1 Adelaide City Council’s Integrated Movement Strategy CHANGING TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR Discussion Paper 5
Sep 12, 2014
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Adelaide City Council’s Integrated Movement Strategy
CHANGING TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR
Discussion Paper 5
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1 INTRODUCTION
Adelaide City Council is currently drafting a new Integrated Movement Strategy that will become its framework
for movement and transport issues in the City.
Currently in the early stages of exploring ideas for the Strategy, Council wants to facilitate a greater
understanding of the issues and get a feel for a range of opinions on some preliminary ideas. It has,
therefore, prepared a series of discussion papers on different aspects of movement and transport in the city.
The papers aim to inform you about some of the main issues and to suggest a range of potential
strategies. The proposed strategies are not necessarily those that will form part of the Integrated
Movement Strategy, nor do they form part of Council’s official position on the issue.
This Discussion Paper is number 5 in a series of 7 and addresses changing travel behaviour. It is not
intended to be a complete discussion, but includes only those topics on which we are seeking input to our
proposed solutions.
We are seeking comment on the proposed strategies. The key proposed strategies are:
Implementation of Travel Behaviour Programs
Better promotion of sustainable transport options through events
Better promotion of sustainable transport options through education and awareness campaigns
Better information for sustainable transport options
Expansion of the City Car Share scheme
Better support for taxis in the city
Expansion of the Free City Bike scheme
Development of a City of Adelaide car pool website
Reduce parking levels in the city
The full list of Discussion Papers is:
Discussion Paper 1 - Managing the city’s movement network
Discussion Paper 2 - Sharing street space
Discussion Paper 3 - Transport and movement in the Park Lands
Discussion Paper 4 - Night time transport and movement
Discussion Paper 5 - Changing travel behaviour
Discussion Paper 6 - Parking
Discussion Paper 7 - Supporting the city
All the discussion papers are available at Your Say Adelaide.
For more information on Council’s overarching Strategic Plan that guides the vision and objectives of the
Integrated Movement Strategy, read Help Shape the Future of your City.
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HEALTH RISKS of inactivity
are 20 times greater than
the risk of a potential
cycling accident.
2 HOW TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK
Your feedback is valued. We would specifically like to know whether you generally support the strategy
options detailed in Section 5.
To provide feedback, use the relevant discussion blog on our Transport in the city webpage.
Alternatively, fill in the feedback form at the back of this paper. You can either return it via e-mail to
[email protected], or post it to: Nick Nash Adelaide City Council GPO Box 2252 ADELAIDE
SA 5001.
Or you can simply e-mail your comments to [email protected].
3 CONTEXT
3.1 Why We Need Travel Behaviour Change?
Adelaide is one of the most car dominated cities in the world, with up to 82%1 of trips undertaken by car.
While the journey to work for city trips by car is better at 56%2 it is still considered high compared to other
prosperous Australian capital cities (such as, Sydney 30%, Melbourne 42%).
Given the population growth projections for the city and inner rim suburbs, as per the 30 Year Plan for Greater
Adelaide, the associated travel increases are likely to be accompanied by extensive congestion should current
travel patterns and behaviours be sustained. A preliminary analysis suggests that potentially an additional
205,000 trips (about a 42% increase) will be travelling to, from and within the city by 2038. This suggests that
if residential and business growth in the city is to be achieved in an environmentally sustainable and
uncongested manner, then a substantial proportion of existing and potential future car trips need to occur on
public transport, bike, foot or car share schemes.
Our current travel behaviours and associated reliance on the car is a significant concern for governments (at
all levels) on account of:
Congestion costs: Significant costs are associated with urban congestion. In 2005, congestion was
estimated to cost Adelaide’s economy $0.6 billion, which is forecasted to increase to $1.1 billion by 20203.
Road safety trauma & costs: In Australia, about 1,700 people die from road crashes each year. Just in
Adelaide City over the last 5 years (2006 to 2010) there has been about 2,230 casualty crashes recorded
involving five fatalities. In addition to the personal trauma experienced, the costs associated with an unsafe
road environment are enormous. The annual economic cost of road crashes in Australia was conservatively
estimated to be at least $18 billion in 2005.
Living affordability: Owning and running cars represents a major cost for households, accounting for 15-
20% of expenditure by South Australian households. These costs can be a source of financial stress and are
likely to increase as fuel prices rise.
Decline in health and fitness: As more trips are made by car, fewer are
made (in part or entirely) by walking or cycling – up to 45% of South
Australian adults do not engage in sufficient physical activity for good
health. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease
and other preventable conditions that impact on the public health budget.
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Journey to Work (JTW) 2006 data
2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Journey to Work (JTW) 2006 data
3 BTRE Estimating Urban Traffic and Congestion Cost Trends for Australian Cities, Working Paper No. 71
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High levels of carbon emissions: Greenhouse gases from transport
are a significant and growing component of South Australia’s total
emissions. In 2006, transport accounted for 50% of City of Adelaide’s
carbon emissions.
Cars are an inefficient use of road space: Cars are large users of
space (see Figure 1) both when moving and stationary, and especially
when carrying only one occupant. To date, the public realm of the city
has been significantly compromised to accommodate the car. To
achieve good sustainable transport outcomes in more and more places
throughout the city, some of this space will be needed for other, more
efficient uses, including wider footpaths for pedestrians, bus lanes and
cycle lanes.
3.2 Key Travel Behaviour Initiatives by Council
Travel Behaviour Programs
Council in the past has been involved in Travel Smart programs, but not actively since late 2007. Council
developed its first Green Travel Plan in December 2003. The Green Work Place Travel Plan was
implemented successfully for a period of 3 years, in which a number of actions were delivered by Council
including (but not limited to):
Discounted public transport tickets for staff
Improvement of the cycling end trip facilities for staff
Regular 10,000 Step Challenges where pedometers were available for staff to borrow
Participation in relevant awareness raising events that encouraged sustainable travel behaviour e.g. Ride
to Work Day, Parking Day
Development and delivery of CycleSafe courses, combining classroom and on-road bicycle skills training
(in partnership with Bicycle SA)
Council no longer formerly participates in the Green Work Place Travel Plan despite the successes that were
achieved. A 2007 staff survey indicated 57% of staff travelled to work by public transport, 12% that drove car
pooled, 5% cycled and 3% walked. The greatest success of the Plan was that 20% of respondents that
participated in Green Travel Plan activities changed their travel mode to work from car to bike, foot or public
transport to some degree.
City Car Share Scheme
Currently Adelaide has seven car share vehicles located on-street in the city with operator GoGet. The car
share scheme has predominately been used by residents, but is available for business use. The current
scheme requires members of the scheme to make reservations in advance, pay by the hour and pick up and
return cars from the same location.
Free City Bike Scheme
The Free City Bike fleet currently comprises 180 bikes at seven bike nodes located throughout the city. The
scheme is currently maintained and operated by Bike SA under a sponsorship agreement with Council. The
scheme has been supported with a 30% increase in use annually from 2006 to 2010. The predominant users
of the scheme (70%) are tourists. The current scheme requires users to hire a bike from one of the seven
Free City Bike outlets between 9am and 4.30pm and return the bike to the place of hire.
Figure 1: Space efficiency of various modes of
personal transport
Source: Melbourne Transport Strategy update 2011
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About 50% OF TRIPS TO CITY
are under 10 km….
which can easily be carried
out by BIKE
3.3 Key Initiatives DPTI Support
The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) has been running Travel Behaviour Change
programs and developing initiatives in conjunction with local government since the early 2000s. DPTI has
proactively initiated these programs to inform and motivate people to change their travel behaviour through
voluntary and personal choice, as well as support councils to deliver on local and state government targets for
public transport, cycling and walking.
The current travel behaviour (Travel Smart) programs that DPTI currently support are:
Reduction in car work / commute trips through smarter travel @ work: a program that helps businesses to
reduce the number of single occupant trips used for business and commute travel.
Reduction in car household trips through TravelSMART Households: a program that helps residents /
communities to reduce their car use, and promote safer, greener and more active travel.
Reduction in car school trips through Way2Go: a program that supports greener and more active travel for
South Australian primary schools.
Promotion of sustainable transport initiatives through Local Government Partnerships: a program
designed to build collaborative working relationships with South Australian councils to reduce car use.
Promotion of cycling through cycle instead journey planner: a program that generates cycling routes
based on your origin and destination.
3.4 Trends and Patterns
The key trends and patterns that support and impact travel behaviour change are:
More residents in the city: More residents are living in the city. In 2010, the city had an estimated 19,880
residents, which is a 50% increase from 2001 numbers. The 30 Year Plan for Adelaide anticipates about
27,000 new residents in the city; and 37,000 new residents in the city’s inner rim by 2038.
More employees in the city: More people are coming into the city for work. In 2010, the number of jobs in
the city was estimated to be 126,000, which is a 35% increase from 2003 numbers. The 30 Year Plan for
Adelaide projects 50,000 new employees in the city by 2038.
As travel demand increases in the city with the forecast population and
employment growth targets, it is important that a greater proportion of
trips (in particular short trips) are made by sustainable transport modes.
More people accessing the city by bike, foot and public transport:
Data is telling us that more people are walking, cycling and using public
transport to access the city.
Cycling: Journey to work data (JTW)4 shows a 61.5% increase in cycle (work) trips to the city from 2001
to 2006. This is further substantiated by Council cordon counts, which show cycling into the City to have
increased by 40% from 2003 to 2010.
Walking: JTW shows a 61% increase in walking (work) trips to the city from 2001 to 2006. The majority
of people who walked to the city, however, were also shown to live in the city.
Public Transport: JTW data shows a 23% increase in public transport (work) trips to city. This is further
substantiated by DPTI public transport boarding data that shows a 20.6% increase in bus patrons from
2006 to 2010, and a 29% increase in tram patrons since the tram extension in 2008.
4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Journey to Work 2001 and 2006
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Despite the steady growth observed in cycling and walking in the
last decade, the overall mode share is still shown to be low,
representing only 3% and 4% respectively.
Parking is plentiful in the city: The city has over 70,000 car
parks with 31% comprising off-street commercial parking and 24%
on-street parking. The remainder is the ancillary and residential
off-street parking. Due to the large amount of parking available in
the city, the average daily off-street parking fee in Adelaide is the
lowest when compared to other Australian capital cities (see
Figure 2). This makes it difficult to encourage public transport use
when the differential price between parking and public transport is
marginal.
3.5 Policies and Projects
All current and developing state and local government strategies (whether it be the 30 Year Plan, South
Australian Strategic Plan, Adelaide City Council Strategic Plan etc) have been developed to address the
concerns discussed in Section 3.1, and accordingly all include strategies, actions and targets that signify the
need for reducing the level of reliance on the private car, and increasing the use of walking, cycling and public
transport. The key State Government (South Australian Strategic Plan 2011) targets relating to travel
behaviour change that also affect Council are:
Target 2 Cycling - double the number of people cycling in South Australia by 2020.
Target 22 Road safety - reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by at least 30% by 2020.
Target 59 Greenhouse gas emissions reduction - achieve the Kyoto target by limiting the state’s
greenhouse gas emissions to 108% of 1990 levels during 2008-2012, as a first step towards
reducing emissions by 60% by 2050.
Target 63 Use of public transport - increase the use of public transport to 10% of metropolitan weekday
passenger vehicle kilometres travelled by 2018.
Target 78 Healthy South Australians - increase the healthy life expectancy of South Australians to 73.4
years for males and 77.9 years for females by 2020.
Target 82 Healthy weight - increase by 5 percentage points the proportion of South Australian adults
and children at a healthy body weight by 2017.
In addition, a number of committed and proposed iconic and major developments will be taking place in the
city over the next 10 to 15 years, including New Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide Oval Redevelopment,
Riverbank Precinct, Rundle Mall Redevelopment, Victoria Park Redevelopment and Victoria Square
Redevelopment. Travel behaviour change initiatives will be critical to ensure successful transport outcomes,
not just for the development per se, but for the city as a whole.
3.6 Community and Stakeholder Expectations and Aspirations
As part of the Integrated Movement Strategy review, Council carried out a number of engagement activities
during the July to October 2011 period. The general theme from the engagement process was:
People want a more people friendly, vibrant, accessible and sustainable City.
To achieve this it was recognised by key stakeholders (state and local government) that providing physical
and service improvements alone will not maximise the role of sustainable travel options, but changing travel
behaviour programs, schemes and policies will also be an important, if not a critical, element.
Figure 2: Average daily parking fee
Source: ACC MRC Parking Study
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4 THE CHALLENGE
The key issue when it comes to travel behaviour change is what comes first, travel behaviour change or the
infrastructure? In essence it is a bit of a chicken and egg issue, which at times creates a spiralling effect (see
Figure 3). From the user level, improved infrastructure is required to support sustainable travel modes and
encourage more users. However, at the government level, increases in sustainable transport users are
required to provide justification for improving infrastructure.
The key challenges for Council to address the spiralling effect issue are:
Educating and making residents, visitors and businesses more aware of the need for increased
sustainable transport choices to protect the city’s lifestyle and economy.
Delivery of sustainable transport mode infrastructure in a timely manner to affect travel patterns.
Ensuring the transport needs of all city users is met.
Identifying travel behaviour programs, events and schemes that will increase the mode share of cycling,
walking and public transport, as well as provide cost effective outcomes.
Identifying and providing the personal and intrinsic motivation for city users that will encourage an uptake
of cycling walking and public transport use for city trips (to, from and within).
Obtaining funding and resources to deliver the proposed strategy ideas identified in Section 5.
5 STRATEGY OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
In a time where funding for new infrastructure projects is difficult due to the many competing priorities, the
travel behaviour change strategy ideas listed below provide a way that Council can take action immediately,
and maximize the use and efficiency of existing and new infrastructure.
Figure 3: The spiralling effect
Source: Geoff Rose, Monash University
Source
D
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Strategy Idea 5.1 Implementation of travel behaviour programs
Potential option 5.1.1: Develop and implement community travel behaviour programs in partnership
with DPTI for city residents, business and schools.
Implications & what other cities are doing
Council recognises the significant benefits of partnering with DPTI
on their current travel behaviour programs for residents
(TravelSMART Households), businesses (smarter travel @ work)
and schools (Way2Go). These programs aim to achieve the
desired outcomes of reduced car usage and correspondingly
higher levels of walking, cycling and public transport use by:
Providing people with the necessary information to correct misperceptions about the cost, convenience and amenity of alternatives to the private car.
Providing people with the opportunity and motivation to try alternatives.
In some cases (e.g. workplace, schools) making selective improvements to facilities to enhance walking, cycling and public transport options.
Providing people with the necessary information and skills to make the new travel activity a convenient, safe and congenial one.
Travel behaviour programs (residents, workplaces and schools) that have been implemented in South
Australia, nationally (Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane) and internationally (UK) have been well received. If these
programs are actively pursued by Council as a community wide program, this could facilitate making
significant strides in improving sustainable transport mode share for the city. Statistically, travel behaviour
change programs have shown to be an important option in any transport strategy with proven effectiveness
(Ker 2004):
8 – 14% reduction in car use (households)
5 – 20% reduction in car use (workplace)
up to 50% reduction in car use (schools)
A recent success in South Australia was the TravelSmart Households in the West project. This project
assisted 22,103 households in Adelaide’s western suburbs to collectively reduce their car use by 18%.
To deliver these programs successfully will require support, commitment and funding, not just by Council, but
also at state level.
Potential option 5.1.2: Continue Council’s Green Travel Plan and implement initiatives to encourage
Council staff to travel sustainably.
Implications
To foster good sustainable transport outcomes, it is important that Council leads by example, by reducing the
car dependency of its staff as well as operations.
Figure 4: Travel Smart Australia vision
Source: Travel Smart Australia website
A good deal more net benefit could be
generated by re-balancing the residual
spend away from road capacity, to be
focussed on lower cost, high return
schemes. These include road safety and
travel behaviour changes through ‘smarter
choices’
Commission for Integrated Transport (2010),
‘Transport Challenges and Opportunities:
Getting more from less
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Strategy Idea 5.2 Better promotion of sustainable transport options through events
Potential option 5.2.1: Raise awareness and promote sustainable transport options through
community events.
Implications
Organised community events give people the opportunity to try
sustainable transport options in a safe and supportive
atmosphere. These events provide a positive experience for
participants through direct encouragement and promotion, and
are good instigators to support voluntary behaviour change.
Council over the years has supported and promoted a number of
community events such as National Ride to Work Day, Tour
Down Under, Tour De Work and Adelaide Parking Day (see
Figure 5). Other national and international events that Council
could actively participate and support include Walk to Work Day,
Walk Safely to School day, World Car Free Day, Bike Week …
The success of these events has been proven by the increased participation each year. For example, in 2010
nationally 110,000 people participated in Ride to Work Day, and in 2011 this increased to 150,000.
Organising of community events can be resource intensive, requiring a lot of work and effort. Council will not
be able to participate in all major events as listed above. The events selected will need to be aimed at
maximising community participation.
Strategy Idea 5.3 Better promotion of sustainable transport options through education and awareness
campaigns
Potential option 5.3.1: Educate the community of the
benefits of travel behaviour change through effective
marketing campaigns.
Implications & what other cities are doing
To achieve travel behaviour change, the community needs to
better understand the reasons why unrestrained car use will not
be sustainable in the future. Education and promotion in
schools, work places and in the media can raise awareness of
the impacts of private vehicle use; provide detailed information
of alternatives such as public transport and cycling; and provide
efficient ways to make more effective use of cars.
Successful marketing campaigns need to be promoted in such a
way that the consumer feels proud to be seen making this choice.
Examples include:
City of Sydney has recently (2010) developed and implemented an Enabling Cycling Strategy, which
involves an ongoing publicity campaign to encourage people to cycle in Sydney. The campaign provided
a suite of interventions designed to address the social barriers which limit cycling participation for inner
Sydney residents and visitors.
Los Angeles Metro has been promoting its bus services as a better alternative to the car by making their
buses attractive through the use of bright colours and running a number of playful advertisements on
billboards, buses (see Figure 6) and bus stops.
One of the Adelaide Parking Day 2011 parking
installations along Rundle Street
Figure 5: Parking installation on
Adelaide Parking Day 2011
Figure 6: LA Metro, Promoting Mass Transit
Source: http://vimeo.com/7984623
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Potential option 5.3.2: Offer cycle confidence training for staff, city residents, businesses and schools.
Implications
A lack of skills and / or confidence to ride in busy traffic environments is often cited as a key barrier to the
uptake of commuter cycling. To address this issue Council has partnered with BikeSA to deliver the Adelaide
by Bike campaign and BikeStart program (an online tool to assist new cyclists). As part of the BikeStart
initiative free practical courses are on offer for city residents and workers funded by Council. Continuing this
initiative would further facilitate increased levels of cycling in the city.
Other courses that Council could further promote include CycleSafe, Way2Go Bike Ed, Bike Maintenance,
and Commuter Cycling Support.
Potential option 5.3.3: Develop creative ways to engage the public in the ongoing discussion of
Adelaide’s transport future.
Implications & what other cities are doing
It is important that Council continue to engage the public in the discussion of Adelaide’s transport future
beyond the development of the Integrated Movement Strategy.
Opportunities include permanent public art, performance artists, publication of data, public discussions and
lectures. Examples of creative engagement techniques that have been successful
include:
A number of Central and South American cities are using Marcel Marceau-like
‘traffic mimes’ to encourage more civil behaviour by people using all modes of
traffic, to address alarming road safety problems, congestion and a lack of
civility in the city.
A number of bicycle friendly cities around the world (mainly Europe and the
US) have installed ‘Bicycle Barometers’ to help promote bike riding (see Figure
7). Council has a number of off-road cycle paths where these barometers
could be installed. These could be used to promote the Park Lands Trail and
greenways, as well as remind cyclists that they are appreciated and that every
cyclists counts.
Strategy Idea 5.4 Better information provision for sustainable transport options
The travel behaviour of individuals is influenced by their – often imperfect – knowledge of the transport system
and the services provided. Travel choices are largely based on past habits and perceptions which act as
deterrents to change. Providing better information on public transport services, safe cycle and walking routes,
car pool websites and car share schemes is an important means of encouraging a change in travel behaviour.
Potential option 5.4.1: Provide simple and legible on-street wayfinding and static information for
cycling and walking.
Implications
The provision of improved on-road way finding signage and static information on city streets including distance
and time would assist cyclists and pedestrians to better navigate the city. Signs could identify key city
destinations, major transit nodes, key pedestrian routes and off-road cycle paths.
Figure 7: Bicycle Barometer in
Malmo, Sweden
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Potential option 5.4.2: Work with State Government to improve the legibility of the city’s existing bus
network to improve connectivity and accessibility between city precincts.
Implications
The current bus network services about 30% of city streets and most city main streets (Hutt Street, O’Connell
Street, Melbourne Street). Currently the information provided at bus stops and timetables, makes it difficult for
users to navigate the city by bus. Making the irnformation at stops more simple and legible may encourage
increased public transport ridership for internal city trips, as well as better connect city precincts.
This inititative could be combined with Council advocating State Government to allow free city bus services,
similar to that implemented in Perth, whereby within the Perth city centre a free transit zone has been
established where all public transport services are free.
Potential option 5.4.3: Advocate and support State Government on the delivery of Real Time
Passenger Information system (RTPIS) for the bus network.
Implications
DPTI delivered a RTPIS trial project in 2004. The system involved
a series of Smart Stops being installed at major stops along the
east-west bus service route (Henley Beach Road and Norwood
Parade). The system has not been maintained to ensure accuracy
of bus arrival times displayed or rolled out to other Adelaide Metro
bus routes, hence is somewhat limited for patrons. An upgraded
RTPIS including real time information at bus stops (example shown
in Figure 8); real time mobile updates; touch screen kiosks at key
city locations (such as City Cross and the Central Railway Station)
and real-time information on Internet would offer new opportunities
and encouragement for existing and new public transport travellers.
Strategy Idea 5.5 Expansion of the city car share scheme
Potential option.5.5.1: Encourage expansion of the city’s Car Share Scheme for resident and business
use.
Implications & what other cities are doing
Car sharing is a proven catalyst for moving people from a lifestyle of regular car use to one of mostly using
public transport, walking and cycling, with occasional use of shared cars for specific trips for which the other
modes of transport are poorly suited5. The experience in Adelaide so far is that one car share vehicle can
replace up to ten private vehicles that would otherwise compete for local parking space.
Currently the Adelaide city car share fleet is small (seven vehicles) compared to other cities such as,
Melbourne (130 vehicles) and Sydney (180 vehicles). What should Adelaide’s car share target be?
Council will need to work more closely with GoGet, as well as approach other car share operators (such as,
Flexicar, Green Share car etc) to identify further opportunities to expand the scheme including allocation of
on-street or off-street parking spaces and communications activity in support of car sharing growth.
In addition, Council could explore the costs and benefits of establishing its own car share scheme for city
residents and businesses to facilitate growth in Adelaide.
5 Bringing Car Sharing to your Community, city car share, source: http://www.citycarshare.org/
Figure 8: RTPIS at bus stop in
Portland
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Potential option 5.5.2: Investigate new developments to car share schemes that may promote greater
use
Implications & what other cities are doing
New car share schemes in Europe and the US are more advanced such as DriveNow (Germany) and Car2Go
(Vancouver, Germany & Texas). These schemes do not require the car to be parked at a ‘home pod’ and can
be used for one-way journeys. More flexible schemes offer new mobility choices and further encourage
sustainable transport choices.
These schemes are not available in Australia, but Council can encourage and support car share operators to
explore new technologies and systems.
Potential option 5.5.3: Develop a policy that supports growth in car share in the city
Implications & what other cities are doing
Currently Council has no policy for car sharing in the city. Developing a policy for car sharing will assist
Council in achieving growth in car share and its targets. The policy could address a process for allocating
parking spaces, communications strategy, revenue implications of allocating on-street / off-street space to car
sharing and rules for operation.
The City of Sydney has developed a draft car sharing policy to support their car share target of increasing the
uptake of car sharing to 10% of all households by 2016.
Strategy Idea 5.6 Better support for taxis in the city
Potential option 5.6.1: Ensure secure taxi ranks are provided at (or in close proximity to) all key city
attractors
Taxis form a critical part of the public transport network, providing flexible responsive 24 hour service at
relatively little cost. Taxis enable people to easily get around without the need to bring a car into the city. In
addition, they provide an essential service for those with a disbaility or mobility problems. It is important that
Council continue to support taxis in the city, by ensuring adequate kerbside space is provided at ranks; taxi
ranks are incorporated into all major developments that will attract high levels of pedestrian activity and secure
waiting facilities are provided for waiting patrons, particularly at night time. Discussion Paper No. 4 (Night
Time Transport) specifically discusses the issues around managing taxi ranks at night and identifies a number
of potential options to address the issue.
Strategy Idea 5.7 Expansion of the Free City Bike scheme
Potential option 5.7.1: Further develop the Free City Bike scheme, including through cooperation with
other councils and private organisations
Implications & what other cities are doing
The existing Free City Bike scheme has proven
to be somewhat successful. Whilst the overall
number of users is low (average of 1,350 bike
hires a month) a 30% annual increase in use
has been observed from 2006 to 2010. About
70% of users of the scheme are visitors to the
city. Figure 9: Melbourne Bike Share Scheme
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Council has received interest from community and neighbouring councils (City of Prospect, City of Unley, City
of Holdfast Bay) to investigate opportunities to expand the scheme within and beyond the City. The question
for Council, however, is prior to expanding the system, does the current scheme need to be improved?
Melbourne (see Figure 9) and Brisbane have attempted to replicate the more advanced and flexible bike
share schemes, similar to those employed in Europe (such as London Barclays Cycle Hire and Barcelona
Bicing Share Scheme). However, despite the more flexible schemes, where users can access a bike 24
hours 7 days a week; bikes can be returned to any bike node; and smart phone applications are available to
advise of bike availability, both the Melbourne and Brisbane schemes have had disappointing levels of use
given the resources expended. The main reason for the low use appears to be a result of the mandatory
helmet laws in Australia. The Free City Bike scheme deals with the issue of needing a helmet, as the bikes
can only be rented from a manned outlet between 9am and 4.30pm, where a helmet is provided with the bike.
Until Australia’s helmet laws are reassessed, Council need to be mindful of how it expands the current
scheme. A study would be required to better understand the needs of current and potential users, and the
personal and intrinsic motivators that would promote increased use by the community. Opportunities that
have been recognised for additional bike nodes include:
Major transit nodes (e.g railway station)
Future park ‘n’ ride locations located less than 5-7km from city
Major shopping centres
Key destinations internal to city (new Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide Oval, redeveloped Victoria
Square, Convention Centre, redeveloped Riverbank)
Key destinations external to the city (Glenelg, Norwood Parade etc)
Whilst Council recognise that further expansion / upgrade of the Free City Bike scheme would have benefits, a
survey from the Heart Foundation found that more than 60% of Australians have access to a bike. This infers
that maybe Council’s focus should be more on how to get people to use their own bikes.
Strategy Idea 5.8 Development of an Adelaide City car pool website
Potential option 5.8.1: Work in partnership with State Government to develop a car pooling website for
Adelaide residents, workers and university students.
Implications & what other cities are doing
With so many cars on the road every morning and night, there’s a good chance that someone living close to
you travels an almost identical route to and from work, school or university. Carpooling websites provides the
opportunity for people to register their details and be matched with others who travel a similar route. There is
a number of existing national car pool websites in Australia including Ozcarpool, The Car Pool, Carpool
Australia. However, these are not believed to be used widely by Adelaidians.
Tasmania has developed a state-based carpooling website named Cool Pool Tas. Currently the site has 736
car-poolers registered. The site encourages carpooling for work trips, school trips, major events and airport
trips. Developing a similar site for city workers, residents and university students could contribute to reducing
the number of single occupant vehicles in the city.
The success of such a site will be dependent on a number of internal and external factors. Internal factors
include: marketing and promotion of the scheme; reduced parking fees for car-poolers; provision of priority
parking for car-poolers and efficient management of the carpooling scheme through a dedicated coordinator.
External factors include: - lack of commuter parking availability; absence of convenient alternative modes;
increase in petrol price and having the carpooling scheme as part of a wider package of initiatives.
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Strategy Idea 5.9 Reduce parking levels in the city
Car parking is a key component of the transport system and has a major influence on transport behaviour. By
international and national comparisons, the city has a significant amount of off-street parking (commercial and
ancillary). There are more than 35,000 spaces located within the square mile. It is clear that the large
number of off-street parking bays, many of which are provided for all-day commuter parking through cheap
early bird deals, attracts a large number of people to travel to the city by car. Discussion Paper No. 6
(Parking) specifically discusses parking and lists a number of strategies to address this strategy idea.
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Changing Travel Behaviour Discussion Paper
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Please write below your comments relating to the potential strategies here
Implementation of Travel Behaviour Programs
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Better promotion of sustainable transport options through events
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Better promotion of sustainable transport options through education and awareness campaigns
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Better information for sustainable transport options
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Expansion of the City Car Share scheme
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Better support for taxis in the city
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Expansion of the Free City Bike scheme
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Development of a City of Adelaide car pool website
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Reduce parking levels in the city
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