NEWSLETTER No 4 - Summer 2003
Welcome to the fourth edition of the TAPESTRY Newsletter. We are now in the last five months of our project, which aims to increase knowledge and understanding of how effective communication campaigns can be developed to encourage sustainable travel behaviour.
In this newsletter we update you on details of forthcoming TAPESTRY events, and take a look at the results of a few of our case studies. We also list some key events in the field of sustainable transport, and bring you a selection of news items from initiatives around Europe.
Index
- Introduction
- Tapestry events
- Case studies
- Other sustainable transport events
- Other sustainable transport news
Introduction
For those of you who have not already heard of TAPESTRY, it is a three-year EU project that centres on testing sustainable transport campaigns. These case studies cover a wide range of types of projects, but have been divided into three broad "clusters":
- Intermodal - looking at campaigns to promote all alternatives to the car;
- Mode Repositioning - focusing on marketing of public transport, and;
- Health & Environment - campaigns which link to wider health or environmental issues.
The TAPESTRY partners - who include local authorities, community groups, public transport operators, and research organisations - have now drawn up their final case study reports. The findings are being analysed and compiled into a set of Best Practice Guidelines aimed at all those involved in transport issues, plus a set of Policy Recommendations for European-level policy-makers.
If you are working on a project that you think complements the objectives of TAPESTRY we would like to hear from you. E-mail your comments and contact details to: tapestry@eu-tapestry.org. For further information about TAPESTRY see our website http://www.eu-tapestry.org.
Tapestry events
Now that TAPESTRY is in its final phase, what conclusions can we draw? That question will be answered during a series of events over the next few months aimed at transport practitioners and policy-makers.
The key date will be the TAPESTRY seminar on 7 October in Strasbourg (immediately before the AET European Transport Conference 2003). The day-long workshop - entitled Developing Campaign Solutions for Transport: Results from the Tapestry Project - will be based around the Best Practice Guidelines. It will offer a step-by-step approach to how to run a campaign, illustrated with examples from the case studies. Sessions will be held on understanding models of behavioural change; managing, designing and implementing a campaign; and assessing and monitoring the outcomes.
Several smaller Best Practice workshops are being organised across Europe over the coming months. The first, held in partnership with Polis, will take place in Brussels on 6 June. Details of others will be available at http://www.eu-tapestry.org once they have been finalised.
To register your interest in any of these workshops, please e-mail your contact details to Margarita Botonaki at TTR Nottingham: margarita.botonaki@ttr-ltd.com. Further information will then be sent to you nearer the time.
Case studies
Sweden - Hagaström schools project
The city of Gävle, population 90,000, has run several successful projects to cut the number of car journeys in recent years. At the start of TAPESTRY, there was a high level of environmental awareness among the population and 51% of journeys in the city were made by environmental modes of transport. The local authority wants to raise this figure to 61% by 2005.
The authority ran three projects as part of the TAPESTRY Health and Environment cluster. One of these was carried out in partnership with Hagaström school, which has 13 classes, each of about 25 pupils aged between six and 13. It aimed to change the way children travelled to class, as well as influence their parents' and teachers' attitudes.
The study ran from May to November 2002 and included the following tools:
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At the start, 19% of pupils were driven to school every day - this dropped to 1% at the end of the project. Before the study, 64% of parents said that car traffic had a big or very big impact on air quality in Gävle, while afterwards the figure rose to 78%.
The project attracted interest from other schools, doctors, cycling organisations and the media. For more information contact Ake Stahlspets at: Ake.Stahlspets@gavle.se
Belgium - Met Belgerinkel naar de Winkel
Met Belgerinkel naar de Winkel (Shop by Bike and Ring Your Bell) promoted the use of the bicycle for shopping trips. Customers travelling by bike could get a card stamped at participating shops, and then enter the completed card into a prize draw. The campaign aimed not only to influence shoppers, but also to alter the attitude of shopkeepers towards sustainable transport policies, and to strengthen networks of shopkeepers, local authorities and other organisations. The campaign was coordinated by the Bond Beter Leefmilieu in partnership with local authorities and shopkeepers, and ran in 43 urban areas in Flanders in 2002. It was integrated with the Week of the Soft Road User - a major annual campaign coordinated by Komimo, a consortium of six non governmental organisations that includes Bond Beter Leefmilieu. The events got widespread media coverage. The city of Mechelen was picked as the site for assessment under the Tapestry Intermodal cluster. However, due to internal problems within the shopkeepers' association, the campaign had to be postponed at the last minute. A key co-ordinator then went on sick leave. The initiative eventually ran from 22 August to 22 October - later than those in other areas. |
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The campaign gave mixed results. On the positive side, 247 Mechelen shops took part and issued 30,000 stamps, representing 90,000km by bicycle. In 2003 the campaign was repeated in 99 areas - meaning that one in three Flemish local authorities was involved. This suggests that local authorities regard it highly. Feedback from other cities also indicated that the initiative has strengthened partnerships with shopkeepers, who are usually very sceptical about measures to reduce car use. So the campaign might prove to have a long-term effect on policy.
However, results of surveys conducted in Mechelen were generally less encouraging. There was a significant decrease in the number of people who intended to use a mode of transport other than the car for their next journey, for which several factors could be to blame. The "before" questionnaire was conducted in April, before it was known the initiative would have to be postponed. People might naturally be keener on cycling in April than in November, the time of the "after" questionnaire. Komimo also believes the objectives, target groups and message of the campaign could have been too vague.
For more information contact Bart Baeten at bab@komimo.be
France - Nantes bus routes
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The Nantes urban area has set itself the target of increasing the proportion of journeys made by public transport from 14.8% in 1998 to 17% in 2010. Semitan, which runs buses and trams in the city, aims to increase its passenger numbers from 84 million to 100 million in the same time. As part of Tapestry, the company ran a geographically-targeted campaign to present bus travel as a modern, viable option. The campaign ran at the same time as the annual Car Free Day in September 2002, thus building on more widespread publicity about environmental transport issues. Semitan is a well-regarded and well-recognised brand. The company decided to conduct a specific promotion, in keeping with the tone of its overall communications strategy, to encourage people to use two of its most regular bus routes for leisure and shopping trips to the city centre. Some 2,450 households along the north-east sections of the 21 and 23 routes were sent personally addressed mailings containing: |
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- A letter from the Director General of Semitan
- A leaflet with quotes from passengers enthusiastic about the convenience of bus travel
- A memo card showing a map of the route and a timetable
- A light-hearted quiz comparing the ease of bus travel with the hassle of car travel
A survey carried out afterwards suggested that the fact the mailing had been personalised had given it a greater impact. Just under half the target audience remembered seeing it, and more than 92% of those had read or browsed through it.
The surveys showed a statistically significant change in attitude among the target group in several key areas. However, there has not yet been a change in the numbers of passengers using the route in question. For various reasons, bus passenger numbers dropped slightly across the whole network between autumn 2001 and autumn 2002. The decrease appears to be less marked along the relevant sections of the 21 and 23 routes during off-peak hours.
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For more information contact Christine Lassalle at classalle@tan.fr |
Iceland - Reykjavik public transport promotion
Just 3-4% of all trips in the Reykjavik area are made by public transport - a figure that has been dropping since 1970. Iceland has generally uncongested roads, while its public transport has been largely unsubsidised by the state. Neither policy-makers nor the general public have seen much of a need to reduce car use. The Regional Plan 2024 for the Reykjavik area included measures aimed at improving public transport, but predicted car traffic would rise by 45% in that time against a population increase of only 30%.
In 2001, two public transport companies merged to form Greater Reykjavik Transport (GRT). It soon began working with the City of Reykjavik on a strategic plan to improve and promote public transport between 2003 and 2007, which will provide a framework for several new projects that are under way. These are:
- Revision of the route system. Draft proposals include a new central bus station to link city routes with inter-city services
- Feasibility studies into creating bus lanes, and giving buses priority at junctions
- The introduction of a new electronic pay system, and an interactive travel planner on the GRT website
- A feasibility study into creating a light rail system
Alongside these changes, two awareness-raising campaigns will be run. Campaign A is aimed at politicians and officials, at both state and municipal level. It will include a workshop in autumn 2003 on the draft strategic plan, and the creation of a task force of representatives of relevant local and national authorities. Campaign B is aimed at the public and will be part of the strategic plan, running parallel to the forthcoming changes to the service.
The effects will be measured by comparing a travel behaviour study from 2002 with one in 2007. The new electronic pay system will also provide information on changes in passenger numbers. Because the improvements to the service will be carried out at the same time as the marketing campaigns, it might be difficult to isolate the impact of each.
The Reykjavik project is a follower of Tapestry. For more information contact Peter Fenger at petur@bus.is or Haraldur Sigurdsson at haraldurs@rvk.is
Other sustainable transport events
About 4,000 participants are expected in Brussels for the third annual Green Week, between 2 and 5 June 2003. This year's three core themes are sustainable production and consumption; renewable energy and climate change; and water. The event is the largest annual forum on EU environment policy. An exhibition featuring about 60 environment projects will accompany the conference. Across Europe, a series of Green Days events are planned from 30 May to 9 June, centred around World Environment Day on 5 June. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/greenweek/
Preparations for European Mobility Week from 16 to 22 September and Car Free Day on 22 September are well under way. This year's campaign, with a theme of "accessibility", was launched at a conference in Brussels on 11 March. http://www.mobilityweek-europe.org
About 700 delegates from 40 countries are expected at the 14th Velo-City 2003 Conference in Paris from 23 to 26 September. Velo-City, last held in 2001, is the world's largest conference to discuss the role of the bicycle in transport and planning policy. http://www.velo-city2003.com/
It is International Walk to School Week on 6 to 10 October. The week promotes safer streets, healthier habits and environmental awareness. http://www.iwalktoschool.org/index.htm
The programme is being finalised for the European Transport Conference in Strasbourg on 8 to 10 October. The conference is the focus of the activities of the Association for European Transport, and brings together transport professionals from across the spectrum. It offers a range of seminars and workshops, as well as a series of technical and social visits. http://www.aetransport.co.uk/general/EuropeanTransportConference2003.htm
Other sustainable transport news
Students presented sustainable transport projects from schools in Italy, the UK, France and Portugal to policy-makers at the European Conference on School Mobility Management in Rome on 15 and 16 May. There were also sessions on technical and policy issues led by representatives from local and national governments, the European Commission, and non-governmental organisations. http://www.schoolway.net/Conference.phtml?sprache=en
The European Conference on Mobility Management 2003 took place in Karlstad, Sweden, from 21 to 23 May. The theme of the conference was managing transport demand to attain sustainable development and economic effectiveness. http://www.karlstad.se/ecomm/program.shtml
A new website has been set up in the UK with Department of Health funding to promote active, healthy lifestyles and sustainable transport among young people: http://www.youngtransnet.org.uk
Organisational issues
For more information about TAPESTRY see our website: http://www.eu-tapestry.org
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