Thursday, 13 June 2024
Austroads has published new research into the ways to increase the number of people walking and cycling.
Prioritising Active Transport focuses on interventions to grow active transport and evaluates the effectiveness of various measures aimed at increasing the walking and cycling mode share.
Australia and New Zealand have relatively low levels of active transport mode share compared to other OECD countries. National, state and local governments have demonstrated a keen interest in the uptake of walking and cycling.
Analysis of transport data identified the substantial challenge in achieving the desired widespread and sustained increases in active transport. “The research shows that while individual initiatives from state and local governments have yielded results, overall walking and cycling mode share has remained stagnant since 2006,” said Joanne Vanselow, Manager of the Environment and Sustainability Program at Austroads.
The transport data identifies personal safety concerns as one of the primary reasons for driving rather than walking or cycling.
“These concerns must be addressed if we are to encourage more people to choose walking and cycling as viable transport options,” Joanne continued.
The report uses a prioritisation framework to assess the broad list of interventions intended to boost active transport mode share. It suggests a balanced approach, that includes both incentives and disincentives, will be most effective.
Incentives are interventions that make walking and cycling more convenient whilst disincentives discourage car use through measures like car parking management .
The report recommends approaches that can be adopted by transport agencies today to increase the active transport mode share and fall within current Austroads guidelines.
“One of the key objectives of the project was to ensure that the guidance provided in the report is actionable today,” noted Joanne.
“There are many good reasons to adopt measures that would increase active transport mode share. Not only would it lead to reductions in transport costs, less congestion in our urban areas and cleaner air, it would also lead to people living healthier and longer lives.”
Download Prioritising Active Transport
Webinar
Join us for a series of three webinars with Dr Elliot Fishman and Andrew Somers to delve into the findings of the report.
Increasing Active Transport Mode Share on Monday 22 July 2024 at 1 pm AEST
Learn about the different categories of interventions that can be used to increase active transport mode share and how a prioritisation framework can be used to select interventions that are the most impactful in boosting mode share.
Infrastructure Interventions to Increase Active Transport – Most Effective Approaches on Tuesday 23 July 2024 at 1 pm AEST
This webinar builds on the first webinar by focusing on the types of infrastructure interventions that can be used to increase active transport mode share.
Policy and Other Non-Infrastructure Measures to Increase Active Transport Mode Share on Wednesday 24 July 2024 at 1 pm AEST
The session will focus on various policies and other non-infrastructure interventions that can be used to increase levels of active travel including measures such as speed reduction, policies to integrate public transport with walking and cycling, pricing measures for motor vehicle use and parking and shared micromobility programs.
No charge but registration is essential. Can’t make a live session? Register and we’ll send you a link to the recording.