DfT to refresh ground-breaking 'Smarter Choices' research

The Department for Transport has commissioned the same team which undertook the original ‘Smarter Choices’ study in 2004 to evaluate the progress made over the past few years in the three English Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns (STDTs) and elsewhere.

The original study did much to raise the profile of Smarter Choices, asserting that the potential impact of ‘soft’ behaviour change measures was much greater than previously assumed. It suggested that a large-scale Smarter Choices Programme, built up over a period of ten years in a supportive policy environment, had the potential to deliver a reduction in peak period urban traffic of up to 20%. Its now-famous conclusion was that "every £1 spent on well designed soft measures could bring about £10 of benefit in reduced congestion alone".
 
Travel planning and the wider travel behaviour change field have matured considerably since the report's publication, with large scale Smarter Choices Programmes being implemented in London as well as the DfT-funded programmes in Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester. Scotland and Wales are both planning their own Sustainable Travel Towns / Communities programmes, and the bidders for the Transport Innovation Fund have been required by DfT to include travel behaviour change in their plans. The research findings will provide evidence on what has been successful – and less successful – in the three Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns, to inform these new initiatives.

The research will be led by the team responsible for the original research study; Jillian Anable, Sally Cairns, Phil Goodwin, Carey Newson and Lynn Sloman, with the addition of Alison Pridmore from AEA.
 
The stated aims of the research are:

· to evaluate the impact of each individual smart measure in each case study area;
· to assess the available evidence for the impact of the programme on traffic levels, carbon emissions and wider benefits (e.g. health);
· to draw conclusions on value-for-money;
· to look at any evidence for erosion of benefits due to induced traffic and also evidence for any synergistic effects; and
· to draw lessons for the delivery of large-scale smarter choices programmes elsewhere, including costs and staff resource needed.
 
The first stage of the work involves a review of current large scale delivery of smarter choices, together with detailed case studies of the STDTs.  The team will then conduct a detailed analysis of evaluation data emerging from the three Towns, including the results of the final travel behaviour surveys being conducted by Socialdata with support from Sustrans this autumn, data from school and workplace travel planning, bus passenger data, and traffic and cycle count data. 

The research team has convened an expert panel to review interim findings of the study, including representatives from each of the STDTs, leading smarter choices practitioners and academics, as well as the DfT and other government departments.  The second Smarter Choices study is expected to report in autumn 2009.