Smarter Travel Sutton Third Annual Report 2010 by Network London

Smarter Travel Sutton

Third

MAYOR OF LONDON

Annual Report 2010

Transport for London

Contents 1

Background 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Smarter Travel 1.3 The STS programme 1.4 The context 1.5 How the STS programme is being managed

11 11 11 12 13 14

LBS: Setting the scene 2.1 The geography of the LBS 2.2 Travel by Sutton residents 2.3 Access to public transport 2.4 Walking and cycling

16 16 17 18 18

Programme of activity in Year 3 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Social marketing, events and campaigns 3.3 Workplace travel planning 3.4 School travel planning 3.5 Pilot projects and new innovations 3.6 Other

19 19 19 30 37 43 46

Monitoring and evaluation 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Overview of progress to date 4.3 Attitudinal and behavioural impacts of the STS programme 4.4 Awareness of, and support for, the STS programme 4.5 Awareness of STS advertising 4.6 Walking and cycling 4.7 Public transport 4.8 Creating the conditions for mode change 4.9 Changes in mode share

47 47 49 52 55 56 58 67 69 78

Conclusions 5.1 Key outcomes of the STS programme 5.2 Lessons Learnt 5.3 Next steps

83 83 86 86

Foreword

Year 3 STS at a glance

40,000 Sutton Spinner leaflets distributed promoting cycling in the borough 27,000 Residents attending STS events in Sutton in the year 16,350 Employees now working in organisations with Workplace Travel Plans

We are delighted to introduce the third and

Sutton’s residents, employees and visitors

final annual report for the pilot Smarter

have all been active participants in this

15,648 Annual unique visits made to the STS website

Travel Sutton (STS) programme. STS was a

ambitious programme. The success of STS

new initiative to test whether it would be

can also be attributed to local partners who

10,000 Schoolchildren consistently participating in WoW (Walk once a Week /Walk on Wednesdays)

possible to encourage residents and people

have been incredibly supportive at every

10,000 People who attended the Environmental Fair in August 2009

who work in Sutton to choose to walk, cycle

stage, often delivering their own projects and

and use public transport more often, and

initiatives to contribute to the pioneering

6,900 People who attended the Move it at the Manor event in July 2009

their cars a little less.

work of STS.

The programme has surpassed our

STS has shown that a coordinated effort from

expectations by achieving a six percentage

the community and local organisations

point reduction in the mode share of car

working in partnership with Transport for

497 Sutton residents who have had a first appointment with an Active Steps adviser

trips and an encouraging 75 per cent increase

London (TfL) can make a difference to

481 Car club members

in levels of cycling.

people’s lives. The work continues in Sutton

420 SmartWater packs distributed

in 2010 with transport improvements planned

256 Additional cycle parking spaces installed

Over its three years, STS has delivered a behaviour change programme that has reached every resident of Sutton. This includes information and advice on Smarter Travel offered to every household, a series of well attended events and its work with all

for local town centres, commencing with Wallington. Also, across the Capital other

2,200 People who attended the Give Your Car The Day Off event in September 2008 1,500 People who took part in the cycle promotion roadshow 652 imovelondon pledges made at STS events

100 Businesses with an active Workplace Travel Plan

boroughs are talking to TfL and the London

100 Per cent of schools covered by a School Travel Plan

Borough of Sutton (LBS) about how to

81 Per cent of Sutton residents who agreed that STS was the type of programme in which TfL and Sutton Council should invest

replicate the success of STS.

75 Per cent increase in cyclists since Year 1 of the STS initiative – significantly greater than in the Department for Transport Cycling Demonstration Towns

schools and major employers. Paul Martin

Ben Plowden

Chief Executive

Director of Integrated Programme Delivery

London Borough of Sutton

Transport for London

50 Per cent of Sutton residents aware of the Swap Your Car advertising campaign 43 Per cent of Sutton residents aware of the borough car club 32 Per cent of residents aware of the STS initiative 16 Per cent increase in bus patronage since the start of the STS initiative – six per cent greater than in the Control area 6 Percentage point reduction in the mode share of the car since 2005/06 5 Per cent reduction in the number of pupils making car/car share trips to school since Year 1 of the STS initiative 3 Percentage point increase in the mode share of walking since the baseline year

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Outcomes

Executive summary

Introduction STS has been a three-year programme designed to achieve changes in travel behaviour among Sutton residents. Its aims have been to reduce the barriers to sustainable travel and promote greater and more positive awareness of travel options among target audiences.

Accordingly, it is an appropriate time to take stock of the achievements of the STS programme, the lessons learnt and the effects of STS on core indicators of travel behaviour, attitude and intention.

Smarter Travel is the generic term for techniques based around persuasion and the provision of information, supported by small-scale infrastructure schemes, designed to encourage greater use of sustainable travel modes.

STS has developed an integrated programme of Smarter Travel measures around the core elements of:

The benefits of a shift to sustainable travel modes are widely recognised and include economic, social, environmental and public health advantages. As such, Smarter Travel is aligned with national Government and the Mayor of London’s policy objectives which favour modal shift and identify the importance of positive incentives, rather than punitive measures, to encourage change.

• Personal travel advice and information

The delivery of STS has been a demonstrably effective partnership between Transport for London (TfL), the LBS and numerous private and public sector stakeholders in the borough. The LBS has made a commitment to continue the STS programme, however, 2009 marked the end of the first, TfL-funded phase of implementation.

London Travel Demand Survey (LTDS) for 2005/06, shows cycling’s mode share of trip stages increasing from 0.6 per cent to 2.1 per cent

There have been notable behavioural changes in Sutton in the use of more sustainable travel options. Highlights are listed below: • A 75 per cent increase in average cycle traffic has been recorded at cycle counter locations since April 2007. There is evidence of an upward trend in cycling in the Control area (in Croydon) and on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN). However, the upward trend in Sutton is substantially steeper, suggesting that STS may have built on, and accelerated, an underlying trend. The data also demonstrate sharper seasonal peaks in Sutton than in the Control area or TLRN. This suggests, and is in line with the survey data, that the additional cycle traffic is likely to be partly composed of new cyclists, rather than just more cycling by an existing core of committed individuals. This appears to reflect the success of STS in releasing ‘close to market’ demand for cycling. The seasonal peaks may also reflect the success of a tactical decision to focus the promotion of active travel in the spring/summer period

The projects

• School travel planning

• Workplace travel planning

• Advertising, marketing and promotion

• Car clubs

• A car sharing scheme

• Cycle parking

In addition, STS has piloted new innovations in Smarter Travel, such as the Active Steps project and the cycle delivery service.

• The increase in cycling in Sutton is extremely impressive and exceeds the average 27 per cent rise in cycling recorded across the six Cycling Demonstration Towns outside London over a five-year period1. The increase recorded at counter sites is corroborated by selfreported travel diary data which, compared to a baseline using the

These projects have been successful in reaching residents and the working population of Sutton and in engaging businesses, schools and local media to reinforce messages and act as trusted intermediaries.

• There has been an increase of more than 16 per cent in bus patronage in Sutton. There is an underlying trend of growth in patronage that is also evident in the Control area; however, again the rate of growth is greater in Sutton than in the Control area, with an increasing divergence between the two areas from the baseline year. The data on observed behaviour are supported by the self-reported behaviour in the survey, with Sutton residents consistently reporting higher frequencies of bus use than those in the Control area. Again, this suggests that the STS interventions are magnifying an underlying trend

• The mode share of walking2 has changed in Sutton since STS began. Comparing the LTDS data from 2005/06 with the survey in 2009, shows the mode share of walking has increased from 19.4 per cent to 22 per cent

• An initial overall analysis of traffic counter data suggests that car use in Sutton continues to show a downward trend, as it does in the Control area. The decline does not appear to have steepened substantially with the onset of recession in 2008, suggesting a more general long-term trend. Overall traffic is 3.2 per cent less than

Analysis and synthesis of evidence on the effects of investment in six Cycling Demonstration Towns, November 2009.

Walk stages to access or egress other modes of transport used in the same trip have not been included in the calculation of mode share.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Lessons Learnt in the baseline year in Sutton, compared with a 3.7 per cent decline in the Control area. There are various ways of interpreting this which are discussed in more detail in this report. In particular, the automatic traffic counters (ATCs) used to originate traffic data are located on strategic roads, so will include through-traffic outside the direct influence of STS. Overall, the evidence from Sutton in relation to traffic underlines the importance of setting up the appropriate data collection to monitor progress. The apparent decline in traffic is not just a drop in overall transport activity; there also seems to be a reduction in the mode share of the car, as driver or passenger. Comparing the 2005/06 LTDS baseline with the 2009 survey data indicates that the mode share of trip stages by car (as driver and passenger) has declined from 58 per cent to 52 per cent. This represents a six per cent point reduction in car mode share An integral element of the STS strategy has been to influence attitudes and intention in order to create the potential for short-term and long-term behaviour change. STS has progressed residents through a funnel of behaviour change (see page 13). Key evidence from the survey data suggests that the effects of STS have been to:

• Emphasise STS messages about the wider benefits of changing travel behaviour. In particular, it is interesting that there has been a substantial growth in the proportion of Sutton residents who agree that the benefits of walking and cycling outweigh the convenience of car use • Promote the benefits of alternatives to the car, rather than directly discouraging people from using this mode of travel. This has been successful and is reflected in a continuing decline in the proportion of Sutton residents who believe car use is essential

Finally, the STS programme has also been successful in terms of gaining public support and engaging a wide variety of local private and public sector stakeholders to deliver the programme. This approach has created a foundation for continued implementation of the initiative via a community of stakeholders. Public support for the programme is evident both in the individual feedback reported at events as well as the large majority (81 per cent) of survey respondents who believe that STS is an appropriate investment for Sutton. The information provided to the public is also valued, with those in Sutton being notably more likely to consider the type of information and support useful than those in the Control area, who had not been exposed to it.

• Significantly increase the proportion of Sutton residents who are aware of facilities and opportunities to choose to walk, cycle or take the bus. This is particularly evident with respect to car clubs, in terms of their existence and what they offer

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

A detailed Lessons Learnt report co-authored by TfL and Sutton Council, which includes a selection of project case studies, was published in November 2009. The report and case studies have been prepared primarily to assist organisations in the delivery of similar social marketing and integrated behaviour change programmes. These reports can be found at: www.smartertravelsutton.org I n summary, the Lessons Learnt exercise concluded that:

• Audience research and market segmentation is essential

• Planned and integrated use of communication channels and tools should be developed

• A base of political support is necessary

• Stakeholder engagement creates ambassadors and delivery partners

• Intervention in travel choices tends to be accepted by local people and is not met with hostility or indifference

Next steps Following the completion of STS in September 2009, Sutton Council is now continuing the programme. Behaviour change can take many years to occur and while STS has made significant progress over the past three years, there is more work to do. A new transport policy and action plan was produced in July 2008. Called Enabling Smarter Travel Choices, it sets out a five-year programme to deliver transport projects in each of Sutton’s district centres. These projects will integrate engineering schemes and Smarter Travel measures to help ‘lock-in’ the benefits of STS.

Sutton Council has mainstreamed the STS programme team into an expanded existing service which has been renamed ‘Smarter Travel Sutton’.

Conclusion As a pilot in the large-scale application of Smarter Travel, STS has been a notable success. The programme has created a community of private, public and voluntary stakeholders who have helped implement it, and has contributed to impressive behavioural change, particularly with regard to increased cycling and a decline in the mode share of the car. It has also helped influence public attitudes towards favouring sustainable transport options and increased public awareness of transport alternatives. Most interestingly, the programme has commanded widespread popularity and public support. STS will leave a considerable legacy. The borough is committed to continuing the initiative and has restructured and rebranded its transport department around the approach and principles of STS. The programme is a key element in a broader approach to sustainability, contributing to Sutton Council’s policy commitment to One Planet Living. In addition, the LBS and TfL have successfully tested different Smarter Travel interventions and have actively sought to assess the results and disseminate learning. To that extent, STS stands as a successful intervention and a valuable contribution to the growing body of knowledge on how to achieve behavioural change towards transport and across a wider range of service areas generally.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

1 Background 1.1

Introduction

1.2

1.1.1 This is the third and final annual report of the STS programme3. It provides data to September 2009, when the programme was completed, having been launched in 2006. It also gives an overview of the achievements to date and of the activity in the last year. Structure of this report:

• This section provides background to the STS programme. More details, including the relevant policy and contextual information, can be found in the first and second annual reports, which are available from the website: www.smartertravelsutton.org

• Section 2 provides background information about the LBS

• An outline of the activity that has taken place across the programme’s four workstreams in 2008/09 is presented in Section 3

• Section 4 describes the approach to monitoring and evaluation and presents the evidence of progress that has been made since September 2008, and against the 2006 baseline

• Conclusions are outlined in Section 5

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Smarter Travel

1.2.1 Smarter Travel is the term for initiatives that are designed to achieve more sustainable travel by encouraging people to change their behaviour through travel planning and social marketing campaigns. Smarter Travel is often linked to small-scale changes to infrastructure and services. 1.2.2 Smarter Travel techniques tend to fall into two categories – those that target particular journeys and destinations and those that target specific types of people. Destination, hospital, school, workplace and faith centre travel plans all fall within the first category. Personal travel planning and car clubs fall into the latter. 1.2.3 The greatest effect from Smarter Travel tends to result from a mix of techniques, so that a broad spread of people, journeys and destinations are included in the campaign. Effective Smarter Travel requires accurate market segmentation, testing of key messages and creative design, plus careful selection of communication channels.

Continuing medium-term evaluation is planned, with data collected again in September 2010.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

1.3

The STS programme

1.3.1 STS was London’s first ‘Sustainable Travel Town’ programme. It was launched in September 2006 and finished at the end of September 2009. 1.3.2 Smarter Travel techniques are a relatively new approach to influencing travel behaviour and TfL has been at the forefront of developing and testing their use. TfL selected the LBS as a partner to demonstrate what could be achieved by a programme of intensive Smarter Travel initiatives in a London borough. The STS programme applies Smarter Travel techniques to raise awareness of travel options and achieve voluntary changes in behaviour to increase the use of public transport, walking and cycling. It is also an opportunity to learn lessons about the value of different approaches to Smarter Travel, the effectiveness of different techniques individually and in combination, and the effects of targeting particular messages to specific groups of people in the borough. The STS programme has piloted a number of projects and interventions to persuade Sutton’s residents to use more sustainable modes rather than the car. 1.3.3 This first phase of STS has been a partnership between TfL and the LBS. The success of the programme relies very much on the strength of this partnership, as well as engaging other key partners, including the Sutton and Merton NHS Primary

1.4 Care Trust (SMPCT) and numerous businesses, community organisations and voluntary groups in Sutton. 1.3.4 There was a budget of approximately £5m for this three-year demonstration programme which had the principal aims of:4

• Reducing the proportion of residents’ car trips by five per cent or more

• Ensuring all schools had a travel plan by March 2008

• Ensuring 15,000 employees were covered by a travel plan by March 2009

• Offering personalised travel advice and information to every Sutton household by October 2007

1.3.5 Over the past three years, the programme included an integrated package of travel behaviour change interventions. Some of the key elements included:

• School travel planning

• Workplace travel planning

1.4.1 Travel behaviour change has been the primary objective of STS. This is affected by a wide range of factors, only some of which are under the influence of STS. The impetus at an individual level can arise from changing attitudes to health, the environment or in personal economic circumstances. The planning of STS adopted the concept of a ‘funnel of behaviour change’ (stages consisting of awareness, intention, claimed behaviour and actual behaviour, with smaller numbers at each stage). STS provided opportunities to encourage and support the change process at each step, whether inspired directly by STS or by external factors. 1.4.2 Sutton Council has adopted a commitment to achieving One Planet Living by 2025. It has set an objective to reduce resource

consumption per head in Sutton to a level consistent with a fair global share of the Earth’s available resources. In practical terms, this equates to an approximate 65 per cent reduction in Sutton’s carbon footprint. 1.4.3 Another key policy area is health, where it is acknowledged that inactive lifestyles are contributing to growing public health problems. For example, Department of Health (DoH) research has indicated that 25 per cent of people in England are now clinically obese5. There is a recognised need to increase the number of people walking and cycling. It is also acknowledged that inactivity, including overreliance on private motorised vehicles, is contributing to the rise in the incidence of obesity and consequent poor health.

• Personal travel advice and information • Advertising, marketing and promotion

• Car clubs

• A car sharing scheme

• Cycle parking

• A cycle delivery service

• Cycle training

A list of the key performance indicators for this project is provided in Section 4.

The context

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

DoH Health Survey for England, London 2005.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

1.5 How the STS programme is being managed 1.5.1 STS has been run in partnership by the LBS and TfL. The programme had a robust governance structure, illustrated in Figure 1.1, including a joint programme board. Local stakeholders from the public, private and voluntary sectors have provided significant advice and support, which has benefited the programme. The principal partners and their roles are outlined below:

• L BS: Workplace Travel Plan promotion and advice; school travel planning and management of local media; promotional events; car clubs and car sharing; football mini leagues; cycle parking; cycle training

• Private sector: market research and segmentation; advertising design and media space buying; travel plan networks (with the LBS); personal travel planning delivery

• TfL: school travel planning strategy; different travel planning offerings to major businesses and small- and medium-sized enterprises; personal travel planning strategy and management; travel awareness promotion campaigns; advertising, national and regional media; events

• Non-governmental organisations: environmental charity (EcoLocal) has delivered a local cycle delivery service (including materials requested as part of the personal travel planning intervention); school promotions; travel plan incentives and advice

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

• Stakeholders: Active Steps programme; SMPCT; travel plan promotion (Sutton Chamber of Commerce); alternative fuel community transport (Sutton Community Transport)

Programme board (stakeholder panel) Includes: Senior officers from TfL and the LBS, the Executive Councillor from the LBS, opposition spokesperson for transport (councillor), local Members of Parliament and representatives from key stakeholder groups including: EcoLocal, Volunteer Centre Sutton, SMPCT, Sutton Centre for the Voluntary Sector, Shopmobility, Sutton Centre for Independent Living, Sutton Chamber of Commerce

• Joint responsibility: TfL and the LBS have taken joint responsibility for the management and governance of the STS programme. This has been formalised in the governance structure which is illustrated in Figure 1.1

Role: Meets quarterly to discuss issues of strategic importance and provide guidance to the project board

Project board Includes: Senior officers from TfL, the LBS and from the project team, local councillors Role: Meets quarterly to discuss more detailed matters, maintain momentum and provide guidance to the project team

Project team Dedicated team based in the LBS offices under the guidance of a project manager. Includes travel awareness, marketing, workplace travel planning, school travel planning, personal travel planning capability The team is supported by the Smarter Travel Unit at TfL and has strong links with other parts of the LBS. The team reports quarterly to the project board

Figure 1.1: Programme governance structure

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

2 LBS: Setting the scene

2.1.5

• Sutton town centre

• Wallington

• Worcester Park

• North Cheam

• Rosehill

• Cheam

• Carshalton

2.2 Travel by Sutton residents

Sutton

Figure 2.1: LBS

2.2.1 The LBS has one of the highest car ownership levels in London. According to the 2001 Census, 77 per cent of households owned at least one car or van compared to 71

2.1 The geography of the LBS 2.1.1 The LBS is located on the southern fringe of the Capital and is bordered by the London Borough of Croydon to the east and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to the west, as shown in Figure 2.1. 2.1.2 According to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) mid-year estimates updated in October 2009, the LBS had a resident population of 187,600 during 2008. This represents a 4.4 per cent increase in the borough’s population since the 2001 Census. The 2007 Greater London Authority Household Projections estimated that there were 78,155 households in the borough in 2006, with the greatest population density in Sutton Centre, St Helier and Sutton South. This is expected to rise to approximately 83,000 households by 2011.

2.2.2 The LTDS (2005-08) results show almost half of all trips made by Sutton residents are either for commuting to and from their usual workplace (24 per cent), or shopping and personal business (23 per cent). These results are based on responses from 515 households across the borough over the three (fiscal) year period of 2005/06 to 2007/08. 2.2.3 This is broadly comparable with the LTDS results for Greater London residents in general, as shown in Figure 2.2 below.

Sutton

2.1.3 St Helier is also recognised as one of the most deprived areas in the borough, along with Rosehill. This is in contrast to the relatively affluent suburbs towards the south of the borough. Sutton town centre is the major shopping destination with more than 400 retail units. The rest of the commercial and industrial development is concentrated at Beddington, Kimpton and Imperial Way/Purley Way South.

17%

Greater London

24%

19%

14%

21%

20%

7% 23%

2.1.4 The most recent ONS Annual Business Inquiry Employee Analysis indicated that there were 60,800 employee jobs provided in Sutton in 2007, consisting of 40,400 full-time and 20,400 part-time positions.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

per cent for Outer London in general. Almost half (46.2 per cent) of households in the borough owned more than two cars.

Within the borough there are seven district centres:

7% 11%

10%

27%

To/from usual workplace

Other work-related

Education

Shopping and personal business

Leisure

Other (includes escort/worship)

Figure 2.2: Trip purpose for Sutton and Greater London residents (Source: LTDS 2005-2008; analysis of trips by all modes)

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

3 Programme of activity in Year 3 3.1 Introduction 3.1.1 This chapter provides a comprehensive summary of the STS activities undertaken during the final year (previous annual reports contain detailed descriptions of activity in earlier years). It focuses on four main areas of activity: • Social marketing, events and campaigns

2.3

Access to public transport

2.3.1 There are 24 bus routes serving Sutton; 91 per cent of the urban area of the borough is within 400 metres of a bus service. 2.3.2 There are also nine railway stations serving the London termini of Victoria, London Bridge and Waterloo. The First Capital Connect service provides a cross-London link towards King’s Cross and Luton. Tramlink runs between Croydon and Wimbledon and has stops at Beddington Lane and Therapia Lane in the northeast corner of the borough, but there are no London Underground stations within Sutton.

• Workplace Travel Plans

• School Travel Plans

2.4 Walking and cycling

• Pilot projects and new innovations

2.4.1 There is an existing network of cycle routes within the borough. Sutton Council continuously adds infrastructure to existing routes, and installs new routes. For example, in the last year it has been working with Sustrans to introduce a new Greenways route (shared pedestrian and cycling) from Morden Park to Sutton.

3.1.2 Where outputs or outcomes are attributable directly to a particular part of the programme, they are included in this chapter. Evidence of aggregate behaviour change in Sutton is reported in Chapter 4.

2.4.2 The council has implemented a wide range of improvements to pedestrian facilities and walking routes throughout the borough. These include new routes and footway improvements within the Beddington Strategic Industrial Area, along Hilliers Lane, at Carshalton Ponds, Carshalton Road and along the Pyl Brook Strategic Pedestrian Link.

3.2

Social marketing, events and campaigns

3.2.1 STS used a range of social marketing techniques throughout Year 3 as part of events and campaigns. Social marketing encourages behavioural change for the benefit of the individual and the community. The STS social marketing campaign included a number of events which are explained in more detail in this section.

2.4.3 In addition, Sutton town centre is currently being modernised with significant improvements due for completion in 2010.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

STS Community Roadshow 2009

Give Your Car The Day Off

3.2.2 The interactive roadshow visited events and fairs in Sutton during spring and summer 2009. It consisted of a travel desk and four pods which could be tailored to each event. Walking and cycling maps, leaflets promoting free cycle training and cycle security marking were a few of the items on offer for residents. Visitors could explore a walking pod with a treadmill, a cycling pod with a static mountain bike, a public transport pod promoting bus journeys and Oyster cards plus a car club pod promoting Streetcar.

3.2.4 Give Your Car The Day Off (GYCTDO) was a one-day event held on 21 September 2008 in Carshalton High Street car park. It targeted car drivers with families who drive more than once a week. The aim was to provide people with information and tools to inspire them to reduce their car use. The event extended the reach of STS to areas beyond Sutton town centre.

3.2.3 In total, the roadshow reached more than 25,000 people; the number visiting each event can be seen in Table 3.1.

3.2.5 The event tied in with the wider STS Swap Your Car advertising campaign and was held as part of European Mobility Week. GYCTDO was widely advertised on posters throughout the borough, on the radio and in local newspapers. The STS team encouraged people to participate through games and consultations about sustainable travel. 3.2.6 The key achievements of GYCTDO can be seen in Table 3.2.

Date (2009)

Event

Number of people reached

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Target

Actual

4 May

John Fisher Fete

3,000

Attendees

2,500

2,200

25 May

Cheam Village Fair

2,500

imovelondon pledges

500

227

13 June

St Helier Festival

1,000

Visitor surveys

300

132

10 July

Wallington Festival

250

Cycle security marking kits handed out

N/A

135

12 July

Move it at the Manor

6,900

Cycle training sign-ups

N/A

18 July

Active at the Arena

1,000

31 August

Environmental Fair

10,000

5/6 September

South Central Festival

600

Total

Table 3.2 Achievements of GYCTDO September 2008

25,250

Table 3.1 Number of people reached by STS Community Roadshow at Year 3 events

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Move it at the Manor 3.2.7 This one-day family festival held on Sunday 12 July 2009 was aimed at promoting active lifestyles and the use of public transport, walking and cycling. It provided an excellent opportunity to engage with a very large number of local residents. The event repeated a successful format trialled in the previous two years and provided activities to encourage more people to adopt sustainable travel modes in their daily life. There was a cycle obstacle course for children, cycle challenge (on an exercise bike) and a driving simulator. There was also the opportunity for attendees to sign up to use STS products such as Dr Bike, cycle training and a car club. 3.2.8 This year, 6,900 people attended, exceeding the target by 1,900. However, the attendance was lower than in Year 2 when 8,440 people went to the same event. However, it was delivered for a much reduced budget providing better value for money. 3.2.9 Attendees had an added incentive to take part in events with the distribution of Move it at the Manor passports. Those who got involved in at least four activities could collect stamps to demonstrate their participation and then return their passport to enter a prize draw for a bike voucher worth £250. 3.2.10 The event had clear and powerful messaging, communicating the benefits of walking, cycling, car sharing and public transport.

‘We are delighted that we have won the first prize during one of your competitions. We have attended the STS event for the past three years with our two young children. We have always found it to be a great family day and the fact that all of the events are free makes it even better – particularly in today’s economic climate. There has always been a good variety of events and our children particularly enjoyed the giant snakes and ladders game this year. It was a great community event and there was something for everyone. We have always enjoyed cycling but, having attended your event, I have been encouraged to now start cycling into work instead of using my car. We look forward to attending next year’s event and give praise to those people who worked very hard to make this successful day happen.’

Sharon Marman Move it at the Manor prize winner

3.2.11 Table 3.3 outlines the achievements of Move it at the Manor 2009 against its main targets.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

KPIs

Target

Actual

Attendees

5,000

6,900

imovelondon pledges

250

120

Visitor surveys

125

210

SmartWater kits handed out

N/A

Cycle training sign-ups

Number of Dr Bikes

Passport competition entries

N/A

158

Table 3.3: Move it at the Manor 2009 – achievements against key targets Environmental Fair 3.2.12 The Environmental Fair, one of the biggest events in Sutton, was organised by EcoLocal and attracted approximately 10,000 people. It provided attendees with an opportunity to browse numerous stalls selling crafts, clothes and musical instruments, as well as listen to music and sample food from around the world. This year it was held on Bank Holiday Monday, 31 August 2009, between 10:30 and 20:00. 3.2.13 STS was one of the main sponsors of the event, which provided an ideal opportunity to engage residents face-to-face. STS had a branded presence at the fair and trained advisers where able to talk to visitors about sustainable transport and encourage them to pledge with imovelondon.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

3.2.14 Visitors reported that they were very pleased to receive free cycle guides for the local area. A high number had already made an imovelondon pledge at earlier STS events and many others were very willing to make a pledge on the day and expressed an intention to commit to more sustainable travel options. 3.2.15 In total, the STS team had 500 quality interactions with event attendees, while 106 imovelondon pledges were made. Here is some of the feedback received:

‘What a great idea from TfL’ (imovelondon pledge)

‘I will happily pledge, I need to do more cycling’

‘This is a great way to help the environment; it’s really good to see you here today’

Some attendees gave the following feedback: ‘I took a map at another event and now cycle to Waterloo every day, I’ve never felt fitter!’ ‘I’m really impressed you have cycle maps here on the stand’ ‘The Dr Bike is great! My children are going to bring their bikes down tomorrow’ ‘What a great stand, there’s so much information and everyone is really friendly’ ‘SmartWater is a great idea; I do worry about the security of my bike’ ‘I’d be happy to make a pledge and do my bit for the environment’

South Central Music Festival

Sutton Spinner direct marketing campaign

3.2.16 The South Central Music Festival sponsored by STS was held in Sutton town centre on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September. Trained advisers could engage with visitors on travel options and information. Representatives from Streetcar, Dr Bike and SmartWater were also present.

3.2.18 In May 2009, STS delivered a direct marketing campaign to promote cycling in the borough. This involved providing Sutton residents with a leaflet which included information about local cycling services and facilities, as well as signposting them to further information (such as the STS website). The leaflet also gave residents five easy actions to overcome common barriers to cycling (these include lack of confidence and little knowledge of routes and parking).

3.2.17 The majority of people responded positively to the request to pledge to imovelondon or had already pledged online or at another STS event. In total, 70 pledges were made, 60 Dr Bike sessions were held and 600 quality interactions were conducted by STS travel advisers.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

3.2.19 Market segmentation identified the primary target groups for the campaign as being the ‘environmentally aware’ and ‘dissatisfied car drivers’. Research showed that these groups were more likely than others to be open to taking up or re-starting cycling. 3.2.20 The leaflet was known as the Sutton Spinner – a moving wheel which, when turned, showed the weekly calories burned, monthly cost savings and annual carbon dioxide reductions achieved from cycling a given distance. It followed the theme of ‘swap your car for a bike’ and used imagery from TfL’s regional Catch up with the Bicycle campaign.

• Batches of leaflets were sent to local businesses

• They were handed out at cycling roadshows

• One bike retailer (Pearsons) displayed leaflets in-store

3.2.23 Overall, 40,000 leaflets were distributed across the borough. Seven enquiries were made including five cycle security marking requests and two about cycle training, and five people redeemed retailer offers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there was an increase in requests for cycle training, although people may not have quoted the Spinner programme directly.

3.2.21 The leaflet featured incentives, including offers from two local bike retailers and one online store. By quoting the campaign at tills in participating stores, or online, customers were entitled to 10 per cent off selected bike accessories. 3.2.22 STS distributed a total of 25,000 leaflets to targeted Sutton households between 18 June and 30 July 2009. A further 15,000 were given out in the following ways:

• Around 5,000 were handed out at Move it at the Manor

• Around 2,000 were distributed in schools via the Theatre in Education programme

• Around 2,000 were distributed at the Environmental Fair

• A further 5,000 were distributed at other events and roadshows

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Walk Cycle Reward 3.2.24 Walk Cycle Reward was a direct marketing and promotions campaign designed by STS to encourage Sutton residents to walk or cycle to local shops. It also aligned with other Sutton Council commitments that seek to support and enhance the economic vitality of its district centres. 3.2.25 Participating local shops offered a 10 per cent discount to customers who walked or cycled to their business. Other rewards included:

• A free reusable bag

• A £100 prize draw for completing surveys

• Access to Dr Bike and Foot Doctor

3.2.26 Three locations were used to deliver the scheme over four-week periods:

• Rosehill: 27 June to 25 July

• Worcester: Park 4 July to 1 August

• Wallington: 11 July to 8 August

Cycle promotion roadshow 3.2.27 Table 3.4 shows the assessment of the scheme’s achievements against its key targets. It reveals that, overall, Walk Cycle Reward was successful at encouraging residents and local shops to participate. Website 3.2.28 The STS website (www.smartertravelsutton.org) has been designed to give users information about public transport, walking and cycling journey options and services including car clubs and cycle training. Every STS project, initiative and campaign directs traffic to the website. It also provides information for employers and schools on how to implement schemes such as travel plans. The website has direct links to the borough’s car club and TfL’s Journey Planner. 3.2.29 From the start of October 2008 to the end of September 2009 there were 32,756 visits to the STS website and 15,648 of these were unique.

3.2.30 The aim of the roadshow was to promote regular cycling for adults and children in a fun and engaging way. It also sought to provide Sutton residents with cycle training and maintenance skills. Dr Bike sessions were also held. 3.2.31 The event gave children and adults the opportunity to trial cycling in a safe environment. It was used as an opportunity to engage residents face-to-face and provide more information. 3.2.32 The target audience of the roadshow included:

• Junior schools – Year 5 to 6 pupils and their parents/carers

• Senior schools – Year 7 to 9 pupils (before a car habit is developed) and their parents/carers

• General public – when used at public events

3.2.33 It has been estimated that more than 1,500 people took part in the cycle promotion roadshow in 2008/09. KPI (figures in brackets) Retailers offering discounts Direct mail pieces distributed Reward card redemptions

Rosehill

Wallington

Worcester Park

(15) 12

(20) 21

(15) 13

(5,000) 5,000

(150) 230

(300) 370

(150) 69

Total individual journeys by walking/cycling (from reward card redemptions)

6696

Table 3.4: Walk Cycle Reward 2009 – achievements against key targets 6

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

A list of the KPIs for this project is provided in Section 4.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

imovelondon

Swap Your Car advertising campaign 3.2.34 The aim of this campaign was to persuade residents to switch their car for a more sustainable mode of travel on one journey a week, and to visit the STS website for more information. It was aimed at all Sutton residents – in particular, drivers.

3.2.37 A survey of Sutton residents showed that:

• Fifty per cent of those interviewed were aware of the campaign, with a very high proportion liking the advertising (87 per cent) and finding it easy to understand (95 per cent)

3.2.35 The advertising campaign was delivered in four-week bursts during spring and summer. This time of year was chosen because research suggests this is when residents are more likely to consider cycling or walking instead of driving. The use of bursts, rather than a continuous presence, ensured the advertising continued to grab residents’ attention.

• Seventy per cent agreed that the campaign demonstrates that there are practical alternatives to driving a car

• Eighty per cent agreed that the campaign shows that reducing car use can help the environment and walking instead of driving is healthier

• Car drivers who were aware of the campaign were significantly more likely to agree that it would be easy for them to reduce their car use, and slightly more were likely to agree that they would like to start walking more. They were also slightly more likely to claim that they are actively trying to use their car less, especially among the ‘frequent driver’ category

3.2.36 An innovation of STS has been supplementing and, in many cases, replacing commercial advertising space with free and low-cost space, which is only available to the public sector. This includes park and school railings. The estimated value of this space is £1,850 per month but the cost of using it has been £494 per month. In 2009 some advertising space was purchased which included:

• Outdoor six-sheet posters

• Bus stop posters

• Bus rears

• Public telephone box advertising panels

• Local newspaper advertising wraps

• Local radio advertisements

• Lamposts

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

3.2.38 imovelondon is a pledge campaign run by TfL and launched in July 2007. It encourages the Capital’s car users to switch one car journey a week for sustainable transport modes. Research indicates that, by making a pledge, people are more likely to commit to changing their travel behaviour and subsequently feel more compelled to sustain it. 3.2.39 In Sutton, pledges were signed at various events, where imovelondon was presented through displays and interactive features designed to encourage people to reduce their car use. Everyone who has pledged is sent quarterly emails or postcards with tips and information to help them achieve their goals. These also provide an opportunity to send updates and promotional offers as part of a customer relationship management campaign, designed

to enhance communication between STS and Sutton residents and develop an ongoing relationship. The total number of pledges made in Sutton between October 2008 and September 2009 was 652.

Emily Fahey, Sutton Town Centre Manager

‘STS is a strong partner for Sutton Town Centre Partnership. STS principles have also informed the £3.1m regeneration of the town centre. ’3.2.40 The aims of STS are embedded and built into promotional shopping and leisure campaigns within Sutton town centre. This provides another opportunity to engage the public on the subject of behaviour change.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Workplace marketing and promotion 3.3.3 Between May and September 2009, STS delivered a roadshow and travel advice service to many of Sutton’s workplaces. The main aim of the roadshow was to communicate with employees covered by a travel plan and to:

3.3

Workplace travel planning

3.3.1 Over the past three years, STS has encouraged and supported employers in developing a Workplace Travel Plan. The aim of workplace travel planning has been to reduce peak-time car trips in Sutton by helping employees find solutions to their transport problems. The core target for this was for 15,000 employees to be covered by a travel plan by March 2009. This represents approximately 65 per cent of the total number of employees eligible (ie those working for businesses employing four or more people). 3.3.2 As of September 2009, 16,350 employees in Sutton were covered by a travel plan. The STS team is working with 105 businesses on their travel plans, of which around 100 are being implemented or monitored regularly.

Paul Cawthorne, Director of Sutton Chamber of Commerce Ltd

• Promote specific products and services that can assist in overcoming barriers to using alternative modes of transport

• Provide information and advice in the workplace on sustainable travel options

‘When the STS programme started, Sutton Chamber was delighted to be invited to be a partner. By working together to arrange Smarter Travel awareness events across Sutton over the last three years, we hope we have helped in some way to promote the benefits to businesses and employees throughout the borough. It was very encouraging to find so many businesses willing to take part and promote Smarter Travel to their employees.’

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

• Free cycling, walking and public transport information

• Travel advisers to provide employees with personal travel advice

• Details of the imovelondon individual pledge to reduce car use, with the incentive of a free prize draw

• Cycle training information and advice

• Free Dr Bike sessions, including minor adjustments, repairs and advice

3.3.5 The key achievements of the workplace marketing and promotion include:

3.3.4 The roadshow communicated primarily with small businesses in Sutton and Cheam town centres. Employees were encouraged to adopt sustainable ways of travelling to work, join a car club and make imovelondon pledges. The roadshow provided employees with:

• Twenty-nine small and medium businesses visited and provided with information – a total of 3,000 staff, with 167 imovelondon pledges collected

• Seven corporate (large) businesses visited – a total of 9,700 staff, with 247 imovelondon pledges collected

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Cheam and Sutton Travel Plan Networks 3.3.6 Business Travel Networks (BTNs) are groups of businesses located close to one another that join forces to support a range of sustainable travel measures in their local area. The businesses which are part of the Travel Plan Network come together to help their staff travel sustainably by reducing dependency on private car use. 3.3.7 Travel Plan Networks in Cheam and Sutton were launched in October 2007. Area-wide travel plans for the networks have been produced and the STS team assisted the majority of businesses involved to complete basic site-specific travel plans. The Travel Plan Network included a number of incentives to encourage employers and staff to take part:

• Free showers at the Holiday Inn for all town centre staff who walk and cycle to work

• A 10 per cent discount at a cycle retailer

• Free cycle confidence training

• Car sharing via www.liftshare.com

• The ‘try cycling’ programme, which offered participants the loan of a bicycle and equipment and assistance in planning routes

• Installation of cycle parking

Corporate for large businesses 3.3.8 TfL’s Corporate travel plan scheme is aimed at larger businesses (those with 250 or more employees). It provides employers with a support package worth up to £20,000. This includes surveys to understand employees’ travel needs, up to 15 days’ specific advice from travel planners and assistance with funding. At the end of Year 3, eight businesses in Sutton had signed up to the Corporate scheme.

Workplace Travel Plan outcomes 3.3.9 To gauge progress, it is helpful to refer to the five-point scale of travel plan development used in London, running from stage one – ‘expression of interest’ to stage five – ‘travel plan is regularly being monitored and reviewed’. The number of businesses and employees covered by travel plans at these different stages of development is shown in Figures 3.1 and 3.2. 3.3.10 In the third year of the STS programme, 105 businesses covering 16,350 employees were involved in the travel planning process and 100 of these had an active travel plan. There was a slight decline in the number of businesses involved in the workplace planning process since 2008. Examination of the stages of development, however, indicates that this change is explained

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

primarily by a fall in the number of businesses in the early stages of travel plan development. 3.3.11 There is evidence that a substantial proportion of participating businesses have progressed to more fully realised and mature plans; however, there has also clearly been some drop-out. Anecdotally, there is some suggestion that this is related to current economic conditions as some companies have ceased to trade and others have reduced their involvement in non-commercial activity. At the end of Year 3, STS had achieved 100 per cent of its target for Workplace Travel Plans.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Number of businesses 120

Stage 5 – Travel plan is regularly being monitored and reviewed

100

Stage 4 – Travel plan is being implemented

80 60

Stage 3 – Travel plan is being developed

Stage 2 – Survey is underway

Stage 1 – Expression of interest

2006

2007

2008

2009

Figure 3.1: Workplace Travel Plans – number of businesses covered

Number of employees 18,000

3.3.12 To assess the outcomes of the Workplace Travel Plan activities, there were two streams of available data. 3.3.13 The first involved responses from the companies in the BTNs, which are summarised in Table 3.5. In total, 125 companies provided survey results in 2008, while 61 did so in 2009; of these, 53 organisations provided information in both years. However, many of the companies were small – only 14 organisations had responses from more than 10 employees in both years – making it difficult to determine how reliable or representative the results are. The data have been analysed by looking at:

• All responses

• Responses from organisations with results in both years

16,000

• Organisations where at least 30 per cent of employees responded in both years

• Organisations where at least 10 employees replied in both years

3.3.14 The consistent pattern is that, although single-occupancy trips have increased slightly, overall car driver trips have reduced (from between 0.6 and 2.1 percentage points or 1.5 and five per cent). The most plausible explanation is that, while the Smarter Travel work has had some effect on car drivers, it has had a greater effect on car passengers – perhaps encouraging them to walk, cycle or take the bus – thereby converting some previous car-sharers to solodrivers. Perhaps the most notable finding is that, of the 14 companies with responses from more than 10 employees in both waves, 11 had achieved reductions in car driver trips.

14,000 12,000

Stage 5 – Travel plan is regularly being monitored and reviewed

10,000 8,000

Stage 4 – Travel plan is being implemented

6,000

Stage 3 – Travel plan is being developed

4,000

Stage 2 – Survey is underway

2,000 0

Stage 1 – Expression of interest 2006

2007

2008

2009

Figure 3.2: Workplace Travel Plans – number of employees covered

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

3.3.15 The second stream of data related to travel plans outside the BTNs and is based on the first and most recent survey results from 12 organisations. This is summarised in conjunction with the BTN data in Table 3.6. Overall, this shows a slightly different pattern with a greater reduction in single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) trips than in car driver trips. Combining the two data sets appears to suggest no overall significant change in car use for work from all of the organisations involved in travel planning in Sutton. However, it is clear that the experience in different organisations has been very varied, with some notable successes. Of the 25 organisations in Sutton engaged in workplace travel planning, with more than 10 survey responses

All responses

Responses for organisations in both years All organisations with a 30% response rate in both waves All organisations with 10+ responses in both waves

in both years, 16 are reporting a reduction in car driver trips. 3.3.16 In general, the nature of the survey data indicates that most of the organisations are likely to be at a fairly early stage of work. Meanwhile, the success of organisations such as employment consultant Reed and Sutton Council indicates the potential for the initiative in the future. 3.3.17 The approach to workplace travel planning taken in Sutton was comparatively time- and staffintensive, therefore not providing the highest possible return on investment. Consequently there are planned changes to the way travel planning is delivered across London, which are due to be introduced in 2010. 2008

2009

125 organisations 1,535 responses 34.9% SOV trips 39.6% car driver trips

61 organisations 1,025 responses 37.5% SOV trips 38.2% car driver trips

53 organisations 1,250 responses 34.9% SOV trips 40.5% driver trips

53 organisations 987 responses 37.9% SOV trips 38.7% car driver trips

39 organisations 1,124 responses 35.1% SOV trips 40.5% car driver trips 14 organisations 958 responses 36.1% SOV trips 41.8% car driver trips

39 organisations 913 responses 39.2% SOV trips 39.9% car driver trips 14 organisations 774 responses 39.1% SOV trips 39.7% car driver trips

First survey 7

Most recent survey

Responses for BTNS

53 organisations 1,250 responses 34.9% SOV trips 40.5% car driver trips

53 organisations 987 responses 37.9% SOV trips 38.7% car driver trips

Responses for other travel plans

12 organisations 1,182 responses 47.8% SOV trips 53.6% car driver trips

12 organisations 1,116 responses 45.8% SOV trips 53.7% car driver trips

65 organisations 2,432 responses 41.2% SOV trips 46.8% car driver trips

65 organisations 2,103 responses 42.1% SOV trips 46.6% car driver trips

All responses

Table 3.6: Results for all Workplace Travel Plans, where companies had completed at least two surveys

3.4 School travel planning 3.4.1 The key objective of school travel planning was to bring about a change in attitudes and travel behaviour for the whole school community including staff, pupils and parents. The STS programme goal was for all 68 schools in the borough to have a travel plan in place by March 2008, one year ahead of the London target and two years ahead of the Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s target for schools in England and Wales. This was achieved in Year 2 (2008/09). 3.4.2 In addition to the projects outlined in this chapter, other initiatives offered included the Mayor of Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School Cycle Parking scheme, infrastructure improvements for cyclists and

pedestrians, cyclist training for pupils, curriculum materials relating the School Travel Plans to lessons, theatre in education, plus small grants for schools to develop their own initiatives. 3.4.3 Overall, five per cent fewer pupils travelled to school by car or van in 2008/09 compared with 2006/07, against a target of six per cent over the three-year period. This remains a positive shift in behaviour, particularly as those schools that joined the school travel planning programme later tended to be those with particularly high car use.

Table 3.5: Sutton and Cheam BTNs

For the BTN results, the first survey was in 2008, while the most recent survey was in 2009. For the other travel plans, the first survey ranged from 2006 to 2008, while the most recent survey data was from 2008 or 2009.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Accreditation

3.4.6 Table 3.8 shows the number of schoolchildren taking part in Sutton’s WoW scheme in Year 3. The highest number was in May 2009, probably because this month coincided with Walk to School Week.

• During Year 3, Sutton’s schools were encouraged to apply for School Travel Plan accreditation. This is a TfL scheme designed to reward schools’ efforts to raise the standard of their plans

3.4.4 Accreditation awards for the scheme are given on three levels – sustainable (bronze), higher standards (silver) and outstanding (gold). As shown in Table 3.7, the number and standard of accredited School Travel Plans in Sutton has increased considerably since Year 1. By September 2009, 39 of Sutton’s schools had achieved accredited status, which is the highest proportion for any London borough. Three of these schools are at gold level, which is the highest number of any borough. Accreditation level

Month

9,770

September 2008

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

Higher standards

Outstanding

Sustainable

Table 3.7: Comparison of School Travel Plan accreditation in Sutton 2006/07-2008/09 WoW 3.4.5 Walk once a Week/Walk on Wednesdays (WoW) is a national programme which encourages schoolchildren and their parents to walk to school at least once a week throughout the year. The main objective is to introduce active travel to pupils and parents to promote regular physical exercise. In Sutton, WoW was open to a total of 14,465

WoW participants

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

pupils in 2008/09; of those eligible, between 9,000 and 11,000 pupils claimed a badge each month throughout 2008/09.

October 2008

10,542

November 2008

10,298

December 2008

10,452

January 2009

10,744

February 2009

10,895

March 2009

11,076

April 2009

10,401

May 2009

11,666

June 2009

10,004

July 2009

10,021

Table 3.8: Number of WoW participants by month in Sutton, 2008/09 Big WoW (2009) 3.4.7 The Big WoW was a celebration event to launch the 2009/10 WoW campaign. In 2009 in Sutton, it ran over three days from 28 to 30 September, involving 11 schools and 3,400 pupils, which was a significant increase on the 120 pupils involved in 2008. The initiative aimed to educate pupils on the objectives of WoW through a series of walking-related activities across the three days. These included

distributing postcards for pupils to fill in with their parents on their way to school, a rickshaw visit at each school and assemblies and class visits where prizes for the best postcards were presented. 3.4.8 Each year, materials have been devised by national charity Living Streets to help coordinate a UK-wide promotion of The Big WoW.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Move it at the Manor sticker challenge 3.4.10

In 2009, 45 schools (of a possible 47) were sent classroom packs; 26 schools requested activity diaries; and 20 schools took part in the creative rap competition. On average, schools increased walking by 15 per cent in 2009, compared to six per cent in 2008.

Green Travel Tracker

Walk to School Week (May 2009) 3.4.9

Walk to School Week takes place every year in May, as part of the National Walk to School Campaign run by the charity Living Streets. It provides an opportunity for schools to come together across the UK to promote the importance of walking. The 2009 theme was ‘Walk‘n’Talk’, which highlighted the social side of walking to school. There was a London-wide tie-in to a Walk to School Week campaign by radio station Kiss FM, which included a walking to school-themed rap competition. The LBS selected a winner who was invited to record his rap for a podcast on the radio station’s website.

3.4.11

During the summer of 2009, STS launched a campaign which covered the period from June to October and encouraged schoolchildren to participate in local initiatives – such as WoW, Walk to School Month and Move it at the Manor. Around 13,000 schoolchildren received a pack called the Green Travel Tracker, with a diary and the chance to collect stickers if they walked, cycled or used public transport. The aim of the tracker was to maintain communication of Smarter Travel messages during the school holiday period.

3.4.12

The tracker was delivered to all students in Years 4 to 8. The sticker challenge was contained in the diary and enabled young people to be rewarded for attending local events and participating in school sustainable travel initiatives.

3.4.13

Younger children received a simpler sticker book. They were also able to collect stickers at each of the summer’s sustainable travel events and could enter them into a grand prize draw.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

3.4.14

This project was designed to provide a sticker challenge similar to the Green Travel Tracker, but aimed at younger children. It ran in the week leading up to Move it at the Manor, from 6 to 12 July 2009.

3.4.15

Children were rewarded with stickers if they used a sustainable mode of travel, such as walking or cycling, to get to school in the week prior to Move it at the Manor. Children who collected a sticker on each day were

entered into a prize draw at the event. In total, 8,000 sticker challenge postcards were distributed to pupils in Years 1 to 3, while 70 completed sticker challenges were entered into the prize draw. 3.4.16

The challenge was popular with the children and there was a steady flow of families entering the prize draw, including some who may not have otherwise gone to Move it at the Manor.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Schoolchildren’s photographic competition 3.4.17 The aim of this initiative was to engage schools in a creative project. The competition ended in an exhibition at Move it at the Manor where entries were judged. This helped promote the festival and increase attendance. 3.4.18 The competition had four categories – a ‘green journeys’ theme for three different age groups and a ‘local legends’ category in which all

ages could enter. Children were asked to photograph people who are regarded as green travel champions to celebrate them in the exhibition. 3.4.19 The competition was promoted widely, with 10,000 postcards sent directly to schools and a further 8,000 distributed through other means, such as on the street or in community centres.

3.5 Pilot projects and new innovations Active Steps 3.5.1 Active Steps was a 12-week programme delivered by SMPCT and funded by STS. As part of the initiative, patients who needed to get more exercise were referred to the scheme by their GP. During the programme they met with a trained adviser who helped them set goals and gave them information such as cycle maps or contacts for walking groups. They were also sent weekly support messages by text or email and were interviewed at the end of the course to see how they had got on. 3.5.2 Active Steps was also advertised via opportunistic signposting, which contributed to increasing levels of participation and raised the profile throughout Sutton. Residents were also signed up to the project at events and workplaces. 3.5.3 As of September 2009, 1,062 Sutton residents had been signposted to the programme. Of these:

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

• Ninety-five per cent of service users report being more physically active

• Sixty-one per cent report a permanent change in the way they travel

• Eighty-seven per cent feel generally healthier

• Forty-three per cent have lost weight

• Fifty-two per cent have reduced their car use

3.5.4 Motivational interviewing had been shown to work well within the fields of health and physical activity and was used for the Active Steps project. Patients said they found the interviews valuable as it helped explain their ambivalence surrounding physical activity and travel, and they valued having personalised goals without being told what to do. Patients also appreciated the amount of time given to them, as this is not usually possible given the time constraints experienced by most healthcare professionals.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

SmartWater security marking 3.5.5 The Safer Sutton Partnership Service has a crime reduction strategy which includes reducing cycle theft and providing reassurance across the borough. 3.5.6 SmartWater is a forensic coding system where a clear liquid is applied to property such as cycles, enabling police to establish the owner of the property if it is stolen. In addition to the marking of cycles in this way,

Event (2009)

Tackling Transport (2008) Sutton police have been proactively targeting ‘hotspot’ areas for cycle theft and using the local media to highlight achievements. 3.5.7 STS provided funding to the police for additional distribution of SmartWater to residents with cycles. The key achievements of the SmartWater initiative in 2008/09 are shown in Table 3.9.

Number of SmartWater packs distributed

Cheam Village Fair

St Helier Festival

Hackbridge Carnival

Move it at the Manor

Active at the Arena

South Central Festival

Give Your Car the Day Off Direct marketing campaign Total

5 420

Table 3.9: Distribution of SmartWater packs in Year 3

135

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

3.5.8 Tackling Transport was an initiative aimed at getting officials, young footballers and parents, who participate in local mini-league football, to address the problems associated with driving cars and parking in the borough’s parks when attending matches or training sessions. Four little league football clubs participated in the scheme, which ran over the course of the season, from September 2008 to April 2009. 3.5.9 The clubs were given a grant of £1,000 and were asked to sign an agreement to work in partnership with STS. They agreed to promote the Tackling Transport scheme to young footballers and their parents and actively promote walking and cycling to little league grounds.

Charles Jeffrey Tackling Transport

‘ West Sutton Little League has fully committed itself to encouraging families to support the Tackling Transport scheme. The scheme was launched in September and generated a lot of interest from the children and their parents. Any initiative that encourages families to walk or cycle instead of relying on the car has to be good, both for the individual’s health and the environment.’

3.5.10 In total, 463 youngsters registered with Tackling Transport. The scheme was evaluated using a car park survey, which involved traffic counts at each football ground towards the end of the season in March 2008, with a follow-up survey over the same weekend in March 2009. 3.5.11 A follow-up survey of parents was also conducted to get feedback on the scheme. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Out of the 36 respondents:

• Ninety-four per cent stated that they and their children had benefited from the scheme

• Seventy-five per cent said the scheme had permanently changed the way they travel to the grounds

• All said that they would participate in the scheme again

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

4 Monitoring and evaluation 4.1

Introduction

4.1.1 Two topics are covered in this section of the report:

3.6

Other

• Description of the monitoring and performance management framework

• Evidence concerning the programme’s impact to date

Car club 3.6.1 Sutton’s car club is run by Streetcar. Customers are able to reserve cars online or by telephone and vehicles can be collected or returned at any time. The cost depends on how long a customer uses the car and how far they drive. 3.6.2 Streetcar has been promoted by STS as part of an effort to reduce the number of cars on the borough’s roads, particularly targeting people who drive infrequently. The car club has been promoted at a number of STS events, including the South Central Festival, Move it at the Manor and the Environmental Fair, and within larger workplaces. Sutton Council established a corporate membership scheme so staff could sign up as Streetcar users, reducing the amount of private cars used for work journeys.

3.6.3 The key achievements of the car club in 2008/09 include:

• Eighteen vehicles (one van) – two more vehicles than in Year 2

• A total of 481 members as of September 2009 (more than doubled from 237 at the same time in 2008)

• Greatest average vehicle use of 135.9 per cent8 in September 2009 (significantly more than the highest figure for Year 2 of 48.8 per cent in May 2008). It was also higher in every month in Year 3 compared to Year 2

Vehicle use is based on a set number of hours a day. For example, Streetcar bases it on a 10-hour day; therefore, when the car is booked for 15 hours they say that usage is 150 per cent. City Car and Zipcar base their figures on 24 hours.

4.1.2 Central to the role of STS as an opportunity to test the application of Smarter Travel measures, individually and in combination, has been the requirement to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the programme. 4.1.3 As described in the STS summary report of Lessons Learnt9, the planning and implementation of STS has focused on a ‘funnel of behaviour change’. This represents the idea that awareness can be widely raised among the population, giving rise to the intention to change among a proportion of that population, leading to actual change among some of those who intended to. This approach means that data are required to assess the impacts of the programme at different stages of the funnel, ie the numbers of people contacted, the changes in attitudes and the changes in intentions, in addition to self-reported or observed changes in behaviour.

4.1.4 The planning of STS has been informed by the use of a number of models of behavioural change10. Some of these models imply that a change process can be relatively rapid at an individual level. Conversely, some of the triggers to change, such as an individual’s impression of what the social norms are, may take some time to come into existence. For example, if seeing more cyclists influences someone to consider cycling as an appropriate and acceptable behaviour, they may be more likely to cycle. However it may take some time before the number of cyclists increases significantly enough to be noticed by an individual and to feed into their decision to cycle. There is limited evidence of the long-term effects of transport behaviour change programmes and the extent to which the changes they achieve are sustained, or the time taken for awareness and intention generated by programmes to be translated into observable changes in behaviour.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

STS, Lessons Learnt in the Delivery of a Behaviour Change Programme, 2009. Ibid.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Data interpretation 4.1.5 The evaluation of STS, therefore, is a long-term exercise and Sutton Council is committed to continuing the implementation and monitoring of the programme. The data with which to assess progress to date is necessarily limited to the three years since the launch of the programme. Previous annual reports (see www.smartertravelsutton.org) have reported year-on-year progress in Sutton. This report, being the final one of the STS programme, focuses particularly on comparing the Year 3 data with the baseline.

• STS outputs – programme information on types and scale of engagement

• Awareness among residents – telephone survey of 1,500 Sutton residents and Control sample of 500 Croydon residents in September 2009, event attendance

4.1.6 Relevant data for different stages in the behaviour change funnel, and the methods used to assess them within this evaluation, include:

• Attitudes and intentions – telephone survey of 1,500 Sutton residents and Control sample of 500 Croydon residents in September 2009 • Self-reported behaviour – telephone survey of 1,500 Sutton residents and Control sample of 500 Croydon residents in September 2009, using a travel diary approach, and comparing with the LTDS • Actual behaviour – traffic, cycle count and bus patronage data

4.1.7 The available data from the sources described above are summarised in this chapter. There are some interesting trends and outcomes evident in the data that suggest that STS has been extremely successful in changing some elements of behaviour. It has proved popular with the public and has created a foundation of awareness for sustainable travel options that may support future changes in behaviour.

4.2

Overview of progress to date

4.2.1 STS has made strong progress in achieving the key targets for the programme and this is summarised in Table 4.1. It shows that STS has achieved all of these targets, in some cases exceeding them.

4.2.2 A summary of progress against the other core KPIs, as agreed with TfL, is shown in Table 4.2. An indication of whether the outcomes have been achieved (green), are close to being achieved (orange) or have not been met (red) is also shown. 4.2.3 Table 4.2 indicates that many of the desired outcomes have been achieved, with particularly good performance in reduction in mode share of the car, improved travel awareness and marketing, installation of cycle parking, the cycle delivery service and school travel planning.

Target 5% point or greater reduction in the proportion of residents’ car trips by September 2009 (from 2006 base)

Progress to date 6% point reduction in the mode share of the car (driver or passenger)

All schools to have a travel plan by March 2008

100% by March 2008 (first London borough to achieve this)

15,000 employees to be covered by a travel plan

16,350 employees covered by September 2009

Table 4.1: STS – progress against key targets

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

4.2.4

• Sample size – 30 per cent is considered a suitable response rate to a travel plan survey; however, this takes no account of the size of the business. In Sutton, most of the businesses within the networks had low employee numbers, meaning the results are drawn from a very small group of people

The results for workplace travel planning have been more mixed, with overall performance of the BTNs falling short of the desired outcomes, despite some successful Workplace Travel Plans. There are a number of reasons for this: • Implementation – the results reflect all businesses within Sutton that have developed travel plans but do not take into account whether or not the travel plan was ‘active’. There have been some very successful case studies within the borough, including Sutton Council’s travel plan which has helped to reduce SOV use by five per cent since 2006

• Type of business – the success of a travel plan relies on the lead contact within the organisation implementing the suggested measures, but this can be difficult in the retail sector where staff turnover is higher than in office-based organisations

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Target

Progress to date

Number of employees covered by travel plans in the borough Number of businesses in Sutton and Cheam BTNs

15,000 by March 2009

16,350 employees covered by September 2009

Average mode shift achieved by businesses

100%

100% by March 2008 (first London borough to achieve this)

Reduction in cars as mode for the journey to school

To have at least a 6% point reduction

5% fewer pupils travelled to school by car/van in 2008/09 compared with 2006/07

Travel awareness and marketing STS events attendance (September to September)

2009: 25,000 people

Participation at STS events (imovelondon pledge)

2009: 1,500 pledges 2,963 pledges signed signed since 2006 in total

Average number of unique visits to STS website (September to September)

2009: 1,000 per month

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Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

13% shift away from 2% shift away from single the car at occupancy car use September 2009 at September 200912

Number of schools with travel plans

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September 2008: September 200911: 50% of businesses • 23 in Cheam in the target market: • 46 in Sutton • 19 in Cheam • 8 in Sutton

School travel planning

Levels of cycling

rk two ms port proble l Ne e Solving trans v a eism ff s Tr y sta gs ed absenste s st b in e lo v e a uc ac me sin ial s nd red g sp ing ti s to come anc ntion a r parkin y reduc n y for businesseir staff and a Bu excellent wa the ing iness? F•inSRtaeffdurecteededneperoddfougchtitvinitycbongestio y iness travel network is an ideas for encouraging ble businesses n it i il and bus o ib A ces j s au • work will ena ion to make crea ht c ons ably. The net e act will r bus • In nd freig resp “rkforctogvise itorethsertototrashavelretivemoresrevoioursuscetain issues and tak a on transport cial Howefit you r wo d soes a. you onsible to have a collec are f n al o loc a ir p te mploye ellbeingtally res ents in the em a rov r ” imp ben all e rpo nd w men Co

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27,000 people

Monthly average of 1,304 in Year 3

Travel behaviour

ork s Travel Netw ing a Busines How will join siness? Financial savings bu benefit your r business will ses ge BTN you Cheam Villa r local busines By joining the mutual support of othe other the to engage with and benefit from will be able You matters s. tion on transport & organisa the council and tions to s solu tion vative organisa develop inno tion and to ges ther con reducing work toge lems including shared prob essibility. improving acc

KPI Workplace travel planning

2009: 100% increase from baseline

No baseline data available as cycling counters not activated 75% increase in average number of cyclists per month (April 2007 to October 2009) Increase in mode share from 0.6% to 2.1% This data will be reported, but will not be treated as a KPI as STS has only a minor effect on bus patronage compared to the impact of London Buses

Table 4.2: STS – progress to date against other targets Note that due to economic conditions some businesses have closed. Note that this figure is based on 12 businesses in Sutton that had an active travel plan and had provided baseline data, but excludes businesses in the BTNs.

11 12

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

KPI

Target

Progress to date

Car clubs Number of vehicles

15 by March 2009

18 at March 2009

400 by September 2009

481 at September 2009

March 2009: 200 new cycle parking spaces

256 new cycle parking spaces for 2008/09 financial year

2009: 60%

50% of key sites, including stations and high streets in Sutton (survey undertaken on 24/08/2009)

Number of members Cycle parking Number of new cycle racks installed Occupancy rate

Cycle delivery service Number of cycle deliveries

2,800 in 2009

6,173 in 2008/09

Mileage of deliveries (potentially September 2009: the amount of car miles saved) 4,000 miles SmartWater cycle security Number of SmartWater cycle security packs distributed

Outcome

September 2009: 400 packs

6,463 miles in 2008/09

420 packs

Table 4.2: STS – progress to date against other targets

4.3 Attitudinal and behavioural impacts of the STS programme 4.3.1 Follow-up research was conducted in September 2009 to establish the behavioural and attitudinal impacts of the programme since 2006. The key findings are summarised in this section, comparing end of programme (autumn 2009 – Year 3) results with those from 2008 (Year 2), 2007 (Year 1) and 2006 (baseline).

4.3.2 Research was based on reported travel behaviour and questionnaires completed by a sample of residents in Sutton and in the Control area13. Completed surveys were received from approximately 1,500 people living in the borough and around 500 residents of the Control area, in each of the four years from baseline to present.

4.3.3 The design of the survey used for conducting the baseline and interim year surveys of attitudes and opinions meant that calculation of mode share, and possible mode shift, was not entirely reliable. Identification of these issues was a lesson learnt from the evaluation of Year 2 STS performance. Consequently, TfL took the decision to update the survey instrument to improve its accuracy, particularly with regard to its comparability to other data sources that could be used for corroboration. Of these sources, the most useful is the LTDS, which is a rolling survey of travel behaviour in London conducted by TfL. The Sutton Year 3 survey was amended so that the relevant sections, particularly the collection of self-reported travel behaviour data, enabled mode share to be calculated accurately and aligned with the LTDS, allowing comparison with pre-intervention behaviour. This will ensure more accurate and reliable monitoring of travel trends in Sutton in future years. 4.3.4 In addition to the survey, analysis of key quantitative measures in terms of traffic levels, bus patronage and trends in cycling has been undertaken. Data from ATCs and cycle counters, and bus patronage figures collected by TfL, have been analysed for both Sutton and the Control area14 to look at trends since the start of the STS programme. This has also been compared to overall trends in Outer London where possible.

4.3.5 It is difficult to use the Control data to determine the extent to which the STS programme has impacted Sutton residents, due to the geographical proximity of the Control area to Sutton. This has the potential to pollute the Control sample as STS messages can be filtered into the Control area. However, the analysis of these data indicates that the local community is responding positively to the STS programme and steps towards key targets are being made. Key messages from the research 4.3.6 The key findings of the research into Year 3 progress of the STS programme are outlined below. Awareness and support for STS

• Eighty-one per cent of Sutton residents agreed that STS was the type of programme in which TfL and Sutton Council should invest

• Thirty-two per cent of Sutton residents had heard of the STS programme, compared with four per cent of residents in the Control area

• In Year 3, 11 per cent more Sutton residents were aware of Smarter Travel advertising than in the Control area

The Control area was made up of a representative selection of bus routes, ATCs and cycle counters in the London Borough of Croydon. 14

A sample of residents were interviewed in the Control area of South Croydon (part of the London Borough of Croydon).

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

4.4 Awareness of, and support for, the STS programme 4.4.1 Overall, 32 per cent of Sutton residents had heard of the STS programme, compared with four per cent in the Control area, as shown in Figure 4.1. Attitudes to sustainable modes

Bus patronage

• Compared with Year 2, there was a 19 per cent increase in the number of Sutton residents who agreed that there are lots of bus routes in their local area. This was the highest level across all years

• Bus patronage shows an encouraging upward trend in Sutton with levels 16.3 per cent higher on monitored routes in Year 3 than they were before the STS programme started

• Compared with the baseline year (2005/06), there has been a statistically significant increase in the number of Sutton residents agreeing with the following statements: − ‘There are lots of bus routes local to me’

− ‘There is provision for cyclists in my area’

− ‘The benefits of walking and cycling outweigh the convenience of using a car’

Cycling

• In Year 3, slightly more Sutton residents said they were attracted to the idea of cycling in the next year and probably would – 20 per cent in Sutton compared to 18 per cent in the Control area • There has been a substantial increase in cycling since Year 1, with levels based on count data 75 per cent higher in Year 3 (April to September 2009) than they were two years earlier

Sutton

Control

65%

3% 4%

32%

93%

Car use and mode change

• The increase in cycling indicated at counter sites is also evident in the comparison of Sutton Year 3 survey data with an LTDS (2005/06) baseline. This shows an increase in the mode share of cycling from 0.6 per cent to 2.1 per cent

• Compared with the baseline year (2005/06), there has been a 63 per cent decrease in the number of Sutton residents who said that having access to a car was essential to them. This was the lowest number across all three years • Sutton traffic levels are 3.2 per cent lower in Year 3 than they were over the same period (January to September) before the STS programme began

Don’t know

Yes

Figure 4.1: Have you heard of STS? Sutton v Control (Year 3) 4.4.2 The STS initiative was described to all survey respondents and, when asked whether it was the type of programme in which TfL and Sutton Council should invest, there was a resoundingly positive response. Eighty-one per cent of Sutton residents and 77 per cent of Control area respondents agreed, as shown in Figure 4.2.

Sutton

• A comparison of the Sutton Year 3 survey data with a baseline of the LTDS (2005/06) indicates a six per cent point reduction in the mode share of the car (driver or passenger)

Control

12%

11% 81%

Yes

77%

Don’t know

Figure 4.2: Is STS the kind of service in which TfL and Sutton Council should invest? Sutton v Control (Year 3)

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Percentage of all respondents

4.5 Awareness of STS advertising advertising awareness between the areas, with almost two-thirds of residents in Sutton saying they had seen information or advice regarding sustainable travel, compared with just over half of respondents in the Control area.

54%

Sutton

10% 8% 9% 8%

65%

Control

33% 2% 2%

4.5.2 Residents were also asked to explain what they remembered the advertising to be about. As shown in Figure 4.4, six per cent more Sutton residents recognised one of the central themes of the STS programme Swap Your Car For Bike, Walk Or Bus. More Sutton residents also recalled information regarding car clubs and journeys to school15 .

Following a prompted question listing a number of options as well as one ‘other’ option to provide an open response.

7% 9%

Cycle more/cycling information/ routes/cycling (unspecified)

44%

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

6% 8%

Easier, quicker, cheaper ways to travel

Figure 4.3: Have you seen information or advice regarding walking, cycling and use of public transport or other sustainable modes?

13% 10%

Greener ways to travel

Other

11% 11%

Walk more/information on walking

Yes

Cycle training

5% 7%

Making changes to how you travel for shopping and/or leisure journeys

7% 6%

Journeys to school

3% 5%

More healthy options to travel/be more active

3% 3%

Promoting use of public transport (including Oyster cards)

3% 3%

Car clubs

1% 3%

Don’t know

Control

15% 12%

More healthy options to travel/ be more active

Percentage of all respondents

Don’t know

33%

Catch up with the Bicycle

4.5.1 Respondents were asked if they had seen any information or advice regarding walking, cycling and the use of public transport or other sustainable modes. Figure 4.3 compares the responses of respondents from Sutton and the Control area in Year 3. It shows that there are considerable differences in

Sutton

27%

Swap Your Car For Bike, Walk Or Bus

18% 13%

Figure 4.4: What do you recall this information or advice was about? (percentage of respondents who recall advertising)

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Control Year 1

Control Year 2

Control Year 3

Sutton Year 1

Sutton Year 2

Sutton Year 3

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Figure 4.5: Attitudes towards walking and cycling in Year 3 – Sutton v Control (percentage ‘strongly agree’) *Statement only asked in Year 2 and Year 3

Control baseline Control baseline

Lack of confidence cycling on the roads is a major reason why I don’t cycle (more)*

Percentage strongly agree

24%

32%

Walking helps me to relax and feel less stressed*

4.6.3 More residents in the Control area said that walking helps them relax and feel less stressed, with five per cent more agreeing to this statement than in Sutton.

Cycle journeys of up to 20 minutes would be/are a practical way for me to get around locally*

4.6.2 All respondents were asked to say whether or not they agreed with statements about walking and cycling, as shown in Figure 4.5. The responses from Sutton residents to attitudinal statements around walking and cycling in Year 3 are very encouraging, with a greater proportion than in the Control area considering the benefits of walking

The benefits of walking and cycling outweigh the convenience of using a car

Attitudes

There is provision for cyclists in my area

and cycling to be more important than the convenience of travelling by car. The number of people agreeing to this statement was 30 per cent in Sutton, compared to 23 per cent in the Control area. Also, a greater number of Sutton residents felt there is provision for cyclists in their area – 30 per cent compared to 22 per cent in the Control area. More Sutton residents agreed that cycle journeys are a practical way to get around locally (24 per cent in Sutton, 20 per cent in the Control area).

4.6.1 A key element of the STS programme is encouraging more Sutton residents to consider walking or cycling more often. This section presents the results of a survey into local residents’ attitudes and behavioural intentions to use these modes, together with monthly cycling patronage data.

39% 43%

56% 58%

Percentage strongly agree

43% 44%

56% 63% 19% 20% 25% 23% 25% 29% 30% 30%

19% 20%

18% 22% 25% 22% 26% 29% 30% 30%

Control

Walking and cycling

Sutton

4.6

Behavioural intentions 4.6.4 Figures 4.6a and 4.6b show that there was little difference in the number of residents in Sutton and the Control area who said they were considering increasing their walking or cycling in the next year. However, it is encouraging to see that slightly more Sutton residents agreed with the statement ‘I am attracted to the idea of cycling in the next year and probably will’ (20 per cent in Sutton compared to 18 per cent in the Control area, as shown in Figure 4.6b).

Percentage of all respondents

Percentage of all respondents 48% 47%

I am attracted to the idea of walking more in the next year and probably will 14% 14%

I am attracted to the idea of walking more in the next year, but probably won’t I don’t rule it out, but don’t think it likely that I will walk more in the next year

18% 18%

I think it highly unlikely that I will walk more in the next year

19% 18%

Don’t know

1% 4%

Sutton Control

18% 20%

I am attracted to the idea of cycling more in the next year and probably will

Control

14% 14%

I am attracted to the idea of cycling more in the next year, but probably won’t

14% 13%

I don’t rule it out, but don’t think it likely that I will cycle more in the next year

53% 52%

I think it highly unlikely that I will cycle more in the next year Don’t know

Sutton

1% 1%

Figure 4.6a: Walking behavioural intentions in Year 3 – Sutton v Control (percentage ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree slightly’)

Figure 4.6b: Cycling behavioural intentions in Year 3 – Sutton v Control (percentage agree)

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Levels of walking and cycling 4.6.6 Figure 4.8 compares the frequency which respondents in Sutton and the Control area claimed they normally cycle (Year 3). The results have been very encouraging for STS. Three times as many respondents in Sutton cycle five or more days per week than in the Control area (three per cent in total), while six per cent cycle between two and four days per week, compared to four per cent in the Control area.

4.6.5 Figure 4.7 compares the frequency which respondents in Sutton and the Control area claimed they normally walk (Year 3). There was little difference in the responses from both areas, with more than half of people in Sutton and the Control area stating that they walk five or more days per week.

Percentage of all respondents 57% 59%

Walk five or more days a week

11% 12%

Walk once a month to one day a week

Never walk

Control

Percentage of all respondents Cycle five or more days a week

24% 23%

Walk two to four days a week

Walk once every six months or less

Sutton

3% 4% 4% 2%

Cycle two to four days a week Cycle once a month to one day a week Cycle once every six months or less

1% 3%

Sutton Control

4% 6% 16% 14% 30% 29% 49% 47%

Never cycle

Figure 4.7: Levels of walking in Year 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sutton v Control Figure 4.8: Levels of cycling in Year 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sutton v Control

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Graph trendline shows point-to-point increase in cycling, ie September 2009 average number of cyclists per day was 93 per cent higher than it was in April 2007. The 75 per cent increase in cycling refers to the average number of cyclists per day across the same period, ie April to October 2007 v April to October 2009. The figures have been averaged to take account of monthly variations or localised events, ie roadworks. 17

Control

Figure 4.9: Analysis of cycling levels (weekdays) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sutton, Control and TLRN17

TLRN London

75 75

Year 2 Year 1 Pre-STS 225

250

Index value

A p r0 7 M ay 07 J u n 07 Ju l0 7 A u g0 7 S e p 07 O ct 07 N ov 07 D e c0 7 Ja n 08 F e b 08 M ar 08 A p r0 8 M ay 08 J u n 08 Ju l0 8 A u g0 8 S e p 08 O ct 08 N ov 08 D e c0 8 Ja n 09 F e b 09 M ar 09 A p r0 9 M ay 09

Year 3

Note Sutton counts are average seven-day flow, TLRN are average weekday flow.

Sutton

100 100

4.6.8 Unfortunately, baseline data is not available for cycling trends as there was only one suitable counter in place prior to more permanent counters being installed in April 2007. However, as shown in Figure 4.9, the comparison with cycling on the TLRN and the Control area

shows what a positive impact the STS programme has had on cycling in the borough. While Sutton has shown a 75 per cent increase since April 2007, on the TLRN as a whole there has only been a 13 per cent rise over the same period16. Cycle counts in the Control area have also shown a decrease of 12 per cent in average daily flow in Year 3 compared to Year 1.

4.6.7 The trend data from cycle counters in Sutton is extremely encouraging, showing that there have been significant increases in the levels of cycling since the STS programme began. Overall there has been a 75 per cent rise in total cyclists per day since Year 1.

Month

125 125

150 150

175 175

200 200

225

250

Index value

Au g

Cycling and walking trends

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

4.7 4.6.9 As noted previously, the survey design in 2009 was amended to allow direct comparability with the LTDS data. The LTDS is a Londonwide survey and consequently only has a sample size in any one borough of approximately 200 respondents per year, which is considerably fewer than the 1,500 sample responses gathered in the Sutton Year 3 research. Typically, because of this, the LTDS data would be averaged across three years to smooth random fluctuations. However, the LTDS was conducted for the first time in 2005/06, meaning that only one year of the LTDS data are available prior to the beginning of the STS intervention and, consequently, a three-year average is not appropriate when establishing a baseline of pre-intervention travel behaviour in Sutton.

4.6.11 However, no comparable count data are available for walking levels, as with cycling; the comparison of Sutton 2009 data with the LTDS 2005/06 baseline indicates that the mode share of walking has increased. These data refer specifically to trips where respondents walk all the way, for instance a walk to the bus stop is excluded, and consequently would tend to under-represent the total volume of walking. Nevertheless, the data show an increase in mode share from 19 per cent to 22 per cent – an increase of three percentage points.

4.6.10 Despite this caveat, the comparison of the LTDS baseline for 2005/06 with the Sutton 2009 data tends to corroborate the trend in the data from the cycle count sites. This is particularly interesting with respect to mode share of cycling (see Figures 4.21 and 4.22) which rose from 0.6 per cent in the preintervention year to 2.1 per cent in 2009, representing a substantial percentage point increase in the mode share of cycling.

Public transport Year 2, there have been notable changes in attitudes towards public transport. The Year 3 survey shows that more people than in any other year felt there were a lot of bus routes in their local area, while fewer than in any other year said they only use public transport when they have no other option. Compared to Year 2, there was a 19 per cent increase in the number of Sutton residents who agreed that there are plenty of bus routes in their local area.

4.7.1 The STS programme aims to increase the number of local residents travelling by public transport instead of private car. This section presents the results of a survey into their attitudes to using public transport, as well as monthly bus patronage data. Attitudes 4.7.2 Figure 4.10 compares the attitudes of respondents to public transport use in Sutton and the Control area. While attitudes to walking and cycling have remained the same as in Sutton 54%

There are lots of bus routes local to me I only use public transport when I have no other option

52%

Percentage strongly agree 59%

Control baseline 71%

Sutton Year 2 34% 36% 34% 32%

Sutton Year 3

Control There are lots of bus routes local to me

Sutton Year 1

56% 51% 49%

Percentage strongly agree Control baseline 57%

Control Year 1 Control Year 2

I only use public transport when I have no other option

35% 29% 31% 35%

Control Year 3

Figure 4.10: Attitudes to public transport – Sutton v Control (percentage ‘agree strongly’) Note: Synovate data unavailable for ‘slightly agree’

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Percentage of all respondents Use of public transport five or more days per week. On the other hand, seven per cent more residents in the Control area said they travelled by rail five or more days per week, possibly reflecting the greater number and speed of services from Croydon to central London.

4.7.3 Figures 4.11, 4.12 and 4.13 compare people’s use of public transport in the two areas in Year 3. There was little difference in the number of people travelling by Underground; however, seven per cent more Sutton residents said they travelled by bus Percentage of all respondents 11%

Use bus five or more days a week

Sutton

18%

Control

16% 17%

Use bus two to four days a week

28%

Use bus once a month to one day a week Use bus once every six months or less Never use bus

25%

32% 32%

Figure 4.11: Use of the bus in Year 3 – Sutton v Control

Use Tube two to four days a week

6% 8%

Sutton Control

33% 36%

Use Tube once a month to one day a week

44% 42%

Use Tube once every six months or less Never use Tube

12%

Control

12%

Use rail once a month to one day a week

30%

Use rail once every six months or less

30%

Never use rail

34% 37%

8% 9%

Bus patronage trends

7% 7%

Use rail two to four days a week

Sutton

Figure 4.13: Use of National Rail/London Overground in Year 3 – Sutton v Control

12%

Use Tube five or more days a week

19%

Use rail five or more days a week

4.7.4 Figure 4.14 shows that bus patronage continues to increase in both Sutton and the Control area (on the monitored routes) but also shows considerable seasonal variations. The results are very encouraging with Year 3 levels 16.3 per cent higher than those recorded in the same period (January to September) before the STS programme started. These figures have been collected for routes 80, 151, 154 and 28018.

4.8

4.7.5 The Control area has also seen a growth in bus patronage, but at a slower rate than in Sutton. There has been a 10.3 per cent increase in Year 3 (on the monitored routes) compared to the same period (January to September) pre-STS. This is an interesting contrast to Table 4.4

4.8.1 This section compares attitudes to car use between the baseline year and Year 3, as well as between Sutton and the Control area. It also discusses awareness of car clubs and traffic trends, giving an overall picture of the conditions for mode change in the STS area.

which indicates that there has been an eight per cent drop in bus mode share in Croydon since the pre-STS period. The introduction of the Zip Card (a free Oyster card for 11 to 18-year-olds) in 2008 could be a factor in the increase in patronage seen in both Sutton and the Control area.

Creating the conditions for mode change

10% 7%

Figure 4.12: Use of the Underground in Year 3 – Sutton v Control

Note that these routes serve more than one borough and therefore the data infers an increase in patronage on these routes.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Control Sutton

having access to a car is essential. In Sutton, 63 per cent of people agreed with this statement, lower than any previous year. Sutton also saw its lowest number of people agreeing that driving is more convenient than public transport, whereas the Control area saw its second highest level over the four years.

4.8.2 Attitudes towards private car use have changed. In Year 3, fewer people felt that having access to a car is essential. Also, fewer people felt that driving is more convenient than using public transport. Figure 4.14: Analysis of average monthly bus patronage on monitored bus routes – Sutton v Control

100

105

110

115

120

125

Month

100

105

110

115

120

125

130 130

Pre-STS

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Index value Index value

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Ja n Fe 06 b M 06 ar Ap 06 r M 06 ay Ju 06 n Ju 06 l Au 06 g Se 06 p O 06 ct N 06 ov De 06 c Ja 06 n Fe 07 b M 07 ar Ap 07 r M 07 ay Ju 07 n Ju 07 l Au 07 g Se 07 p O 07 ct N 07 ov De 07 c Ja 07 n Fe 08 b M 08 ar Ap 08 r M 08 ay Ju 08 n Ju 08 l Au 08 g Se 08 p O 08 ct N 08 ov De 08 c Ja 08 n Fe 09 b M 09 ar Ap 09 r M 09 ay Ju 09 n Ju 09 l Au 09 g Se 09 p O 09 ct N 09 ov D 09 e c0 9

Attitudes

4.8.3 As shown in Figure 4.15, both areas saw a reduction in Year 3 in the number of people who said that Sutton

Croydon 69% 69% 71% 63%

Having access to a car is essential to me Driving is more convenient than public transport

73% 73% 75% 69% 60% 53% 55% 58%

56% 54% 56% 53%

Driving is cheaper than using public transport

21% 23% 18% 19%

17% 18% 18% 22%

I often drive short journeys where I could probably walk or cycle*

22% 19%

22% 16%

Percentage strongly agree

Control baseline

Sutton Year 1

Control Year 1

Sutton Year 2

Control Year 2

Sutton Year 3

Control Year 3

Figure 4.15: Changes in attitudes towards mode change (percentage ‘strongly agree’) *Statement only asked in Year 2 and Year 3

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Percentage of all respondents

Car use 4.8.4 A comparison of mode share was undertaken following the survey of local residents in Year 3. However, the Year 3 data collection and analysis had a greater similarity to the LTDS than in previous years. This pays greater attention to the role of walking during trips, hence the sharp rise in the share of walking in Year 3 for Sutton and the Control area. It is likely that the surveys in previous years did not analyse walking to the extent required for the LTDS.

4.8.5 In Year 3, the survey results show that Sutton residents were less likely to drive a car on a daily basis than residents in the Control area, as shown in Figure 4.16. A greater proportion of Sutton residents said they never drive – 21 per cent in Sutton compared to 16 per cent in the Control area. There was little difference in the responses for Sutton and Control area residents’ travel as a car passenger, as shown in Figure 4.17.

45%

Drive five or more days a week

41%

Drive two to four days a week

Drive once every six months or less Never drive

5% 7%

Sutton Control

Car passenger two to four days a week Car passenger once a month to one day a week Car passenger once every six months or less Never a car passenger

28% 25% 40% 39% 13% 15% 14% 15%

Figure 4.17: Car use (as passenger) in Year 3 – Sutton v Control

Percentage of all respondents

Drive once a month to one day a week

Car passenger five or more days a week

22%

27%

7% 9%

Sutton Control

4.8.6 The comparison between data from the LTDS (2005/06) and the STS Year 3 survey suggests a substantial decline in the mode share of the car (driver or passenger), from 58 per cent to 52 per cent. This is in line with the STS target of achieving a five per cent reduction in car use. The

5% 6% 16%

decline is evident in trips as both driver and passenger, with a two percentage point and four percentage point reduction respectively in stage mode share from the LTDS (2005/06) to the 2009 survey. There is further discussion on changes in mode share in Section 4.10 of this report.

21%

Figure 4.16: Car use (as driver) in Year 3 – Sutton v Control

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Awareness of car clubs 4.8.7 Respondents were asked if they were aware that their borough has a car club. Figure 4.18 shows that, in both Year 2 and Year 3, more residents in Sutton than in the Control area were aware of the local car club. Awareness in the Control area grew by 12 per cent between Year 2 and Year 3. Streetcar has a small presence in Croydon so there may have been some marketing of car clubs in the area which could explain

Sutton - Year 2

this growth. However, awareness of car clubs grew significantly more in Sutton, where 30 per cent more people were aware of car clubs in Year 3. This increase in understanding of the purpose and nature of car clubs represents a success for STS. It also suggests that car club marketing is a valuable tool that TfL can use to raise awareness of transport options.

Control - Year 2

13%

Percentage of all respondents A scheme where people can hire cars parked in the borough by the hour

11% 94%

87%

4.8.8 Those respondents who were aware of car clubs were asked to clarify their understanding of the schemes. The responses are shown in Figure 4.19, which indicates that 11 per cent more people in Sutton than in the Control area gave the accurate answer of ‘a scheme where people can hire cars parked in the borough by the hour’.

A club for people in the borough that like cars and take them for weekend driving trips A club for people that want to learn how to repair their cars

27% 38%

Control - Year 3

Don’t know

18% 43%

56%

Yes

Don’t know

Other

82%

Control

5% 5% 0% 2%

Car/lift sharing (including getting together to share the same journey)

Sutton - Year 3

Sutton

29%

40%

4% 5% 25% 23%

Figure 4.19: What do you understand a car club to be? – Sutton v Control

Yes

Figure 4.18: Awareness that the borough has a car club – Sutton v Control

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Note that Monday 2 February and Tuesday 3 February 2009 have been excluded from analysis as severe weather conditions produced significantly lower traffic levels on those days. 19

Figure 4.20: Analysis of traffic levels – Sutton, Control and Outer London19

Sutton average Croydon average Month

100

Outer London TLRN

105 105

110 110

115 115

100

120 120

125

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Index value

Pre-STS

4.8.11 In relation to the Outer London data, assessment over a longer period suggests that traffic levels in early 2006 were unusually high. For example, the average weekday 24-hour flow in March 2006 was 17,870 vehicles compared to much lower figures of 16,666 in March 2004 and 16,512 in March 2005. It is currently unclear what generated this ‘blip’ in the Outer London data, which may make the comparison with Sutton and Croydon invalid. A comparison between Sutton and Croydon for the pre-2006 period could not be made as the data was unavailable.

125

4.8.10 Overall, Sutton traffic levels have fallen and are 3.2 per cent lower in Year 3 than they were over the same period (January to September) before the STS programme began. There has also been a decrease in the Control area (3.7 per cent) and in Outer London (4.8 per cent).

4.8.12 It should be noted that one of the three Sutton ATCs from which the data is drawn is located on a strategic route in the borough, therefore may be showing different traffic patterns from those on local routes. STS interventions that are targeted at local travel patterns may have little effect on traffic flows on strategic routes, hence a relatively modest reduction in traffic shown in Sutton. This may also explain why, when the household survey shows that Sutton residents are less likely to drive on a daily basis, traffic reduction has not been as great as expected. This data reflects all car movements in the borough (including those passing through) as opposed to just residents that may have been influenced by the STS programme.

Index value

4.8.9 Figure 4.20 shows the traffic data collected from three ATCs in Sutton with a comparison against traffic levels in the Control area and the TLRN in Outer London as a whole. These counters have been used for consistency so that a direct comparison with the baseline and Years 1 and 2 of the STS programme can be achieved. There are a number of other counters in Sutton but either there is incomplete data due to counter faults, or they were installed after the programme started so a comparison with the baseline cannot be made.

Ja n Fe 06 b M 06 ar Ap 06 r M 06 ay Ju 06 n J 06 u l Au 06 g Se 06 p O 06 ct N 06 ov De 06 c Ja 06 n Fe 07 b M 07 ar Ap 07 r M 07 ay Ju 07 n J 07 u l Au 07 g Se 07 p O 07 ct N 07 ov De 07 c Ja 07 n Fe 08 b M 08 ar Ap 08 r M 08 ay Ju 08 n Ju 08 l Au 08 g Se 08 p O 08 ct N 08 ov De 08 c Ja 08 n Fe 09 b M 09 ar Ap 09 r M 09 ay Ju 09 n Ju 09 l Au 09 g Se 09 p O 09 ct N 09 ov D 09 e c0 9

Traffic trends

4.9

Changes in mode share

4.9.1 As discussed previously, the survey methods used in the baseline of STS and Year 1 of the evaluation made a calculation of mode share unreliable. TfL’s identification of this issue led to the decision to improve the survey in order to allow comparison with the LTDS, the London-wide standard for the collection of travel behaviour data. 4.9.2 The 2009 survey made use of a one-day travel diary to collect travel behaviour information from 1,500 respondents. An analysis of 2009 data against the LTDS diary and rolling averages indicates that the 2009 survey method has been successful in allowing comparability with the LTDS. Source Diary type Measure

LTDS 2005/06 One-day full Mode share of stages, walk stages = walk all the way trips Car driver 46% Car passenger 12% Rail 6% Underground 5% Docklands Light Railway 0% Tram 0% Bus 10% Cycle 0.6% Walk 19% Other modes 1% All modes 100%

4.9.3 As noted previously, the relatively small sample size in any one borough (approximately 200 respondents per year) means that, typically, up to three years of the LTDS data are averaged to reduce the influence of random variation in the sample at single-borough level. A three-year average is not a viable approach for Sutton because the LTDS data set overlaps the STS intervention period (results are not available prior to 2005/06). Comparison of the LTDS (2005/06) with the STS 2009 survey suggests a six percentage point reduction in mode share of the car. This comparison is shown in more detail in Table 4.3.

LTDS 2006/07 One-day full Mode share of stages, walk stages = walk all the way trips 44% 10% 7% 7% 0% 1% 10% 0.4% 18% 3% 100%

4.9.4 The charts below compare the data from a baseline of the LTDS mode share in Sutton in 2005/06 with the 2009 STS survey data. Figure 4.21 contains the baseline LTDS mode share data. Tramlink 0.1% Taxi 0.5% Pedal/cycle 0.6% National Rail/ 5.9% London Overground

Underground

4.8%

Walk all the way

19.4%

Bus

STS 2009 One-day full Mode share of stages, walk stages = walk all the way trips 44% 8% 7% 4% 0% 0% 11% 2.1% 22% 2% 100%

9.6%

Car driver/passenger

58.3%

Table 4.3: Stage mode share, LTDS baseline comparisons with STS Year 320 Stage mode share’ is being used as the main indicator in this table. To generate this measure, data about all trip stages have been used except for data about walking trip stages, where only ‘walk all the way’ trips have been included. The main purpose for choosing this convention is to achieve clarity of results – otherwise walk mode share tends to dominate. Clearly, the disadvantage of using this method is that it underestimates the importance of walking. This would be relevant in other contexts, but is not considered to be important here.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

Figure 4.21: Mode share in Sutton baseline (LTDS 2005/06 stage mode share21)

Data on ‘other’ modes has been excluded from these charts ( Figures 4.21 and 4.22) to aid clarity of presentation.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

4.9.5 The comparator data from the STS 2009 survey show a different pattern of mode share, as illustrated in Figure 4.22. 4.9.7 This represents a significant achievement. While the nature of the data does not easily allow for the attribution of this trend to STS, and there may have been external factors that could have influenced travel behaviour, it is nevertheless directly in line with STS objectives and the interventions that have taken place.

Tramlink 0.2% Taxi 0.9% Pedal/cycle 2.1% Underground

4.3%

National Rail /London Overground

6.8%

Sutton Mode share of stages, walk stages = walk all the way trips, 2009 research Car driver

Change in % point mode share 2005/06 -2009

Croydon Mode share of stages, walk stages = walk all the way trips, 2009 research

Change in % point mode share 2005/06 -2009

44%

-2%

48%

-8%

Car passenger

-4%

-6%

Rail

12%

-2%

Underground

-1%

-2%

Docklands Light Railway 0%

Tram

-2%

Bus

11%

-8%

Cycle

1.5%

-1%

2.5%

Walk

22%

2.6%

17%

-2%

4.6%

Other modes

All modes

100%

Walk all the way

22%

Bus

10.9%

Car driver/passenger

51.7%

Figure 4.22: Mode share in Sutton after STS 4.9.6 These comparisons show some interesting changes, some of which have been described below:

• The mode share of pedal cycle trips has increased by 1.5 percentage points, or 250 per cent

• Car driver/passenger mode share has declined by approximately six percentage points, or around 12 per cent

• The mode share of ‘walk all the way’ trips has increased by 2.6 percentage points, or 13 per cent

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

4.9.8 One method of accounting for external factors is to compare the trend in mode share in Sutton with that in the Control area of Croydon. This comparison is presented in Table 4.4 below, which sets out the mode share in 2009 from the survey conducted by this study and compares it with the 2005/06 LTDS baseline. Variation Sutton to Croydon22

Table 4.4: Comparison of mode share of stages (and ‘walk all the way’ trips) – Sutton v Croydon, LTDS 2005/06 baseline with 2009 survey

Figures in this column are calculated from the rounded data for the purposes of simple comparison. They are derived by subtracting the change in mode share in Croydon from that in Sutton to reveal relative performance.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

5 Conclusions 5.1

Key outcomes of the STS programme

5.1.1 There have been notable behavioural changes in Sutton including:

Mode shift 4.9.9 These data show considerable variation in the trend in mode share between Sutton and the Control area over the time of the programme. The mode share of bus, cycle and walking trips have increased notably in Sutton compared to the Control area. Conversely the mode share of rail, Underground and car (driver and passenger) have all grown in the Control area relative to Sutton. 4.9.10 This analysis cannot rule out the influence of local factors that vary between Sutton and the Control area, but it suggests that macro factors such as the economic downturn are not solely responsible for changes in travel behaviour in the borough.

4.9.11 Mode shift is the transfer of trips from one mode to another. True mode shift is the result of individuals changing their behaviour. In order to detect this, repeated use of the same sample is required, for example in a panel or cohort study. These data are comparatively expensive to collect and have not been part of the STS evaluation.

4.9.12 The data on mode shift in Sutton is not entirely conclusive. A discussion of this topic is provided in more detail in Appendix A. Taking the evidence as a whole, it seems that a large proportion of the decline in the mode share of the car has been as a result of trips no longer made. There is, however, evidence that some of the reduction in car use can be attributed to trips that have not been made because of a switch to walking or cycling.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

• A 75 per cent increase in recorded cycle traffic at counter locations. There is evidence of an upward trend in cycling in the Control area and on the TLRN; however, the upward trend in Sutton is substantially steeper, suggesting that STS may have built on, and accelerated, an underlying trend. The counter data is corroborated by the travel diary data from 2009 which, when compared to a baseline developed from the LTDS data, suggest a 1.5 percentage point, or 250 per cent, increase in the mode share of cycling

• An increase in cycling in Sutton, which is extremely impressive and exceeds the average 27 per cent rise in cycling recorded across the six Cycling Demonstration Towns23 outside London over a five-year period

• The mode share of ‘walk all the way’ trips, increasing in Sutton by three percentage points. This compares with a slight decline in Outer London recorded by the LTDS over the same period

• The mode share of the car, declining by six percentage points in 2009 compared to the LTDS baseline

• Sharper seasonal peaks in cycle data for Sutton than in the Control area or TLRN. This suggests, and is consistent with the survey data, that the additional cycle traffic is likely to be partly composed of new cyclists, rather than more cycling by an existing core of committed individuals. This appears to reflect the success of STS in releasing ‘close to market’ demand for cycling. The seasonal peaks may also reflect the success of a tactical decision to focus the promotion of active travel in the spring/summer period

Analysis and synthesis of evidence on the effects of investment in six Cycling Demonstration Towns, November 2009.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

• There has been a rise of more than 16 per cent in bus patronage in Sutton. There is also an underlying trend of growth in patronage that is evident in the Control area. However, again the rate of growth is greater in Sutton than in the Control area, with an increasing divergence between the two areas from the baseline year. The data on actual behaviour is supported by the self-reported behaviour in the survey, with Sutton residents consistently reporting higher frequencies of bus use than those in the Control area. This suggests that the STS interventions are magnifying an underlying trend

5.1.2 An initial overall analysis of counter data suggests that car use in Sutton continues to show a downward trend, as it does in the Control area. The decline does not appear to have steepened substantially with the onset of recession in 2008, suggesting a more general longterm trend. Overall traffic is 3.2 per cent less than in the baseline year in Sutton, compared with a 3.7 per cent decline in the Control area. There are various ways of interpreting this:

• It may be that there has not been any overall effect. For example, where car trips have been transferred to sustainable modes, the absence of demand management measures to ‘lock in’ the traffic reduction may have led to the extra capacity being consumed by other people

• It may be that the data are inadequate to show the effects. For example, some of the traffic data are

gathered on strategic routes. As a local intervention, it is possible that more localised reductions in car trips have been achieved by STS but are not visible in the strategic route data. Work on the Department for Transport Sustainable Travel Towns is suggesting that the greatest traffic reductions are likely to be evident in the inner or more central parts of towns. This indicates that the location of the traffic counters may be key in terms of the likely changes that could be recorded

• Changes in population or employment may be masking effects. More information on changes in both Sutton and Croydon would be needed to assess this

5.1.3 Overall, the evidence from Sutton in relation to traffic underlines the importance of setting up the appropriate data collection to monitor progress; however, the travel diary data suggest a positive trend towards use of non-car modes.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

5.1.4 In addition to actual behaviours, an integral objective of STS has been to influence attitudes and intentions in order to increase the ‘behaviour change funnel’ and create the potential for future behaviour change. Key evidence from the survey data suggests that the effects of STS have been to:

• Increase significantly the proportion of Sutton residents who are aware of facilities and opportunities to make other choices such as walking, cycling and taking the bus. The growth in awareness is particularly significant with respect to car clubs

• Emphasise messages by STS about the wider benefits of changing travel behaviour. In particular, it is interesting that there has been a substantial growth in the proportion of Sutton residents who agree that the benefits of walking and cycling outweigh the convenience of car use

• Place an emphasis on promoting the benefits of alternatives to the car, rather than directly discouraging

people from using this form of travel. This has been successful and is reflected in a continuing decline in the proportion of Sutton residents who believe car use is essential 5.1.5 Finally, STS has also been successful in meeting public demand for support and engaging a wide variety of local private and public sector stakeholders to deliver the programme. This approach has created a foundation for continued implementation of the initiative via a community of stakeholders. Public support for the programme is evident both in the individual feedback reported at events as well as the large majority (81 per cent) of survey respondents who believe that STS is an appropriate investment for Sutton. The information provided to the public is also valued, with those in Sutton being notably more likely to consider it useful than those in the Control area, who had not been exposed to it.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

5.2

Lessons Learnt

• Audience research and market segmentation is essential

• Integration of the initiative with other policy objectives, documents and processes is necessary

5.2.3 There have been some interesting lessons learnt with respect to the implementation of travel plans. The evidence is that, overall, STS has been successful in increasing the number and quality of travel plans operated by businesses in the borough. The evidence from Travel Plan Networks – bringing together networks of small businesses – is more ambiguous. There have been good levels of engagement and participation by small businesses (despite the recession) and some individual examples of very good results. However, there is a wide variation in results and a clear lesson that monitoring behaviour change for organisations with a small number of employees is problematic.

• A range of communication channels and tools should be developed

5.3

• A base of political support is necessary

• Stakeholder engagement creates ambassadors and delivery partners

• A clear set of objectives and performance indicators are needed to steer the programme

5.3.1 Smarter Travel is a core element of the draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy, with secured medium-term funding. It is also one of the four funding streams for boroughs to deliver integrated Smarter Travel programmes in their own areas.

5.2.1 A detailed Lessons Learnt report, co-authored by TfL and Sutton Council, which includes a selection of project case studies, was published in November 2009. It has been prepared primarily to assist organisations in the delivery of similar social marketing and integrated behaviour change programmes and can be found at: www.smartertravelsutton.org 5.2.2 In summary, the Lessons Learnt exercise concluded that:

• Intervention in travel choices tends to be accepted by local people and is not met with hostility or indifference

• A behaviour change programme can usefully draw on a range of behaviour models in order to formulate its approach. In particular, the importance of addressing both community and individual behaviour appears to be required

Next steps

5.3.2 Following completion of the pilot STS programme in September 2009, Sutton Council is continuing the scheme. It is accepted that behaviour change takes many years to occur and while STS has made significant progress over the past three years, there is more work to do.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

5.3.3 Sutton Council’s new approach to transport improvements sets out a five-year programme to deliver transport projects in each of the district centres. These will involve both sustainable transport engineering schemes, as well as Smarter Travel measures to help ‘lock-in’ the benefits of STS. The schemes will include measures to enable easier travel for mobility impaired people, pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. The projects will help create better streets for people to use and enjoy and, importantly, will be designed by the local community. 5.3.4 Sutton Council has mainstreamed the STS team into its transport service. This whole service area has been renamed ‘Smarter Travel Sutton’. 5.3.5 The council and TfL are committed to disseminating the lessons learnt from the programme to date and information is supplied on the STS website: www.smartertravelsutton.org which will be retained and updated over time. Ongoing Smarter Travel work programme for Sutton – April 2010 onwards 5.3.6 The STS programme for Year 4 and beyond will focus initially on creating modal shift through the existing School and Workplace Travel Plans. Many travel plans are now in place – more than 100 for businesses and one for each school in the borough.

These will need reviewing, updating and implementing. The plan is to work with schools and businesses to ensure the contents of their travel plans are implemented and the STS team will be able to assist with these measures, along with the local Chamber of Commerce. 5.3.7 As well as travel plans, the roadshow will continue to be deployed at a series of community events and activities. The Personal Travel Planners will be on-hand during the roadshow to advise people on the sustainable transport choices available. 5.3.8 The website and free advertising will be retained and most of the popular products, such as free cycle confidence training and cycle discount purchases, will be offered. Sutton Council will repeat the Move it at the Manor event in the summer of 2010. 5.3.9 As part of the new service, the focus will also be on Wallington where an integrated transport package is being developed with the local community. The transport improvements in this area, such as cycle facilities, better footways and improved pedestrian crossing points, will be implemented and coupled with Smarter Travel measures to ensure the new facilities are well used.

Smarter Travel Sutton third Annual Report 2010

For more information email smartertravelsutton@tfl.gov.uk or advice@smartertravelsutton.org.uk