TTR Newsletter - Summer 2007 (click here to go to the french version)

Pdf of this article is available to download here

TTR is undertaking innovative research on Merseyside to encourage people to make smarter travel choices. The project, undertaken on behalf of the Merseyside LTP Partnership, has highlighted the importance of identifying the key target audiences for the TravelWise campaign. The work is linked to a European project looking at the impact of soft measures in six cities.

This research is based on the psychology of behaviour change. It considers the language, aspirations, and attitudes of the key target audiences, and how they can be best used to influence the design of the Merseyside TravelWise campaign. The study is being conducted in two phases:

• Phase 1 has enabled the Merseyside Local Transport Plan partners to understand the baseline attitudes and motivations related to local travel behaviour. It has also identified the factors most likely to influence receptiveness to particular messages for each mode of transport.

• Phase 2 builds on these findings, and involves the ongoing design, market testing, and evaluation of the campaign materials. The output from this research also forms part of the evaluation of the Liverpool case study for the European Commission's MIDAS (Measures to Influence transport Demand to Achieve Sustainability) project, for which TTR is Project Manager.

The first year's research has guided the development of the market communications beyond simple words and layout, into personality and image. It has enlarged the Merseyside TravelWise brand to match the personality and aspirations of the target audiences for each campaign.

For further information please contact Jim Bradley , TTR Senior Associate on 01543 416416 or email jim.bradley@ttr-ltd.com .

Pdf of this article is available to download here

Over 90% of all Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) are declared as a result of exhaust emissions from road traffic, and around 20% of UK CO 2 emissions are from transport. These are findings from a TTR review of over 100 such Local Authority documents, undertaken on behalf of DEFRA. AQMAs are declared by Local Authorities when their regular reviews of air quality reveal that certain limits are not met.

The impact of the transport industry on the environment is increasingly attracting the attention of both the private and public sectors, and ways in which the transport industry can sustainably support economic growth is currently one of TTR's main activities. We have assisted a number of clients with focusing on what might be considered interim or local-based action measures, including promoting energy efficiency in transport through smarter choices (travel awareness), travel plans, community transport, Park & Share, and various forms of low emission vehicles and fuels.

The recent Eddington Report (http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/eddingtonstudy) examines the long-term links between transport and the UK 's economic productivity, growth, and stability. It includes carbon emissions and air quality as economic factors. The report concluded, “there is a strong economic and environmental case for ensuring users across all modes face the true costs associated with their journeys, be they environmental or congestion-related”.

Progress towards the development of an economic framework to manage emissions - a ‘low carbon economy' – is likely to be high on the agenda for the future. At the UK national and Metropolitan Authority level, environmentally optimised road pricing and Low Emission Zones are possible responses. At international level, this could include carbon trading being widened to transport, via the European Emissions Trading Scheme. TTR is continuing its activities on the European stage,, with the recent confirmation of the BIONIC Project, under the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme. BIONIC seeks to promote the use of natural gas and alternative fuels, specifically biofuels, in the transport sector. The objectives of the project include the establishment of regional networks for the supply of biofuels to the sector, and the development of best practice guidance on how to stimulate the biofuels market locally. TTR is also involved with ongoing work in the CIVITAS Programme with the SUCCESS and SMILE Projects. SUCCESS seeks to demonstrate the viability of alternative fuels as an efficient choice for urban transport, whilst demonstrating significant contributions towards sustainable transport and energy policies. SMILE seeks to enable people to lead an active life, independent of the use of the private car, through the development of intelligent, sustainable, intermodal urban transport systems

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TTR is currently providing both administrative and technical support to the Transport Direct, the national online journey planning and travel information portal provided by the Department for Transport, (www.transportdirect.info). The role of TTR's project team, which is led by Executive Director Kieran Holmes , is to improve and maintain the quality of the data provided for the user. Specifically, TTR is,

• Working with local authorities, transport operators, and data providers, ensuring the data provided is timely and error-free.
• Ensuring national data standards (TransXChange), databases (NaPTAN, NPTG) and data improvement tools (NaPTAN Viewer) are used correctly and in ways which benefit the traveler.
• Enlarging the transport information community to provide more comprehensive travel information.

Transport Direct works with travel and transport operators to ensure the site is accurate. It provides the most up-to-date information about public transport schedules and the road network. The better the results, the more confidence users will have in the portal as a source of travel information.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

For the past 18 months, TTR has been steering the South London Freight Quality Partnership on an eventful journey. The Partnership has been successful in balancing local priorities with the contents of the developing London Freight Plan. This was released for consultation by the newly formed TfL Freight Unit in summer 2006.

The project started in 2005, when TTR successfully tendered to produce a plan for the development and implementation of the Freight Quality Partnership. This was on behalf for a consortium of six London Boroughs, led by Croydon Council. The SLFQP has now expanded to cover eight Boroughs, and benefits from strong inputs from TTR's strategic partners, in both the public and private sector.

As well as promoting the work of the SLFQP itself, the existence and strategic importance of the London Freight Plan, and TfL's Freight Operator Recognition Scheme, various priority work areas were identified. The practical results now emerging include:

• Co-operation with Boroughs, retailers and logistics providers to develop night-time delivery trials. These will reduce peak-time congestion on London 's roads with environmental benefits.
• Investigating the feasibility of, and developing an implementation strategy for freight consolidation centres in the South London area.
• Producing practical solutions to improve goods delivery provision and related enforcement at six sites. These have been identified as problematic by the partner Boroughs.

Plans for a number of future activities are already in hand. These include:

• Further work with private sector partners to address the high level of penalty charge notices issued to freight operators.
• The inclusion of freight servicing and goods delivery provision within Borough travel plans.
• Investigations into the potential of clean vehicle and fuel opportunities within the urban freight transport sector.

TTR's capabilities in the field of freight logistics have recently been enhanced by the arrival of Chris Douglas as a Senior Associate. Chris is a freight specialist with over 13 years' experience, and will work with Alan Lewis on a range of UK and European projects in this field.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

Currently, there is little ‘joint working' between the transport and social inclusion policy makers. The ECLIPSE Project (European Cooperation and Learning to Implement Transport Solutions to combat Exclusion), led by TTR, is working to change that. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the link between transport policy and social exclusion, and of the problems that are faced by people in the 40% of European Union households do not have access to a car.

ECLIPSE is raising awareness of the role transport can play in increasing mobility for marginalised groups, such as the young, low-income families, older people, ethnic groups, and the unemployed. Additionally, it is highlighting the need for transport policy makers and social agencies to co-operate. It is bringing together social exclusion and transport professionals at European, national, and local levels.

EU level briefing meetings, international conferences, and workshops have been held in Bucharest , Rome , Brussels , Perugia , Liverpool , Budapest , and Paris . The final ECLIPSE conference, held in June 2007, informed delegates about the problems and solutions for transport and social inclusion. This served as a ‘kick-off' meeting for potential further activities in this field.

A number of useful reference documents are being produced as part of ECLIPSE, and are available on the project website. These guides describe how to establish working strategic partnerships to achieve better integration between transport and social inclusion policies. They outline a selection of good practice examples where transport and social inclusion policies have been successfully integrated. These include:

• ‘Wheels to Work schemes'.
• Mobile travel centres.
• On-demand transport schemes.
• Accessible vehicles.
• Independent travel training.

Full details of the project and events are available at www.eclipse-eu.net . Info rmation is also available from Sarah Clifford , on 0208-240 4461, email: sarah.clifford@ttr-ltd.com .

Pdf of this article is available to download here

TTR is coordinating CURACAO (Coordination of Urban Road User Charging Organisational Issues), a major European Commission-funded research and best practice monitoring project on road user charging. This three-year project began in April 2006 and includes ten expert partners and five city partners in its consortium. The target audience for CURACAO ranges from cities which have road pricing schemes already in place, to those which are currently engaged in fact finding. (More information is available on the project website: www.curacaoproject.eu ).

As well as co-ordinating a number of major European projects on road pricing. TTR has participated in many UK studies in this field. Currently, we are working with the British Retail Consortium to develop a toolkit which can be used by the retail industry to engage in the consultation process for local road pricing schemes. We are also undertaking stakeholder and consultation surveys on potential road user charging schemes for two Transport Innovation Fund clients: Centro (on behalf of the West Midlands TIF), and East Midlands 6Cs (on behalf of Derby City, Derbyshire County, Leicester City, Leicestershire County, Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County).

Pdf of this article is available to download here

The Devonwide Partnership has commissioned TTR to survey the number of older and disabled people using its Concessionary Fares Scheme. The Partnership, which consists of seven Local Authorities: Mid Devon District Council, North Devon District Council, South Hams District Council, Teignbridge District Council, Torridge District Council, West Devon Borough Council, and Exeter City Council, provides older people with free travel by bus throughout Devon .

Following on from successful projects in 2001 and 2006, TTR's task has been to ascertain the actual levels of concessionary travel "consumed" in each of the Travel Concession Authority areas (TCAs). This will determine the level of subsidy that should be paid by each TCA to support the Scheme.

The subsidy level has been achieved by estimating the average number of trips made by pass holders in each TCA, and then calculating the average value of each trip. All the figures are based on a detailed analysis of returns, following a large scale mail-out to all participating districts in Devon . The data were gathered using a three-day travel diary.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

The TTR France office, located in the city of Nantes , opened in October 2004, and now includes five full-time employees. The skilled international and multi lingual team deals with an array of EU and French projects. They specialise in public transport, sustainable development, mobility management, energy efficiency, town and country planning, social inclusion and consultation.

TTR in Europe
CIVITAS is the most important European initiative for the demonstration of innovative and integrated transport strategies. Marie Launay is Manager of the four-year project CIVITAS II SUCCESS (Smaller Urban Communities in CIVITAS for Environmentally Sustainable Solutions), which started in February 2005. The project involves partners from La Rochelle (FR), Preston (UK), and Ploiesti (RO). Now, with the project in its mid-term, we are able to see tangible outcomes in each city. The next CIVITAS Forum, to be held in Kaunas ( Lithuania ) during October, will be another good opportunity to exchange experiences.

Intelligent Energy for Europe (IEE): The European Programme to develop awareness, training and networking of energy actors

The MIDAS Project (Measures to Influence transport Demand and Achieve Sustainability) emanates from the STEER programme, and is a three-year project which started in January 2006. It involves six partner cities:

• Aalborg (DK)
• Bologna (IT)
• Clermont-Ferrand (FR)
• Cork (IRE)
• Liverpool ( UK )
• Suceava (RO)

The objective of MIDAS is to encourage transfer to less energy-intensive modes of transport, by optimising the use of soft measures. TTR France provides day-to-day management for the project, whilst Anik Bennett gives additional assistance to the transport operator of Clermont-Ferrand (SMTC). The second MIDAS Training Workshop will be held in Budapest , Hungary , in February 2008.

PRACTISE Project (Promoting Reproducible Actions in the Communities to Improve Sustainable Energy). PRACTISE is also an IEE trans-national project, which aims to support the implementation of sustainable energy practices in local communities, in conformance with EU goals. The project includes partners in Alessandria , Rennes , La Coruña and Ploiesti . The four partners are working towards the creation of a Sustainable Energy Community (SEC). TTR France is responsible for the evaluation of the project and the day-to-day contact with the project coordinator, the Municipality of Alessandria .

E-Learning for sustainable development, thanks to the Leonardo Programme.

PASDEL (PrActising Sustainable Development through E-Learning) www.pasdel.eu

After producing a benchmarking study in 2006 to find the most appropriate European programme (Leonardo), TTR France is now assisting the coordinator in the day-to-day management, and with the evaluation and dissemination strategies. PASDEL is a two-year project, which aims to transfer e-learning modules from a French model, to Belgium and Eastern European countries ( Czech Republic , Romania and Poland ). The four main topics are: sustainable development and enterprises, transport, waste management, and local Agenda 21 and green architecture in construction.

Intermodality within the Arc Atlantic Area, thanks to INTERREG cooperation.

Managed by our UK team, the PARTNER project, was first evaluated in France during February 2006, for the cities of La Rochelle and Rochefort. The post-implementation review is being lead by Elodie Richard during July and September 2007.

Always on the Look-out!
TTR France is regularly looking out for European programme ‘requests for proposals', providing information to its French and European clients. TTR France can set up European bids through a wide range of programmes. Recent proposals have been made under the Asia-Invest Programme for eco-enterprise market development in China , for the Urban Community of Nantes, and under the IEE programme for the economic development agency of the Massif Central . TTR France was also involved, up to the end of June, in the last call for proposals to CIVITAS Plus, assisting the cities of Strasbourg and Poitiers in their respective consortia.

Other Prospects
With our knowledge, experience and specialisations, we assist our clients in the area of transport and sustainable development. Our current objectives for 2007/2008 are to further develop our work in mobility management and accessibility studies for local clients in France , and across national borders.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

TTR recently opened its new London office. Headed by Sarah Clifford , the other team members are Arnaud Lagrange and Ben Smith. Sarah, an Associate with TTR, is a specialist in the field of Travel Demand Management and European Project Management.

Arnaud Lagrange is an urban freight specialist. He has an active role in the ongoing management of the South London Freight Quality Partnership on behalf Croydon Council ( www.southlondonfqp.com ).

Ben Smith has a broad base of experience, and is currently providing ongoing support to the Department for Transport. He is working to secure improvements in the quantity and quality of data available to the online journey planner, Transport Direct (www.transportdirect.info ).

Other projects in the London area include the development of a Clear Zone Strategy for Coulsdon in South London , and a project for the London Borough of Camden to assess the value for money of the ScootAbility scheme. ScootAbility offers the short term loan of scooters and powered wheelchairs to enhance the mobility of local residents.

TTR also carried out a bus stop accessibility audit on behalf of TfL, using wheelchair users to evaluate a number of bus stops throughout London . Working on behalf of the West London Alliance Group of Boroughs, TTR has also produced a best practice guide for the assessment of traffic and air quality impacts, and a communications strategy for disseminating the guide.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

The TTR Scottish office has focused on work for the Scottish Executive, including tackling the abuse of off-street parking for disabled people. This research has looked at the reasons and psychological factors underlying abuse of such facilities, and the impacts this can have on disabled people and passengers.

The research also investigated existing and innovative methods of tackling abuse of these facilities in different sites and contexts. This resulted in the production of Good Practice Guidelines aimed at service providers. The research report will shortly be made available on the Scottish Executive publications site.

Prior to this study, TTR worked on the “Assessing Improved Public Transport for Disabled People” project, also commissioned by the Scottish Executive. The broad objective of this research was to put forward options to the Scottish Executive for improving public transport accessibility for disabled people. TTR's particular responsibilities were:

• Literature review
• Identification of good practice in other parts of the UK
• Consultation activities in Scotland
• Advising on questionnaire and topic guide design
• Advising on the composition of samples.

Other studies in Scotland have included a feasibility study for the Edinburgh Low Emission Strategy, Travel Demand in the Scottish Borders area, travel plans for B&Q's Scottish stores and Road User Charging Equity Issues in Fife .

Based in Edinburgh , TTR's Scottish office opened in 2006, and is managed by Davina Fereday , a Principal Consultant at TTR. Since joining TTR in 1999, Davina has specialised in travel behaviour and social research, particularly in the areas of social inclusion and disability. This is a core area of TTR's work.

Davina is supported by Judith Mabelis, who has particular expertise in European research and project dissemination. Judith previously worked at POLIS (a European network of cities and regions) in Brussels , and is a social researcher.

Pdf of this article is available to download here

TTR staff are practising what they preach this year. They all took part in a travel to work survey, conducted at the beginning of 2007. The survey assessed journeys to and from work, as well as travel undertaken on behalf of TTR. The findings will be used to update the TTR travel plan, now re-launched under the heading ‘Time to Travel Responsibly'. Measures are to be put in place to reduce journeys made by car.

The results revealed:

• Between 2004 and 2007, the number of TTR staff travelling to work by car (as a driver) decreased by 29.5%
• The train remains the most popular means of travel to work for TTR staff, with 57% using this mode in 2004, and 76.2% in 2007

Staff in TTR's Nottingham Office took their commitment a stage further. Many of them pledged to walk to work in support of the aptly titled ‘Walk to Work Wednesday'. This took place on May 23rd 2007 , across the Greater Nottingham area.

TTR develops and implements travel plans for a wide variety of clients, including B&Q, Nottingham City Primary Care Trust, Castle College , and Cattle's Plc (a financial services group).