2D: Sustainable Visitor Transport
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It gives a number of ideas for intiatives to reduce car use, and promote walking, cycling and the use of public transport.
Contemporary political concerns about carbon emissions and road congestion have led to the development of government policies intended to manage car usage and to encourage greater use of alternative means of transport. This has manifested itself in:
- planning policies and guidance aimed at reducing car use
- fuel duties and increased road tax
- congestion charges in major cities, and some investment in public transport systems.
In tourism terms it is often "leisure" traffic that is identified as the villain in creating greater congestion in local circumstances. This is particularly the case in rural areas if there are "honey pot" sites that attract large numbers of car-borne visitors, and in urban areas where stadia or large public venues generate high traffic volumes around events. The result is often that local authorities and countryside management organisations encourage actions to reduce car-borne visitors.
There are good reasons for developing sustainable transport options. The benefits can include:
- reducing the impact of traffic on local communities
- maintaining a quality visitor experience by protecting the peace, tranquility and natural beauty of the countryside and the historic character and ambiance of towns and villages
- widening choice and meeting the expectations of those who prefer not to drive
- enabling the growth and development of tourism facilities in tune with current planning guidance
- the retention of visitor spend in a local community.
There are also good reasons for developing such actions.
- Since April 2008 all over 60s in the UK can claim a free bus pass. This growing, and increasingly active market also has access to discount rail travel and the time to travel off peak.
- 28% of households do not have access to a car.
- 70% of overseas visitors arrive without a car.
- Increased traffic congestion encourages leisure visitors to use alternative options if easily available.
- The rise in the "green" consumer offers a market segment keen to use public transport.
There are some barriers to the take up of non-car options by visitors. Recognition of them helps in devising initiatives that can overcome the problems.
Overwhelmingly the car is the primary means of transport. Many people do not consider public transport as an option as they have grown used to unrestricted private car use. However, the rising public awareness of climate change, the increase in "green" consumers and the congestion people face on a day-to-day basis is starting to undermine this attitude.
There is a strong public perception that rail and bus services are unreliable. Reliability has improved in recent years and the perception may change as more people use public transport. However it is important for service providers to continue to offer a reliable service. Data on the reliability of services should be available from the operators and could be quoted in promotional literature.
Whilst some rural areas are not covered by public transport, in reality most significant rural towns and villages have bus or rail service provisions. However, frequency and weekend services may be an issue. Destination managers should know where service provision is limited. Conversely, they should know where service levels are good and therefore capable of being promoted to visitors seeking to enjoy the countryside.
There is a widely held view that public transport is more expensive than the private car. This may change as the cost of running a car increases, but often the cost of full fares, particularly for a group or family travelling together will be higher than petrol and parking costs (the only costs drivers tend to factor into this equation).
There are however, a range of discount fares and special offers available to off-peak travellers. Discussions with operators will identify the fare options that can be promoted, and may lead to particular special offers, especially for travel to one-off events.
The complicated price structure and a lack of integrated rail/bus ticketing can make buying tickets complicated for the consumer. The key is to identify and promote the best ticketing options for visitors in discussion with operators – to provide the customer with a quality information service.
There are a number of websites that offer information on rail and bus travel across all the UK:
- National Rail Enquiries has information on train times and fares and a journey planner. It also includes attraction and accommodation offers.
- traveline has an integrated rail/bus journey planner.
There have been marked improvements in the provision of accessible trains and buses but it is important to check that any services being promoted are accessible. There is also an issue with the carriage of bikes by rail. There are a variety of rules that need to be understood and made clear to customers to avoid confusion and disappointment.
The use of non-car transport alternatives by visitors breaks into two main types.
- Travel to a destination from home essentially involves bus and rail travel although this category also includes group travel by coach. This option is, in general, easier to sell to day visitors (particularly those on the end of rail or bus routes) than to staying visitors.
- Travel within the destination, after arriving by car, can include a wider variety of transport options including:
- walking
- cycling
- taxi
- bus
- rail.
It is an option that recognises that staying visitors with luggage are likely to opt for private car use in travelling, but once there may be encouraged to change transport modes.
The destination manager can take two approaches to the encouragement and provision of alternative transport – a "plan-led" approach or an "initiative-led" approach.
A "plan-led" approach takes a strategic, holistic view of the destination. The objective is building a significant non-car dependent market for visitor travel with the long-term aim of achieving modal shifts towards sustainable alternatives. It would identify key partners and look at a range of destination-specific measures developed to encourage sustainable travel, including promotion and marketing.
Each travel plan should have seven key elements.
A visitor travel plan, like any other scheme, can only work if responsibilities for development, implementation and maintenance are clear. This should include dedicated staff resources to develop and deliver the plan, and senior management support to ensure the plan has cross-organisational buy-in and is adequately resourced.
Before developing a visitor travel plan, destination managers need to have information about a range of issues. These include the level, pricing and reliability of existing services, the destination's current visitor markets and visitor travel patterns, and any "hot-spot" areas where car-borne visitors create conflict with the local community.
Working with partner local authority services and external organisations will be critical in improving travel options and helping take a strategic view of routes and services. The list of people/organisations that need to be involved might include:
- local transport planners
- rights of way officers
- public transport/sustainable access officers
- protected area teams (if relevant)
- local bus companies/taxi firms
- rail operators
- Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as Sustrans and the Campaign for Better Transport (formerly Transport 2000)
- community rail partnerships
- local tourism attractions and accommodation providers.
The strategic partnership will identify a range of initiatives and actions. Services are more likely to be sustained if they can offer well-run, regular and value-for-money options that meet demand for a combination of journey purposes and cater for the community as well as tourists.
Improvements to the walking and cycling infrastructure will also benefit local residents. The types of initiatives to improve sustainable transport access that might be included in a comprehensive plan are identified in the "initiative-led" section below.
Effective marketing is essential. Ideally this will include distinct marketing initiatives undertaken in partnership with the service providers, as well as the integration of improved sustainable transport information in existing destination websites, guides and marketing campaigns.
Facilities initiatives should ensure that the destination welcomes visitors travelling by sustainable means. This might include:
- prominently displayed information about bus and train times
- orientation information at entry points (eg railway and bus stations)
- facilities for left luggage and luggage transfer
- good pedestrian and cycle signage to assist movement around the destination
- well-designed and maintained pedestrian pathways and cycleways
- cycle storage and cycle hire facilities.
As part of a plan to develop sustainable transport there should be an agreed approach to visitor parking facilities that assists in delivering the plan’s objectives. This might include dedicated coach parking and drop off points and park and ride schemes.
The cost and availability of parking in town centres, countryside sites and attractions, particularly if they are sensitive sites, should be reviewed to reflect encouragement for green visitor travel.
The Campaign for Better Transport website has a great deal of information and ideas about how to increase public transport use.
If the resources or political will are not present to develop a sustainable visitor transport plan, then it is still possible to identify individual initiatives that can be adopted where there is a pressing need, or the opportunity of working with partners.
In all cases the destination manager should engage with local transport planners and rights of way teams to ensure that, where relevant, actions are identified in local transport plans and rights of way improvement plans produced by the highway authority.
Some initiatives may be easy to identify and implement – for example, working with accommodation providers and the service operators to increase the promotional profile of local bus and rail services to attractions and countryside sites. Others that involve the development of special services or ticketing arrangements, facilities or transport infrastructure will take longer and require more resources, but can have the more significant effect.
There are other initiatives that can be taken to discourage the use of cars by visitors by restriction or pricing. These actions are more likely to be taken where the volume of visitor car traffic makes some restriction necessary to preserve the amenity of a site or to relieve traffic pressure on local communities.
For public transport operators this can increase passenger numbers, particularly at off-peak period. From a business and destination manager's perspective, giving a higher profile to non-car initiatives can underpin a destination's brand and provide a wider offer to customers by plugging into a growing awareness of the environmental issues.
- The introduction of new bus services that link key sites within the destination, such as the main attractions, the bus and rail station, nearby towns and villages and countryside sites. Good examples are the Hadrian’s Wall Bus (No. AD122) and the New Forest Tour.
- Adjustments to the times, frequencies and stopping points of existing services to provide a better fit for visitors, for example: the enhancement of Sunday and Bank Holiday services; re-routing of service buses to enter key attraction sites; integration of water-borne services where applicable.
- Introduction of specially-run rail and bus services for special events attracting large numbers of visitors. The Royal Navy’s Navy Days at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth are recognised as integrating excellent transport options for visitors. See www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.5476.
- Quality improvements to upgrade services, for example: introduction of low-floor, low-emission vehicles; well maintained waiting areas (at bus and rail stations and on bus routes); and customised information at bus stops.
- The integration of "fun" elements to make services more attractive to visitors, and to make the journey part of an overall visitor experience, for example: open-top buses; ferries; scenic rail; horse-drawn transport; tour guides; on-board videos; special vehicle liveries.
- The provision of pre-booked transport for the last leg of the journey for visitors arriving by rail, for example: a coach providing travel from the rail station to an attraction or event as part of a pre-booked rail and admission package; a demand-responsive community bus or attraction mini-bus picking up from a connecting bus or rail service on request; an arrangement with a local taxi firm to provide discounted taxi travel for visitors booking in advance.
- Special off-peak integrated ticketing arrangements between rail and bus service operators.
- Ongoing visitor research and feedback to service providers to resolve problems arising from travel arrangements.
- Improvements in the quality and signing of walking and cycling routes within the destination linking rail and bus stops, attractions, countryside sites, villages, stations, and the National Cycle Network.
- Cycle hire available at main stations and a delivery service to accommodation providers.
- Easily available walking and cycling route guides distributed to accommodation providers, downloadable from websites and available at key information points
- Walkers and Cyclists Welcome courses available for the local accommodation providers. See Welcome to Excellence for information on courses.
- Special events with a focus on cycling or recreational walking, for example: picnics for cyclists or walkers; walking festivals; and charity cycle events. These can be run in association with local activity clubs, national cycle and walking organisations and health promotion organisations. There are many good examples of walks festivals, for instance the Isle of Wight Walking Festival, the Crickhowell Festival, and the Lincolnshire Wolds Walking Festival.
- Information about all forms of sustainable access prominently featured in all promotional literature, posters, websites, etc ahead of information about directions by car. Avoid statements that emphasise the ease of driving and parking, such as "just off the motorway"; "plenty of free parking". Where sustainable access is of a good standard, this should be strongly promoted as the best way to reach the destination.
- Familiarisation briefings on sustainable travel information for the destination’s businesses particularly those likely to be dealing directly with the public. This could be through workshops or print. Where public transport access is good, staff should be trained to routinely volunteer public transport information to enquirers and guests. Periodic updates will be needed.
- Discounts on admission to attractions, 2-for-1 offers and vouchers for a free cup of tea or coffee can all be used to help in promoting sustainable travel to visitors. As with other travel information, such offers need to be consistently featured in the destination’s mainstream promotional materials and advertising.
- Promotional strategies to accompany the introduction of new and improved public transport services, publicising their existence to target markets. Promotion should focus on the destination with the service as a means of accessing it, rather than focusing on the service itself.
- Inclusion of sustainable travel options with special admission offers in all promotions for special events and shows.
- Leaflets and posters that promote the local area’s attractions and sustainable travel network as a whole, for example: through "explorer maps"; schematic maps and timetables; attractive "days out"; car-free visitor itineraries; "bus walks"; "rail trails"; etc. These can be produced and distributed in co-operation with other tourism sites and public transport operators.
- A strategy to build the group travel market for the destination, through: discounts for groups; inclusion of attractions in regional group travel marketing programmes; development of special events/tours for groups; free entry for tour leader; dedicated parking and drop-off points for coaches; good facilities for coach drivers such as somewhere warm and comfortable to sit, eat, watch TV and a meal voucher for the site restaurant.
- Working with transport operators in the development and promotion of services to and within the destination and with attractions and operators on integrated travel/admission packages. In most cases the transport operator will share the cost of the promotion.
- The production of guidelines on the planning and implementation of sustainable travel plans for tourism businesses – particularly attractions – that are supported by the planning and transport services. Having these in place can assist businesses seeking to expand, and support new developments seeking planning permission.
Whether working through a plan or initiative-led programme there are some key elements to put in place.
- Involve all key players including local authority and private sector partners.
- Seek to get actions included in local transport and rights of way improvement plans where relevant.
- Agree a project area and objectives with partners.
- Secure adequate sources of funding for development and marketing.
- Include marketing as an integral part of the planning process.
- Continue to gather visitor feedback on the service and relay to partners.
- Campaign for Better Transport (formerly Transport 2000)
- The National Cycle Network and associated transport schemes, eg Sustrans
- Jamie Dallen, "Sustainable Transport, Market Segmentation and Tourism: The Looe Valley Branch Line Railway, Cornwall, UK". Journal of Sustainable Tourism Vol 15 (2) Page 180-199.
Oct 2008