Behaviour change
A key part of the proposed delivery strategy is encouraging behaviour change. These programmes can include a range of approaches to encourage and support people to change their travel behaviour. They can include:
- Awareness raising including of the benefits of active travel
- Walking and cycling events and activities. These can include community led events such as Play Streets
- Incentive programmes such as the gamification of walking and cycling through the use of apps
- Travel planning typically by businesses, other organisations, schools, new developments, stations
Awareness raising
Develop a Cheltenham Active Travel brand. This strategy sets out ‘Cycle Cheltways’ as a potential brand for the top tier of the proposed cycle network for Cheltenham, but an umbrella brand for a Cheltenham active travel hearts and minds campaign will help establish mindset. The brand could be underpinned by an online portal to provide a one-stop-shop for travel information.
Build awareness-raising activities into new developments through travel information welcome packs, taster tickets for local bus services and discounts at local cycle shops. Supporting activities could include personalised travel planning as well as some of the special events listed later. In this way, active travel can be embedded into these communities from the outset.
Develop a marketing and communications approach for raising awareness of new services and new infrastructure, in order to build mindset in anticipation of launch. Communications should seek to keep residents informed and excited from planning through build to completion. The launch of new services and infrastructure should be supported by targeted activities and events. However, the communications and marketing programme should extend beyond launch, as ongoing awareness-raising activities are more likely than a single one-off launch activity to embed new active travel behaviours.
Events
A range of events can be used to build on the existing walking and cycling culture of the town.
Establish a calendar of annual events to refresh awareness of active and sustainable travel options, as well as existing and new infrastructure. The use of behaviour change activities to support investment in new infrastructure and services is most effective when the behaviour change activities are ongoing.
Establish town-wide events to normalise walking and cycling. A Cheltenham version of Bogotá’s famous ‘Ciclovia’ could see road closures on Sunday mornings on a monthly or even weekly basis, turning the roads over to a range of alternative activities, not limited to just walking and cycling.
Establish a framework to support community-led events, such a play streets, that can allow communities to re-imagine their roads, while enhancing the sense of community and neighbourliness.
Incentive schemes
Gamification can provide a way of encouraging walking and cycling through goal-setting, competition and incentive earning. Gamification typically happens through apps and websites, such as BetterPoints.
Work with partners to explore the viability of a mobility credit programme. Mobility credits can provide public transport ‘tasters’, as well as other innovations around ticketing. Credits could be provided by ‘carnets’, smartcards, or app-based ticketing. Multi- operator ticketing will enhance the value of these tasters by removing an additional barrier to some journeys.
Explore other ticketing innovations with partners to help get people to use public transport more. With Cheltenham’s pedigree with festivals and cultural events, there is an opportunity to learn from the precedent town of Freiburg, where tickets to major events act as public transport tickets in their own right.
Travel planning
Establish activities with local businesses, schools and residential areas to raise awareness of the benefits of active and sustainable travel, as well as highlighting the existing facilities and infrastructure that is available.
Travel information
The Cheltenham Active Travel portal can provide a one-stop- shop for travel information, signposting journey planning, and bus and train ticketing and timetable information. The portal could also include information tailored to specific communities and developments.