TTR - January 2011

Best wishes,

David Blackledge
Chairman and Director of European Affairs, Transport & Travel Research Ltd

For more information contact: Kieran Holmes, Executive Director.

As announced in the press recently, following successful discussions between the two organisations, TRL will acquire a majority shareholding in TTR over the coming 4 years. In parallel, TTR is introducing an Employee Share Ownership Plan. Together these developments will create a new ownership structure based on a partnership between TTR employees and TRL.

I am delighted that we are able to bring about these changes which will secure a long-term future for this company and for our staff.

Although, like all consultants, we are in the middle of a very uncertain period in which cutting costs has become a short-term necessity, we are confident in the strength of our core business based on a quality service to our clients and partners throughout the UK and Europe.

TRL and TTR have worked together for a number of years and the close partnership that we have now formed will be mutually beneficial and strengthen the market position of both companies. Working together in a number of business areas, TRL and TTR will be able to offer customers a wide range of services to better meet their needs and to provide added value. These areas include sustainable transport, low carbon vehicles, freight, ITS and travel behaviour for UK and European markets.

In future editions of this newsletter we will highlight the ways in which TTR and TRL are complementing each other to enhance the service that we offer to clients.

David Blackledge
Chairman & Director European Affairs

Norman Baker has revealed operational guidance this month for English local transport authorities (outside London) looking to bid for funding from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) for small local transport schemes.

Details of the LSTF include:

• Authorities will be able to bid for small packages of under £5 million and larger packages of up to £50 million over the Fund period, but will only be able to be successful with one bid.
• The application process is being designed to be flexible to deal with proposals of different complexity and scale.
• Local authorities will have a choice as to when to apply to the Fund in recognition that they will be at different levels of readiness to submit proposals, with two rounds of bidding; one closing in April 2011 , the other at a later date.
• Norman Baker MP is writing to local transport authorities in England (outside London) inviting them to start preparing and developing their proposals and to consider what skills and resources they will require.

TTR has been helping local authorities and other organisations to gain access to over £25m in grant funding since 1992 and has coordinated 41 successful EU funding bids across a number of different programmes. We combine extensive experience of research programmes with a strong track record of assisting UK and other EU based organisations to obtain funding for projects connected to sustainable mobility, intelligent transport systems, social exclusion and related subjects.

TTR has provided bid support services to London European Partnership for Transport (LEPT), Merseytravel, Norfolk County Council, London Borough of Southwark, Leicester City Council, Aalborg, London Borough of Croydon, Nottingham City Council and Peel Holdings, amongst others.

LSTF is designed to allow local authorities in England (outside London) to bid for fund for a package of low cost sustainable transport activities with a total of £560m available over the next four years.  The fund and application process bears a strong resemblance to the EC CIVITAS programme which TTR have been successfully involved with for many years. English Local Authorities considering applying for the new Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) are invited to contact David Blackledge, TTR Director and Chairman, for a free consultation ( david.blackledge@ttr-ltd.com ). 

The New Year brings good news for TTR as we celebrate some successful sustainable transport project bids.

TTR are supporting Transport for London in carrying out a study into fuel efficient bus driving techniques and associated energy savings to support the Mayor's Climate Change and Energy Mitigation Strategy. 

The Thames Gateway London Partnership has engaged TTR to carry out Travel Plan surveying of a hundred identified organisations in the Creekmouth business area within the Borough of Barking & Dagenham.  This builds on previous work carried out in the same area last year.

TTR are also carrying out a baseline study into the use of transport by ‘A10' migrants from the most recent ten EU accession countries for the London Borough of Redbridge.  The study analyses existing data from numerous sources, identifies strategies and techniques to address the issues and potential funding sources for a full scale engagement programme.

We are supporting the Low Emissions Strategy Partnership in a study on the potential impacts and benefits to local authorities of using low emission fleet management and related technology.

Finally, just before Christmas, TTR were notified that three of the four proposals with our involvement submitted to the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) Programme in 2010 have successfully moved forward to the negotiation phase with a view to projects beginning in early summer 2011.  This continues TTR's record of successful bids in this programme, a 75% success rate compared with the IEE average of only 14% of submitted bids being successful (2008-9).

For further information about these projects, please contact Mark Fell on 0207 953 4069 or mark.fell@ttr-ltd.com .

The Quiet Deliveries Demonstration Scheme (QDDS) was established by the Department for Transport (DfT) in partnership with the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the Noise Abatement Society (NAS) in order to investigate and promote the potential environmental, social and operational benefits from the “relaxation” of delivery curfews for quiet deliveries. The scheme is being managed by freight / logistics specialists at TTR Ltd.

The QDDS Consortium was established late 2009 and will run until March 2011. The scheme itself involves setting up, running and reporting on quiet delivery demonstration trials at six retail premises across England . The trials will involve relaxation of restrictions at selected retail sites for a specific time period, during which quiet deliveries will be permitted and closely monitored. Local trial groups have been established at each site involving the retailer and the relevant local authority with TTR acting as the trial “facilitator”. Each working group will oversee the local trial and agree working practices and the necessary noise mitigation measures to avoid excessive noise and disturbance to local residents.

Out-of-hours deliveries to retail premises can potentially offer significant environmental and social benefits. Moving delivery activity out of peak periods removes goods vehicles from congested locations, reduces vehicle emissions and leads to improvements in both local air quality and local road safety. This leads to less daytime disturbance in general. In addition, the operational and commercial benefits to be derived from deliveries undertaken outside of peak periods can include:-

• Reduced round trip journey times;
• Reduced vehicle turnaround times at stores;
• Reduced fuel consumption from less time spent stationary or idling in congestion;
• Increased product availability within the store at opening time; and
• Less conflict between deliveries and customers on the shop floor

Significant progress has been made in terms of actual trials undertaken and progress to date has uncovered a number of findings which will be included in a final report to be submitted to DfT in March 2011. As of October 2010, three trials have been completed. During one trial at a major retailer's store in the South Coast, no complaints were made by residents to the local authority or to the dedicated telephone helpline set up by the Noise Abatement Society. Following the month long trial, the local authority has allowed the store to continue receiving deliveries at the new agreed times. For further information, please contact Stephen Kelly, QDDS Project Manager ( stephen.kelly@ttr-ltd.com ).

TTR has launched an Olympic Delivery and Servicing Toolkit for businesses and London Boroughs facing disruption to normal operations in 2012.  The launch is in response to the Olympic Delivery Authority's call for businesses to play their part in reducing transport demand in the capital to ensure a successful Games.

In July 2010, Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said, “Thousands of visitors from around the world will descend on our great city in 2012 and transport will be critical to ensuring we deliver a Games that London can be proud of. The capital will be in the spotlight and temporary measures such as the Olympic Route Network will play a crucial role.” But how do local businesses and London Boroughs plan for “business as usual” when faced with the Olympic transport restrictions?

Around 250,000 businesses in London face disruption to their daily operations for 5 weeks during the Olympics and Paralympics Games in 2012. Businesses need to look ahead and plan how they'll maximise the commercial opportunities of this period.  Planning for delivery and servicing restrictions is crucial to that.  This is why freight experts at TTR have developed a delivery and servicing toolkit containing top actions that businesses can take to prepare for the games. Through use of the TTR toolkit of strategies and practical measures, the impact of restrictions to delivery and servicing can be minimised and commercial opportunities maximised. Moreover, these strategies can provide a longer term benefit to businesses and that benefit can be gained now.

The TTR Olympic Delivery and Servicing Toolkit covers a package of measures, including:

• Delivery and Servicing Plans
• Freight consolidation
• Out of hours deliveries
• Delivery infrastructure reviews
• Bespoke delivery information for suppliers, operators and drivers
• Smarter Choice travelling
• Smarter Choice working

For more information on the TTR Olympic Toolkit, contact Chris Douglas, TTR Director and freight expert on 0117 907 6520 or email chris.douglas@ttr-ltd.com .

As LTP3 approaches, there is a clear opportunity for lower cost sustainable transport solutions through Smarter Choices. TTR provides a wide range of Smarter Choices solutions to influence people's travel behaviour towards more sustainable options. Our Smarter Choices specialists work within a wider multidisciplinary team active across a number of different sectors. We can help organisations exploit shared priorities between Smarter Choices and areas such as freight and accessibility.

TTR has extensive experience of researching and implementing planning-led and voluntary Travel Plans. Our clients include private and public sector organisations in the retail, education, health and faith sectors. We have worked with large retailers B&Q since 2002 on the preparation, implementation and evaluation of Travel Plans at over 60 stores nationwide. TTR has also developed some of the first Travel Plans for faith destinations in London.

Working closely with TTR freight specialists, we have developed some of the first Travel Plans for freight, known as Delivery & Servicing Plans (DSPs). We also lead the EU TRAILBLAZER project to share DSP best practice across Europe . The project consortium consists of local authorities, private sector industry leaders and communications experts from across Europe.

TTR also carries out market research, testing and evaluation to inform and improve Smarter Choices campaigns relating to travel awareness, personalised travel planning (PTP) and specific modes of transport. A major project for TTR is the provision of market research to ensure TravelWise Merseyside's campaigns are effectively targeted, monitored and delivered. We have undertaken market testing and evaluation for a number of campaigns, including promotion of cycling and public transport. We have also conducted travel behaviour surveys to assess the impact of PTP interventions in residential areas in Liverpool and the Wirral.

For more information about TTR's Smarter Choices services email: sarah.clifford@ttr-ltd.com or call: 020 7953 4069.

TTR, together with subcontractors Transport Research Laboratory and Aether, have recently been awarded a contract to undertake the appraisal of local authorities' Air Quality Review and Assessment reports and Action Plans on behalf of Defra, the Devolved Administrations and the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Local authorities in the UK have a statutory duty to manage local air quality, so as to reduce the negative health impacts and environmental damage caused by air pollution. The process, known as local air quality management (LAQM), involves each Local Authority carrying out regular reviews and assessments of the air quality in their area, for comparison against a set of regulated standards and objectives. Where a local authority identifies that levels of pollution in their area will exceed these objectives, they must take further steps, including undertaking detailed investigation of the problem, and developing an Air Quality Action Plan. At all steps in this process the Local Authority must consult the Secretary of State on their reports (as well as the Mayor of London for London Local Authorities).

Through this contract we will provide support to Defra, the Devolved Administrations and the Greater London Authority by carrying out the appraisal of Local Authority reports on their behalf. The contract will run for 4 years, from December 2010 to November 2014. For more information, contact Tom Parker on 0117 907 6520 or tom.parker@ttr-ltd.com .