australian councils to reduce car use.

Promotion of cycling through cycle instead journey planner: a program that generates cycling routes

based on your origin and destination.

3.4 Trends and Patterns

The key trends and patterns that support and impact travel behaviour change are:

More residents in the city: More residents are living in the city. In 2010, the city had an estimated 19,880

residents, which is a 50% increase from 2001 numbers. The 30 Year Plan for Adelaide anticipates about

27,000 new residents in the city; and 37,000 new residents in the city’s inner rim by 2038.

More employees in the city: More people are coming into the city for work. In 2010, the number of jobs in

the city was estimated to be 126,000, which is a 35% increase from 2003 numbers. The 30 Year Plan for

Adelaide projects 50,000 new employees in the city by 2038.

As travel demand increases in the city with the forecast population and

employment growth targets, it is important that a greater proportion of

trips (in particular short trips) are made by sustainable transport modes.

More people accessing the city by bike, foot and public transport:

Data is telling us that more people are walking, cycling and using public

transport to access the city.

Cycling: Journey to work data (JTW)4 shows a 61.5% increase in cycle (work) trips to the city from 2001

to 2006. This is further substantiated by Council cordon counts, which show cycling into the City to have

increased by 40% from 2003 to 2010.

Walking: JTW shows a 61% increase in walking (work) trips to the city from 2001 to 2006. The majority

of people who walked to the city, however, were also shown to live in the city.

Public Transport: JTW data shows a 23% increase in public transport (work) trips to city. This is further

substantiated by DPTI public transport boarding data that shows a 20.6% increase in bus patrons from

2006 to 2010, and a 29% increase in tram patrons since the tram extension in 2008.

4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Journey to Work 2001 and 2006

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Despite the steady growth observed in cycling and walking in the

last decade, the overall mode share is still shown to be low,

representing only 3% and 4% respectively.

Parking is plentiful in the city: The city has over 70,000 car

parks with 31% comprising off-street commercial parking and 24%

on-street parking. The remainder is the ancillary and residential

off-street parking. Due to the large amount of parking available in

the city, the average daily off-street parking fee in Adelaide is the

lowest when compared to other Australian capital cities (see

Figure 2). This makes it difficult to encourage public transport use

when the differential price between parking and public transport is

marginal.

3.5 Policies and Projects

All current and developing state and local government strategies (whether it be the 30 Year Plan, South

Australian Strategic Plan, Adelaide City Council Strategic Plan etc) have been developed to address the

concerns discussed in Section 3.1, and accordingly all include strategies, actions and targets that signify the

need for reducing the level of reliance on the private car, and increasing the use of walking, cycling and public

transport. The key State Government (South Australian Strategic Plan 2011) targets relating to travel

behaviour change that also affect Council are:

Target 2 Cycling - double the number of people cycling in South Australia by 2020.

Target 22 Road safety - reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by at least 30% by 2020.

Target 59 Greenhouse gas emissions reduction - achieve the Kyoto target by limiting the state’s

greenhouse gas emissions to 108% of 1990 levels during 2008-2012, as a first step towards

reducing emissions by 60% by 2050.

Target 63 Use of public transport - increase the use of public transport to 10% of metropolitan weekday

passenger vehicle kilometres travelled by 2018.

Target 78 Healthy South Australians - increase the healthy life expectancy of South Australians to 73.4

years for males and 77.9 years for females by 2020.

Target 82 Healthy weight - increase by 5 percentage points the proportion of South Australian adults

and children at a healthy body weight by 2017.

In addition, a number of committed and proposed iconic and major developments will be taking place in the

city over the next 10 to 15 years, including New Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide Oval Redevelopment,

Riverbank Precinct, Rundle Mall Redevelopment, Victoria Park Redevelopment and Victoria Square

Redevelopment. Travel behaviour change initiatives will be critical to ensure successful transport outcomes,

not just for the development per se, but for the city as a whole.

3.6 Community and Stakeholder Expectations and Aspirations

As part of the Integrated Movement Strategy review, Council carried out a number of engagement activities

during the July to October 2011 period. The general theme from the engagement process was:

People want a more people friendly, vibrant, accessible and sustainable City.

To achieve this it was recognised by key stakeholders (state and local government) that providing physical

and service improvements alone will not maximise the role of sustainable travel options, but changing travel

behaviour programs, schemes and policies will also be an important, if not a critical, element.

Figure 2: Average daily parking fee

Source: ACC MRC Parking Study

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4 THE CHALLENGE

The key issue when it comes to travel behaviour change is what comes first, travel behaviour change or the

infrastructure? In essence it is a bit of a chicken and egg issue, which at times creates a spiralling effect (see

Figure 3). From the user level, improved infrastructure is required to support sustainable travel modes and

encourage more users. However, at the government level, increases in sustainable transport users are

required to provide justification for improving infrastructure.

The key challenges for Council to address the spiralling effect issue are:

Educating and making residents, visitors and businesses more aware of the need for increased

sustainable transport choices to protect the city’s lifestyle and economy.

Delivery of sustainable transport mode infrastructure in a timely manner to affect travel patterns.

Ensuring the transport needs of all city users is met.

Identifying travel behaviour programs, events and schemes that will increase the mode share of cycling,

walking and public transport, as well as provide cost effective outcomes.

Identifying and providing the personal and intrinsic motivation for city users that will encourage an uptake

of cycling walking and public transport use for city trips (to, from and within).

Obtaining funding and resources to deliver the proposed strategy ideas identified in Section 5.

5 STRATEGY OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

In a time where funding for new infrastructure projects is difficult due to the many competing priorities, the

travel behaviour change strategy ideas listed below provide a way that Council can take action immediately,

and maximize the use and efficiency of existing and new infrastructure.

Figure 3: The spiralling effect

Source: Geoff Rose, Monash University

Source

D

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Strategy Idea 5.1 Implementation of travel behaviour programs

Potential option 5.1.1: Develop and implement community travel behaviour programs in partnership

with DPTI for city residents, business and schools.

Implications & what other cities are doing

Council recognises the significant benefits of partnering with DPTI

on their current travel behaviour programs for residents

(TravelSMART Households), businesses (smarter travel @ work)

and schools (Way2Go). These programs aim to achieve the

desired outcomes of reduced car usage and correspondingly

higher levels of walking, cycling and public transport use by:

Providing people with the necessary information to correct misperceptions about the cost, convenience and amenity of alternatives to the private car.

Providing people with the opportunity and motivation to try alternatives.

In some cases (e.g. workplace, schools) making selective improvements to facilities to enhance walking, cycling and public transport options.

Providing people with the necessary information and skills to make the new travel activity a convenient, safe and congenial one.

Travel behaviour programs (residents, workplaces and schools) that have been implemented in South

Australia, nationally (Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane) and internationally (UK) have been well received. If these

programs are actively pursued by Council as a community wide program, this could facilitate making

significant strides in improving sustainable transport mode share for the city. Statistically, travel behaviour

change programs have shown to be an important option in any transport strategy with proven effectiveness

(Ker 2004):

8 – 14% reduction in car use (households)

5 – 20% reduction in car use (workplace)

up to 50% reduction in car use (schools)

A recent success in South Australia was the TravelSmart Households in the West project. This project

assisted 22,103 households in Adelaide’s western suburbs to collectively reduce their car use by 18%.

To deliver these programs successfully will require support, commitment and funding, not just by Council, but

also at state level.

Potential option 5.1.2: Continue Council’s Green Travel Plan and implement initiatives to encourage

Council staff to travel sustainably.

Implications

To foster good sustainable transport outcomes, it is important that Council leads by example, by reducing the

car dependency of its staff as well as operations.

Figure 4: Travel Smart Australia vision

Source: Travel Smart Australia website

A good deal more net benefit could be

generated by re-balancing the residual

spend away from road capacity, to be

focussed on lower cost, high return

schemes. These include road safety and

travel behaviour changes through ‘smarter

choices’

Commission for Integrated Transport (2010),

‘Transport Challenges and Opportunities:

Getting more from less

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Strategy Idea 5.2 Better promotion of sustainable transport options through events

Potential option 5.2.1: Raise awareness and promote sustainable transport options through

community events.

Implications

Organised community events give people the opportunity to try

sustainable transport options in a safe and supportive

atmosphere. These events provide a positive experience for

participants through direct encouragement and promotion, and

are good instigators to support voluntary behaviour change.

Council over the years has supported and promoted a number of

community events such as National Ride to Work Day, Tour

Down Under, Tour De Work and Adelaide Parking Day (see

Figure 5). Other national and international events that Council

could actively participate and support include Walk to Work Day,

Walk Safely to School day, World Car Free Day, Bike Week …

The success of these events has been proven by the increased participation each year. For example, in 2010

nationally 110,000 people participated in Ride to Work Day, and in 2011 this increased to 150,000.

Organising of community events can be resource intensive, requiring a lot of work and effort. Council will not

be able to participate in all major events as listed above. The events selected will need to be aimed at

maximising community participation.

Strategy Idea 5.3 Better promotion of sustainable transport options through education and awareness

campaigns

Potential option 5.3.1: Educate the community of the

benefits of travel behaviour change through effective

marketing campaigns.

Implications & what other cities are doing

To achieve travel behaviour change, the community needs to

better understand the reasons why unrestrained car use will not

be sustainable in the future. Education and promotion in

schools, work places and in the media can raise awareness of

the impacts of private vehicle use; provide detailed information

of alternatives such as public transport and cycling; and provide

efficient ways to make more effective use of cars.

Successful marketing campaigns need to be promoted in such a

way that the consumer feels proud to be seen making this choice.

Examples include:

City of Sydney has recently (2010) developed and implemented an Enabling Cycling Strategy, which

involves an ongoing publicity campaign to encourage people to cycle in Sydney. The campaign provided

a suite of interventions designed to address the social barriers which limit cycling participation for inner

Sydney residents and visitors.

Los Angeles Metro has been promoting its bus services as a better alternative to the car by making their

buses attractive through the use of bright colours and running a number of playful advertisements on

billboards, buses (see Figure 6) and bus stops.

One of the Adelaide Parking Day 2011 parking

installations along Rundle Street

Figure 5: Parking installation on

Adelaide Parking Day 2011

Figure 6: LA Metro, Promoting Mass Transit

Source: http://vimeo.com/7984623

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Potential option 5.3.2: Offer cycle confidence training for staff, city residents, businesses and schools.

Implications

A lack of skills and / or confidence to ride in busy traffic environments is often cited as a key barrier to the

uptake of commuter cycling. To address this issue Council has partnered with BikeSA to deliver the Adelaide

by Bike campaign and BikeStart program (an online tool to assist new cyclists). As part of the BikeStart

initiative free practical courses are on offer for city residents and workers funded by Council. Continuing this

initiative would further facilitate increased levels of cycling in the city.

Other courses that Council could further promote include CycleSafe, Way2Go Bike Ed, Bike Maintenance,

and Commuter Cycling Support.

Potential option 5.3.3: Develop creative ways to engage the public in the ongoing discussion of

Adelaide’s transport future.

Implications & what other cities are doing

It is important that Council continue to engage the public in the discussion of Adelaide’s transport future

beyond the development of the Integrated Movement Strategy.

Opportunities include permanent public art, performance artists, publication of data, public discussions and

lectures. Examples of creative engagement techniques that have been successful

include:

A number of Central and South American cities are using Marcel Marceau-like

‘traffic mimes’ to encourage more civil behaviour by people using all modes of

traffic, to address alarming road safety problems, congestion and a lack of

civility in the city.

A number of bicycle friendly cities around the world (mainly Europe and the

US) have installed ‘Bicycle Barometers’ to help promote bike riding (see Figure

7). Council has a number of off-road cycle paths where these barometers

could be installed. These could be used to promote the Park Lands Trail and

greenways, as well as remind cyclists that they are appreciated and that every

cyclists counts.

Strategy Idea 5.4 Better information provision for sustainable transport options

The travel behaviour of individuals is influenced by their – often imperfect – knowledge of the transport system

and the services provided. Travel choices are largely based on past habits and perceptions which act as

deterrents to change. Providing better information on public transport services, safe cycle and walking routes,

car pool websites and car share schemes is an important means of encouraging a change in travel behaviour.

Potential option 5.4.1: Provide simple and legible on-street wayfinding and static information for

cycling and walking.

Implications

The provision of improved on-road way finding signage and static information on city streets including distance

and time would assist cyclists and pedestrians to better navigate the city. Signs could identify key city

destinations, major transit nodes, key pedestrian routes and off-road cycle paths.

Figure 7: Bicycle Barometer in

Malmo, Sweden

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Potential option 5.4.2: Work with State Government to improve the legibility of the city’s existing bus

network to improve connectivity and accessibility between city precincts.

Implications

The current bus network services about 30% of city streets and most city main streets (Hutt Street, O’Connell

Street, Melbourne Street). Currently the information provided at bus stops and timetables, makes it difficult for

users to navigate the city by bus. Making the irnformation at stops more simple and legible may encourage

increased public transport ridership for internal city trips, as well as better connect city precincts.

This inititative could be combined with Council advocating State Government to allow free city bus services,

similar to that implemented in Perth, whereby within the Perth city centre a free transit zone has been

established where all public transport services are free.

Potential option 5.4.3: Advocate and support State Government on the delivery of Real Time

Passenger Information system (RTPIS) for the bus network.

Implications

DPTI delivered a RTPIS trial project in 2004. The system involved

a series of Smart Stops being installed at major stops along the

east-west bus service route (Henley Beach Road and Norwood

Parade). The system has not been maintained to ensure accuracy

of bus arrival times displayed or rolled out to other Adelaide Metro

bus routes, hence is somewhat limited for patrons. An upgraded

RTPIS including real time information at bus stops (example shown

in Figure 8); real time mobile updates; touch screen kiosks at key

city locations (such as City Cross and the Central Railway Station)

and real-time information on Internet would offer new opportunities

and encouragement for existing and new public transport travellers.

Strategy Idea 5.5 Expansion of the city car share scheme

Potential option.5.5.1: Encourage expansion of the city’s Car Share Scheme for resident and business

use.

Implications & what other cities are doing

Car sharing is a proven catalyst for moving people from a lifestyle of regular car use to one of mostly using

public transport, walking and cycling, with occasional use of shared cars for specific trips for which the other

modes of transport are poorly suited5. The experience in Adelaide so far is that one car share vehicle can

replace up to ten private vehicles that would otherwise compete for local parking space.

Currently the Adelaide city car share fleet is small (seven vehicles) compared to other cities such as,

Melbourne (130 vehicles) and Sydney (180 vehicles). What should Adelaide’s car share target be?

Council will need to work more closely with GoGet, as well as approach other car share operators (such as,

Flexicar, Green Share car etc) to identify further opportunities to expand the scheme including allocation of

on-street or off-street parking spaces and communications activity in support of car sharing growth.

In addition, Council could explore the costs and benefits of establishing its own car share scheme for city

residents and businesses to facilitate growth in Adelaide.

5 Bringing Car Sharing to your Community, city car share, source: http://www.citycarshare.org/

Figure 8: RTPIS at bus stop in

Portland

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Potential option 5.5.2: Investigate new developments to car share schemes that may promote greater

use

Implications & what other cities are doing

New car share schemes in Europe and the US are more advanced such as DriveNow (Germany) and Car2Go

(Vancouver, Germany & Texas). These schemes do not require the car to be parked at a ‘home pod’ and can

be used for one-way journeys. More flexible schemes offer new mobility choices and further encourage

sustainable transport choices.

These schemes are not available in Australia, but Council can encourage and support car share operators to

explore new technologies and systems.

Potential option 5.5.3: Develop a policy that supports growth in car share in the city

Implications & what other cities are doing

Currently Council has no policy for car sharing in the city. Developing a policy for car sharing will assist

Council in achieving growth in car share and its targets. The policy could address a process for allocating

parking spaces, communications strategy, revenue implications of allocating on-street / off-street space to car

sharing and rules for operation.

The City of Sydney has developed a draft car sharing policy to support their car share target of increasing the

uptake of car sharing to 10% of all households by 2016.

Strategy Idea 5.6 Better support for taxis in the city

Potential option 5.6.1: Ensure secure taxi ranks are provided at (or in close proximity to) all key city

attractors

Taxis form a critical part of the public transport network, providing flexible responsive 24 hour service at

relatively little cost. Taxis enable people to easily get around without the need to bring a car into the city. In

addition, they provide an essential service for those with a disbaility or mobility problems. It is important that

Council continue to support taxis in the city, by ensuring adequate kerbside space is provided at ranks; taxi

ranks are incorporated into all major developments that will attract high levels of pedestrian activity and secure

waiting facilities are provided for waiting patrons, particularly at night time. Discussion Paper No. 4 (Night

Time Transport) specifically discusses the issues around managing taxi ranks at night and identifies a number

of potential options to address the issue.

Strategy Idea 5.7 Expansion of the Free City Bike scheme

Potential option 5.7.1: Further develop the Free City Bike scheme, including through cooperation with

other councils and private organisations

Implications & what other cities are doing

The existing Free City Bike scheme has proven

to be somewhat successful. Whilst the overall

number of users is low (average of 1,350 bike

hires a month) a 30% annual increase in use

has been observed from 2006 to 2010. About

70% of users of the scheme are visitors to the

city. Figure 9: Melbourne Bike Share Scheme

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Council has received interest from community and neighbouring councils (City of Prospect, City of Unley, City

of Holdfast Bay) to investigate opportunities to expand the scheme within and beyond the City. The question

for Council, however, is prior to expanding the system, does the current scheme need to be improved?

Melbourne (see Figure 9) and Brisbane have attempted to replicate the more advanced and flexible bike

share schemes, similar to those employed in Europe (such as London Barclays Cycle Hire and Barcelona

Bicing Share Scheme). However, despite the more flexible schemes, where users can access a bike 24

hours 7 days a week; bikes can be returned to any bike node; and smart phone applications are available to

advise of bike availability, both the Melbourne and Brisbane schemes have had disappointing levels of use

given the resources expended. The main reason for the low use appears to be a result of the mandatory

helmet laws in Australia. The Free City Bike scheme deals with the issue of needing a helmet, as the bikes

can only be rented from a manned outlet between 9am and 4.30pm, where a helmet is provided with the bike.

Until Australia’s helmet laws are reassessed, Council need to be mindful of how it expands the current

scheme. A study would be required to better understand the needs of current and potential users, and the

personal and intrinsic motivators that would promote increased use by the community. Opportunities that

have been recognised for additional bike nodes include:

Major transit nodes (e.g railway station)

Future park ‘n’ ride locations located less than 5-7km from city

Major shopping centres

Key destinations internal to city (new Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide Oval, redeveloped Victoria

Square, Convention Centre, redeveloped Riverbank)

Key destinations external to the city (Glenelg, Norwood Parade etc)

Whilst Council recognise that further expansion / upgrade of the Free City Bike scheme would have benefits, a

survey from the Heart Foundation found that more than 60% of Australians have access to a bike. This infers

that maybe Council’s focus should be more on how to get people to use their own bikes.

Strategy Idea 5.8 Development of an Adelaide City car pool website

Potential option 5.8.1: Work in partnership with State Government to develop a car pooling website for

Adelaide residents, workers and university students.

Implications & what other cities are doing

With so many cars on the road every morning and night, there’s a good chance that someone living close to

you travels an almost identical route to and from work, school or university. Carpooling websites provides the

opportunity for people to register their details and be matched with others who travel a similar route. There is

a number of existing national car pool websites in Australia including Ozcarpool, The Car Pool, Carpool

Australia. However, these are not believed to be used widely by Adelaidians.

Tasmania has developed a state-based carpooling website named Cool Pool Tas. Currently the site has 736

car-poolers registered. The site encourages carpooling for work trips, school trips, major events and airport

trips. Developing a similar site for city workers, residents and university students could contribute to reducing

the number of single occupant vehicles in the city.

The success of such a site will be dependent on a number of internal and external factors. Internal factors

include: marketing and promotion of the scheme; reduced parking fees for car-poolers; provision of priority

parking for car-poolers and efficient management of the carpooling scheme through a dedicated coordinator.

External factors include: - lack of commuter parking availability; absence of convenient alternative modes;

increase in petrol price and having the carpooling scheme as part of a wider package of initiatives.

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Strategy Idea 5.9 Reduce parking levels in the city

Car parking is a key component of the transport system and has a major influence on transport behaviour. By

international and national comparisons, the city has a significant amount of off-street parking (commercial and

ancillary). There are more than 35,000 spaces located within the square mile. It is clear that the large

number of off-street parking bays, many of which are provided for all-day commuter parking through cheap

early bird deals, attracts a large number of people to travel to the city by car. Discussion Paper No. 6

(Parking) specifically discusses parking and lists a number of strategies to address this strategy idea.

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Changing Travel Behaviour Discussion Paper

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Please write below your comments relating to the potential strategies here

Implementation of Travel Behaviour Programs

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Better promotion of sustainable transport options through events

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Better promotion of sustainable transport options through education and awareness campaigns

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Better information for sustainable transport options

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Expansion of the City Car Share scheme

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Better support for taxis in the city

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Expansion of the Free City Bike scheme

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Development of a City of Adelaide car pool website

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Reduce parking levels in the city

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