John Elliott Consultancy University of Hertfordshire The Future – Rewarding Sustainable Travel (and removing rewards for driving) EAUC Conference - 6 th

John ElliottConsultancy

University of Hertfordshire

The Future – Rewarding Sustainable Travel(and removing rewards for driving)

EAUC Conference - 6th December 2006John Elliott

EAUC Conference: December 6, 2006University of Hertfordshire

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John ElliottConsultancyContents

1. Travel Plans - the why, how and & what

2. Parking

3. Travel allowances

4. Strategic transport planning

5. Concluding remarks


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John ElliottConsultancy1.The Why, How and What

• Why - sustainability, environment, can’t meet travel desires, costs

• How – culture change, sticks and carrots and integrated holistic approach

• What – walking, public transport, cycling, car share, infrastructure, parking and incentives, information


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John ElliottConsultancy2. Perverse Incentives

“Please Travel Green - but if you don’t we will provide you with …”:

• A parking place free or highly subsidised • A mileage rate that gives you an

enormous incentive to drive on company business as much as you can.

• A road network that makes it much easier to drive than use other modes


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Other Perverse Incentives(by organisation)

• Privileged/ Reserved space closer to office• Essential car user allowance (and must bring

car to work)• Company/leased car• Non direct walking routes on Campus• Priority to cars over pedestrians and cycles• No assistance for PT use


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Other Perverse Incentives(by others)

• LA insists on better parking arrangements• Development not planned to help sustainable

travel• Highway priorities (and spending) given to cars

rather than pedestrians, buses and cycles• Stamp duty on moving


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John ElliottConsultancy3. Parking

• 68% Staff arrive as a car driver car24% students arrive as a car driver (2005)

• Average charge11p/day (scaled system) by season ticket• The subsidy to those using the new park and ride works out

at about £10/day (including share of P&R buses)• If have to build new MS car park - similar cost• Very few surface car park spaces cost less than

£500/year/space• Parking management one of most powerful tools


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John ElliottConsultancyLevelling the playing field

• Charge a real rate for parking (could you do it?)

• Reward for giving up a space for a period (BAA)

• Daily reward for not driving (Pfizer) (could you afford it?)

• Reward for green travellers and charge for parkers?


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John ElliottConsultancyConsiderations for PMS

• Scale of the problem• Cost of management of system • Mechanism for payment • Use and abuse• Justification (fairness/levelling the playing field)• Sufficient incentive to change behaviour• Potential diversion elsewhere• Public/staff acceptance


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John ElliottConsultancy4. Travel Allowances

• Mileage rate up to 54p/mile (IR rate 40p) -Cost of extra mile typically only twice fuel cost

• Leased cars - cost of extra private miles only fuel cost

• 20p/mile cycle allowance (12p at UoH)• PT only recover basic cost• Is there a way of rewarding re-use of travel

time for PT users?


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5. Strategic Transport Planning

• A1(M) cut cycle route, put half hour on some walk trips – to save a few seconds for cars in Herts and add congestion in London

• New design for roundabout didn’t consider peds or cyclists• Traffic light phasing always designed to minimise car

delays not peds• Appears no real stomach for bus or even high occupancy

lanes• DfT didn’t like a big P & R site – threat of S14 notice


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John ElliottConsultancy6. Concluding Remarks

• Desirable to reduce car use and parking – (cost, sustainability, environment, congestion and health)

• Need for Culture change, Sticks and Carrots and Integrated holistic approach

• Incentives to support the transport heirarchy• Leadership is critical• A small change in traffic has big benefits

Documents

John Elliott Consultancy University of Hertfordshire The Future – Rewarding Sustainable Travel (and removing rewards for driving) EAUC Conference - 6 th