Understanding behaviour change

Wheels of Wellness 

Fleur Ammerlaan, Projects Coordinator, Love to Ride

Love to Ride have been running behaviour change programmes to encourage cycling for more than 10 years. This session introduces data collected from Love to Ride programme activity in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand and look at the impacts that Love to Ride interventions have had on participants’ physical and mental health

#StepUpSouthampton

Jasmin Downs, Senior Communications Officer, Sustainable Travel, Southampton City Council & Victoria Doyle, Marketing Co-ordination Manager, Solent Transport

In October 2017, My Journey (the sustainable travel brand of Southampton City Council) challenged the city to take part in #StepUpSouthampton – a walking campaign that aimed to improve health and increase the use of active travel. #StepUpSouthampton encouraged those living and working in the city to swap one short car journey to reach a 10,000,000 step target together. By the end of October, the target reached was 11,563,853 steps. 

Can co-mobility complement a healthy, car-lite lifestyle? 

Conor Walsh, Research and Policy, Bikeplus

The nature of travel and commuter travel lends itself to a form of behavioural lock-in, as commuters become dependent on what they know. They become blinkered, or even irrational, in their mode choices. How can shared transport break this cycle of car-dependent behaviour? Our research from the Bikeplus annual survey shows that bikeshare supports people who are new to cycling, including those who are less likely to be a ‘cyclist’ in the first place, and increases the amount people cycle. 

Encouraging healthy behaviour

Dominique Le Touze, Consultant in Public Health, Portsmouth City Council

This session will cover the basic principles of behaviour change theory and science, using case studies of where this has been applied to transport and health. Learners will then be encouraged to apply these principles to an issue or problem on their 'patch', so facilitating sharing knowledge, experience and networking with colleagues from other areas, allowing participants to develop practical 'take-aways' from the session.
 

'Near miss' reporting pilot

James Luckman, Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth's ambition is to lead the country in recording 'near miss' incidents for cyclists. 'Near miss' reporting will be trialled for a period of six months starting from March 2018, completed via an online reporting form. An evaluation of the trial will determine the future scoping of 'near miss' reporting and, potentially, the capture of third party reporting through video capture. The information collated will be used to support informed decision-making for scheme prioritisation, transport priorities and behavioural change initiatives. 

Scoping sustainable transport

Julie Staples, Liftshare

'Scoping’ involves analysing transport data relating to commuters' surface travel options, factoring in the ability to recommend potential Liftshare opportunities within the location analysis of a cluster of people or employees. Behaviour change can only occur when users are made aware of their transport choices. Scoping provides an understanding of travel impacts, including the efficiency and potential cost saving in modal shift away from single occupancy vehicles, and enabling planners to open up doors to transport poverty areas.

Connected communities: Greater Manchester Walking Festival

Carragh Teague, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)

As part of the Department of Health’s Get Active in Greater Manchester funding, TfGM coordinated the first ever Greater Manchester Walking Festival in May 2015.  The event is now in its fourth year, this year attracting over 4,700 participants on a walk during May. The Festival has delivered a 76% increase in the number of participants, more than 19,000 miles walked in 2017, and a new social media toolkit and corporate partnership to promote walking for the future.

The development of 'early years' physical activity habits 

Nicola Blake, Public Health, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and Pete Zanzottera, Balanceability

East Sussex has put in place a 'whole system' transformation programme to improve health outcomes, as part of the East Sussex 'Better Together' project. Obesity is recognised as a significant challenge, with 1 in 5 children overweight or obese when they start primary school. East Sussex CCGs, ESCC and nurseries worked together to embed obesity prevention as part of core nursery activity, through an innovative programme of support, £5,000 grants to 140 participating nurseries, and a link to Balanceability, the only accredited ‘learn to cycle’ activity programme for children aged 2½ to 6 years in the UK.

Better travel choices

Andrew Hough, Travel Choices Programme Manager, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)

Over the last five years, the Travel Choices team at TfGM, working with Aecom, have delivered Personalised Travel Plans (PTPs) aimed at reducing single occupancy car use, raising awareness of alternative options and encouraging sustainable travel, mainly for commuting. To date over 70,000 employees, residents, jobseekers, students and apprentices have participated. The project is now offered in a digital format, resulting in a more cost-effective and flexible delivery model.