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Area-wide travel plans—targeting strategies for greater participation in green travel initiatives: a case study of Rouse Hill Town Centre, NSW Australia

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Abstract

Travel planning by employers promoting more sustainable travel has delivered less car dependent behaviour for the commute in many places. Area-wide or precinct travel plans are less common but, where they exist, attempt to provide a more holistic approach through capturing synergies between employers and employees throughout a precinct. Area-based travel planning aimed at influencing employers, employees and residents are new, especially in relation to creating synergies for a single precinct that has more of an origin focus with participants travelling to diverse destinations. This paper examines various strategies that have been employed in order to achieve greener travel and to provide a self-sustaining travel planning environment. The aim of this paper is to assess the community awareness, interest and involvement with a number of green initiatives and to understand how sustainable travel planning has been absorbed by residents within a new regional centre in New South Wales, Australia. The analysis of a resident survey undertaken in 2011 distinguishes between the community awareness and their propensity to take part in each of the greener travel initiatives. The results show that a generic approach is likely to be less effective than segmenting the market so as to more directly target likely participants. Attitudes to greener travel are also highly significant and working to change them should also affect potential take up of sustainable travel initiatives. The conclusions inform the development of successful precinct based travel demand strategies both in Australia and beyond.

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Notes

  1. The insignificance of the difference in the mean likelihood of participating in green car initiatives between the two groups of respondents is likely due to the unattractiveness of these initiatives, especially the electric car charge scheme (market share of electronic vehicle in Australia is 0.036 %, compared to 5.6 % in Netherlands and 6.1 % in Norway Greaves 2015).

  2. It should be noted that all discrete choice modes, including ZIOP, are meant to predict the outcomes (here the level of participation) up to a probability. Although ZIOP models, by default, assign a zero level of participation for non-participants, this does not mean that all non-participants will have a zero likelihood of participating in the initiatives in the next 12 months. A good model will deliver a high probability of having a zero level of participation compared to any other positive levels of participation for non-participants.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge GPT in making the data available and in providing background information for the study. We are greatly appreciated thoughtful comments from the three reviewers and the associate editor, Professor Yamamoto. Earlier versions of the contents of this paper have been presented to WSTLUR 2014 and ATRF 2012.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney Business School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Chinh Ho, Corinne Mulley & Chi-Hong Tsai

  2. Transport Studies Group, School of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

    Stephen Ison

  3. Travel Plan Coordinator, GPT, Sydney, Australia

    Sue Wiblin

Authors
  1. Chinh Ho
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  2. Corinne Mulley
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  3. Chi-Hong Tsai
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  4. Stephen Ison
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  5. Sue Wiblin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chinh Ho.

Appendix

Appendix

  1. (a)

    Attitudinal questions about driving

Q: Here are some things residents of the area have said about driving in the area. Please tell us to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements about driving in the Rouse Hill area?

 

Strongly agree

Slightly agree

Slightly disagree

Strongly disagree

Don’t know/can’t say

I find it takes too long to drive anywhere at peak hours from this area

     

The M2 expansion will make car travel significantly faster at peak hours

     

It would be very difficult to manage on an everyday level without a car

     

If you have family out here, you really need two cars

     

I need the down-time I get when I travel in the car

     

With young kids, it is almost impossible to do anything without a car

     

People in this area are less likely to need a second car because so many things are easy to reach by walking/cycling/public transport

     
  1. (b)

    Attitudinal questions about hillsbus/busways and bus travel

Q. Here are some things residents have said about Hillsbus/Busways bus travel in the area. Please tell us to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements about driving in the Rouse Hill area?

 

Strongly agree

Slightly agree

Slightly disagree

Strongly disagree

Don’t know/can’t say

There are not enough Hillsbus/Busways routes in the area

     

They don’t offer enough express services

     

Bus stops are not close enough for my needs

     

The bus timings do not suit my needs

     

Hillsbus/Busways travel is safe for older children/teens

     

I haven’t needed/bothered to find out about bus timetables

     

Buses don’t run often enough on weekends

     

Bus services connect well with each other/with train services

     

I would only catch a bus to go to a special event e.g. sports event,

Easter Show

    

The T-way improves bus travel times significantly at peak hours

     

There is enough parking at T-way stops

     

Bus fares are reasonably priced

     

People usually get a seat on a bus even at peak hours

     

Buses generally run on time

     
  1. (c)

    Attitudinal questions about walking

Q. Here are some things residents have said about walking in the area. Please tell us to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements about driving in the Rouse Hill area?

 

Strongly agree

Slightly agree

Slightly disagree

Strongly disagree

Don’t know/can’t say

I enjoy using the walking paths in the area

     

I don’t have the time to walk for errands

     

There are not enough footpaths on the routes that I would want to walk

     

I often drive short distances that I could probably walk

     

It’s safer for children to be driven or catch a bus than walk

     

Walking to Rouse Hill Town Centre instead of driving would be a good way to improve health/fitness

     

I usually have too much to carry to consider walking

     

It would take too long to walk to Rouse Hill from my home

     

It would take too long for my child/ren to walk to school from my home

     
  1. (d)

    Attitudinal questions about cycling

Q. Here are some things residents have said about cycling in the area. Please tell us to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements about driving in the Rouse Hill area?

 

Strongly agree

Slightly agree

Slightly disagree

Strongly disagree

Don’t know/can’t say

I have some concerns about cycling on the road

     

I would not let my children cycle to school out of concerns for their safety

     

There are good connecting cycle paths in my area

     

It would take too long to cycle to Rouse Hill from my home

     

There are enough bike racks and other bike facilities at Rouse Hill Town Centre

     

The cycle paths to Rouse Hill Town Centre are safe

     

It would take too long for my children to cycle to school from my home

     

Cycling to Rouse Hill Town Centre instead of driving is a good way to improve health/fitness

     

I’d buy a/another bike if they weren’t so expensive

     

I’d cycle more if I was fitter

     

None of my friends cycle and I don’t want to cycle alone

     

I’m not at ease/comfortable with being on a bicycle

     

I don’t cycle because I don’t want to mess up my hair and/or get sweaty

     

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Ho, C., Mulley, C., Tsai, CH. et al. Area-wide travel plans—targeting strategies for greater participation in green travel initiatives: a case study of Rouse Hill Town Centre, NSW Australia. Transportation 44, 325–352 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-015-9640-z

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