STEP Conference 2015 - Stuart Hay, Living Streets - Walking: Can Simple Steps Cut Emissions?

1. WALKING: CAN SIMPLE STEPS CUT
EMISSIONS ?
STEPS Conference 4 November 2015

2. LIVING STREETS
SCOTLAND
Part of the UK charity for everyday
walking

3. VISION
• Tackling the decline in walking
• Making walking the natural choice
• Helping people enjoy and benefit from the
simple act of walking
• Creating changes, big and small, to make
streets fit for walking
A walking nation where all generations walk on
streets that are fit for walking by:

4. WALKING INITIATIVES
• Our Walk to School project instills good habits
that can last a lifetime
• Our community street audits identify changes
that are often easy to put right and will get
people walking
• Our expertise helps put walking at the heart of
public policy from a national to a local level
Delivering results

5. INTRODUCTION
1. Walking and behaviour change
2. Applying the theory – the walk to school
3. Achieving deeper changes
Behaviour change walking & emission reduction

6. POTENTIAL TO CUT
EMISSIONS
1. In 2013, 23% were made on foot
2. But 50% of all trips were less than a very
walkable 3km
Reference: Transport Scotland, August 2014
Places with high emissions and
congestion also usually have high
levels of walking or potential for
more walking!

7. BEHAVIOURS THAT NEED
TO CHANGE

8. IN THE RIGHT BALL PARK?
We just need better infrastructure right?

9. BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
FUNDAMENTALS (ISM)

10. TACKLING EMISSIONS FROM
THE SCHOOL RUN

11. WHY SCHOOL JOURNEYS
MATTER
1. Nearly a quarter of morning peak car journeys
2. Journeys in small town / city (primary)
catchments are short
3. Critical journey for parents / influences overall
travel choices
4. 1/3 parent AM journeys are the school drop-off
only
5. Long-term influence on children's own beliefs
and perceptions of social norms

12. Travel to School in 2014: Hands Up
Survey Data (Sustrans / Scot Gov
Reinforce
Reduce
Revolution

13. Travel to School in 2014: Hands Up Survey
Data (Sustrans / Scot Gov
Unhealthy Travel / higher
emissions
Healthy Travel / zero emissions

14. INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTIONS
1. Kids feel walking to school isn’t cool
2. Cycling is perceived as cool /
aspirational but safe infrastructure isn’t
available
3. Parents don’t believe walking to school
is safe (traffic & stranger danger)
4.There are exaggerated
perceptions of time and
distance

15. MISGUIDED MESSAGING?
Shaping individual perceptions

16. SOCIAL NORMS
1. Car culture: cars marketed specially for
the school run
2. Lack of critical mass – ‘nay pals’
walking to school not fun
3. Perceptions / fears about being seen as
a reckless parent
4. Illegal parking, reckless and aggressive
driving is still acceptable near children
Established attitudes about walking to school

17. SCHOOL SAFETY ZONE
Take Care!

18. BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Walk Once a Week Programme

19. WALK ONCE A WEEK
Objective - make walking to school fun

20. • Fun educational activities that
fit with the Curriculum for
Excellence
• Badges made from recycled
yoghurt pots
• Integrated online journey
recording and reporting via
Travel Tracker matches
national survey mode choices!
• Cost effective and easily
measurable impact – less than
£2 per pupil per year
Sept 2015 Badge - Kyle (6)
from Clermiston Primary
School, Edinburgh
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE TOOLS

21. WOW IN ACTION
Even Scot Gov Ministers walk to school for badges!

22. • Currently active 21 LAs
in Scotland
• Over 20,000 pupils
regularly participate in
the scheme
• 55,000 pupils in more
than 351 are schools
registered to take part
from Autumn 2015
PROGRAMME REACH

23. EVALUATING WOW
“In controlled analysis,
there is a statistically
significant increase in
recorded active travel rates
in wow schools from
September 2011 to
September 2012 … that is
not apparent in matched
non-wow schools starting
at a similar level of active
travel”
Impacts on behaviour after one term

24. IMPACT ON CAR USE
•“Drop in car use from
39% to 27%”
•£4.17 of benefits for
every £1 spent, due to
health and congestion
benefits
Living Streets: Internal Evaluation
2015 for Programmes in England

25. ANATOMY OF BEHAVIOUR
CHANGE

26. MATERIAL ISSUES
Environmental factors influencing
behaviours

27. CHALLENGES
1. Long travel to work distances and times
2. Safe routes to school are in place - but not
perceived as safe
3. Impact of traffic volumes and speed reinforce
perceptions
4. Lack of child care, flexible drop off and pick up
times. Family friendly employment
5. Planning for larger schools / bigger
catchments to achieve economies
of scale
Material barriers to walking to school

28. MATERIAL CHANGE ONE
School street closures, no school gate drop off

29. MATERIAL CHANGE TWO
All residential and high streets go 20mph

30. MATERIAL CHANGE THREE
Family friendly working / flexible hours / wrap around
child care

31. BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
MOTIVATIONS

32. HEALTHY TRAVEL
Influencing beliefs and establishing social norms

33. CLEANER AIR FOR KIDS
Tapping into beliefs / positive messaging on benefits

34. COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
Parents & teachers ask for street closures & 20mph

35. CONCLUSION
1. Its critical to challenge negative
individual beliefs whilst reinforcing
positive ones
2. Establishing positive and reinforcing
social norms, around active travel is
important
3. Putting the right infrastructure in place,
in partnership with users / communities
– including 20mph and street closures
Behaviour change for emissions reduction

36. POLITICIANS WILL SUPPORT A
MORE SOPHISTICATED
APPROACH

37. THANK YOU
Stuart.hay@livingstreets.org.uk
Tel. 0131 243 2646
@LStreetsScot
Stuart Hay, Director Living Streets Scotland