Behavioural change for sustainable transport

Decarbonising the transport sector through transitioning from internal combustion engine vehicles to low or zero emission vehicles (LZEV) will not solve the majority of issues that face the transport sector. Enabling people to choose more sustainable public and active transport will have a more beneficial impact in the short and long term. To achieve this, policy makers, industry and the community need to understand how policy and infrastructure actions can make that transition work for cities and communities across Australia.

This project will uncover attitudes and actions that are most likely to effect tangible change towards a more sustainable transport system. It will include recommendations for policy makers and operators to accelerate these changes through evidence-based policies and interventions.

In order to maximise the benefits for Australia, there needs to be a well-planned and collaborative approach to increasing sustainable transport adoption. The project will investigate the economic impacts and potential costs and benefits of these more sustainable transport initiatives.

To achieve this purpose, project researchers will design and implement an Australia-wide online survey of demographically representative citizens to better understand their appreciation of, and willingness to support sustainable transport options and how they can be supported to make this transition.

Outcomes will be analysed to offer insight into preparing a pathway forward for sustainable transport measures in Australia and enable emissions reductions to meet more ambitious decarbonisation targets.

Participants

• ITS Australia
• Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
• State of Queensland (represented by the Department of Transport and Main Roads)
• University of Sydney‘s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies

Project background

Nearly one-third of Australia’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are caused through the transport of goods and people. While there is no single solution to reducing emissions and other negative environmental and societal impacts, there are a range of transport solutions that can positively impact our environment and transition away from the reliance on private vehicles.

Although opportunities are available to deliver more sustainable transport, there is no silver bullet and a top-down approach to reduce the environmental impact of transport would be unlikely to deliver on GHG reduction targets.

Crucially, decarbonising the transport sector through transitioning from internal combustion engine vehicles to LZEVs will not solve the majority of issues that face the transport sector, such as increasing congestion.

With a growing urban and suburban population, the planning for lower car ownership developments could enable the building of housing based around more sustainable travel choices. Active transport is both economically efficient and with the right infrastructure, and sustainability culture, can reduce traffic and parking congestion. In rural and regional areas of low-density settlement patterns, a rethink of how best to use the flexibility of the car in a shared use setting needs further consideration.

As recognised in the recently published Transport for London Cycling Action Plan 2 , swapping private cars, regardless of the energy propulsion source, for sustainable modes is essential to bridging the ‘gap’ to achieve emissions reduction targets whilst also delivering substantial cost savings to the health system (it is estimated that savings to the National Health Service in treatment costs over 25 years if all Londoners did 20 minutes of physical activity each day would be over $3B AUD).

Enabling people to choose more sustainable public and active transport will have a more beneficial impact in the short and long term. Hence this project seeks to understand how policy and infrastructure actions can make that transition work for cities and communities in Australia.

A non-exhaustive list of interventions to support the decarbonising of the transport sector include:

• Public and active (walking, cycling, etc.) transport infrastructure and services
• Road user charging reform
• Mode shift to more sustainable transport
• LZEV fleet transition
• Fuel standards
• Circular low-carbon supply chains
• Integrated transport planning
• Co-modality and (passenger and freight) and microfreight

The combination of these strategies will be needed to enable the transport sector to play an important role in reducing the sector’s environmental footprint and GHG emissions (including local air pollution). These will provide a framework to deliver more efficient infrastructure and services that enable increased active and public transport creating a more sustainable transport system.

The shift towards more sustainable transport modes in Australia will require a co-ordinated effort by governments, industry, and individuals, with incentives as appropriate and affordable, and a willingness to invest in the necessary infrastructure and policies.

While some of the available policy interventions and recommendations would seem reasonable there is a vast difference between developing and encouraging and promoting activities to deliver more sustainable transport systems and actually gaining traction with Australians to drive action on these steps.

This research will begin with an extensive literature review that will uncover real attitudes and actions that are best likely to deliver actual change to a more sustainable transport system. Using both academic and grey literature sources, such as the National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey and state Walking and Cycling strategies, the literature review will investigate the economic impacts and potential cost benefit analysis of transition to more sustainable transport. Finally, the project will develop recommendations for policy makers and operators to expedite those changes equitably with evidence-based policies and interventions.

The project will deliver an Australia-wide online survey of demographically representative citizens to better understand their appreciation of, and willingness to support, sustainable transport transitions (“Survey”).

The Survey will be designed in which revealed and stated preference data is used to identify current and future interest in the frequency of using a richer set of motorised and non-motorised modes for all stages of a door-to-door journey, distinguishing trip purpose, time of day, and day of week. Trip frequency over a 7-day week is much more informative than the more traditional choice of a mode survey approach for a typical day. All modes will be investigated for the access, main and egress modal contest, as summarised in the table below (BRT – Bus Rapid Transit / LRT Light Rail Transit / Active modes / Car).

Outcomes of the Survey will be analysed to offer insight into preparing a pathway forward for sustainable transport services in Australia and enable emissions reductions to meet more ambitious decarbonisation targets.

Although the survey is a once-off activity in this research, the opportunity to continue to use the Survey to gather longitudinal data to monitor the success or otherwise of initiatives to increase the sustainability footprint will be of value to all industry partners.

Project objectives

This project aims to meet the following objectives:

1. Confirm existing evidence on attitudes and actions that show positive signs to deliver actual change to a more sustainable transport system;
2. Appreciate the available capacity within government for delivering sustainable transport interventions which will result in real behaviour change;
3. Investigate and identify, through an Australia-wide online survey, the factors that influence sustainable travel choices and to obtain feedback on new transport initiatives with a modal focus, designed to give people improved accessibility by sustainable modes; and
4. Provide recommendations on a pathway forward for encouraging modal shift and sustainable travel choices in Australia outlining the policy and infrastructure actions required.

Please note …

This page will be a living record of this project. As it matures, hits milestones, etc., we’ll continue to add information, links, images, interviews and more. Watch this space!