Case Studies
Across the county individuals and organisations are already taking the action that will propel us towards the vision outlined above. By sharing some of these here, the aim is to encourage their sustainability, replication and escalation.
Transforming Cities Fund
The Transforming Travel (TCF) programme is south east Dorset’s largest ever investment in sustainable transport infrastructure and part of the government's Industrial Strategy to ‘improve productivity and prosperity through investment in public and sustainable transport’.
The TCF investment will fund 78 km of new cycling and walking routes and use smart technology to provide improved bus travel options and create green travel hubs in south east Dorset, all aimed at offering environmentally friendly, safer and quicker journeys to work, education and leisure. BCP Council and Dorset Council were jointly awarded £79m by the Department for Transport through its TCF scheme for a programme of investment across the south east Dorset city region. This grant, plus further money from the councils, local business groups and transport companies has given a total programme budget of £102m.
The three-year TCF Programme will deliver:
• 78 km of new cycling and walking routes
• smart technology to provide improved bus travel options
• new bus stops and lighting
• ‘smart’ traffic and improved real-time information
• improved bus priority at key interchanges
• new local travel app and ‘smart ticketing’ across bus operators
• ‘trip end’ facilities for businesses, schools, colleges and universities
• improved pavement access for people with mobility need
• upgraded wayfinding
• introduction of e-bikes
• extension of the Beryl bike share scheme
The scheme also includes “new infrastructure and routes around major intersections and roundabouts to improve traffic flow”, while this may be welcome there is a question over this aspect as it appears as if money allocated for ‘sustainable transport’ could be used to encourage car use.
TCF & Bournemouth University
With 18,000 students and 1,800 staff, Bournemouth University’s population is equivalent to that of a small town. As such they have been focusing on how everyone has safe, accessible, and sustainable travel options to get to the university campus sites and have become partners in the South East Dorset Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme.
Lauren Duff is BU’s Travel and Transport Manager for Bournemouth University and noted in a recent blog how “(t)he University has recently launched its Climate and Ecological Crisis Action Plan, which outlines how we intend to achieve net zero emissions by 2030/31 across all of our activities (including transport). One of the key changes that our students, staff and visitors can adopt, to help the university achieve its net zero carbon target, is to swap journeys made by car to sustainable travel modes such as walking, cycling or using the regular public transport options available.
Encouraging students and staff to change their travel behaviour away from private car journeys to sustainable travel is a challenge. Our Travel Plan[3] promotes a hierarchy of travel options (see below), with the most sustainable, zero emissions options at the top (i.e. avoiding unnecessary travel, walking, cycling, public transport) and private car journeys at the bottom of the list.”
[3] https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/travel-plan.pdf
Across the county individuals and organisations are already taking the action that will propel us towards the vision outlined above. By sharing some of these here, the aim is to encourage their sustainability, replication and escalation.
Transforming Cities Fund
The Transforming Travel (TCF) programme is south east Dorset’s largest ever investment in sustainable transport infrastructure and part of the government's Industrial Strategy to ‘improve productivity and prosperity through investment in public and sustainable transport’.
The TCF investment will fund 78 km of new cycling and walking routes and use smart technology to provide improved bus travel options and create green travel hubs in south east Dorset, all aimed at offering environmentally friendly, safer and quicker journeys to work, education and leisure. BCP Council and Dorset Council were jointly awarded £79m by the Department for Transport through its TCF scheme for a programme of investment across the south east Dorset city region. This grant, plus further money from the councils, local business groups and transport companies has given a total programme budget of £102m.
The three-year TCF Programme will deliver:
• 78 km of new cycling and walking routes
• smart technology to provide improved bus travel options
• new bus stops and lighting
• ‘smart’ traffic and improved real-time information
• improved bus priority at key interchanges
• new local travel app and ‘smart ticketing’ across bus operators
• ‘trip end’ facilities for businesses, schools, colleges and universities
• improved pavement access for people with mobility need
• upgraded wayfinding
• introduction of e-bikes
• extension of the Beryl bike share scheme
The scheme also includes “new infrastructure and routes around major intersections and roundabouts to improve traffic flow”, while this may be welcome there is a question over this aspect as it appears as if money allocated for ‘sustainable transport’ could be used to encourage car use.
TCF & Bournemouth University
With 18,000 students and 1,800 staff, Bournemouth University’s population is equivalent to that of a small town. As such they have been focusing on how everyone has safe, accessible, and sustainable travel options to get to the university campus sites and have become partners in the South East Dorset Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme.
Lauren Duff is BU’s Travel and Transport Manager for Bournemouth University and noted in a recent blog how “(t)he University has recently launched its Climate and Ecological Crisis Action Plan, which outlines how we intend to achieve net zero emissions by 2030/31 across all of our activities (including transport). One of the key changes that our students, staff and visitors can adopt, to help the university achieve its net zero carbon target, is to swap journeys made by car to sustainable travel modes such as walking, cycling or using the regular public transport options available.
Encouraging students and staff to change their travel behaviour away from private car journeys to sustainable travel is a challenge. Our Travel Plan[3] promotes a hierarchy of travel options (see below), with the most sustainable, zero emissions options at the top (i.e. avoiding unnecessary travel, walking, cycling, public transport) and private car journeys at the bottom of the list.”
[3] https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/travel-plan.pdf
Figure 7. BU Travel Priorities
While they recognise that not everyone will be able to walk, cycle or use public transport due to personal circumstances they believe there are many who can change.
To support staff and students in changing their travel behaviours and remove perceived ‘barriers’, the University offers secure cycle storage and end-of-trip shower and changing facilities; free monthly bike servicing; access to the Cycle to Work scheme for staff; a student long term bike loan scheme; and discounts on the Beryl Bike hire scheme. As well as this, the university also works with local bus service providers to run 4 bus routes to/from campus sites.
However, despite these various initiatives, Lauren notes “the feedback received from staff and students through our annual travel surveys is that a perceived safety risk is still the biggest barrier to active travel and this is linked to a lack of high quality and safe infrastructure.” Their hope is the construction of new sustainable travel routes and safer active travel infrastructure, through the South East Dorset TCF programme, will be a huge benefit to the university population, and is why they are active partners in the scheme. Specifically, the Bournemouth to Ferndown TCF corridor will provide a direct link between the Bournemouth town centre and our BU Talbot Campus and Chapel Gate sports centre sites and will greatly improve the sustainable travel choices between these locations.
“The TCF Programme is laying the foundations and setting the standard for a strategic network of priority cycling and walking routes across the conurbation. The provision of infrastructure, which is greener, healthier, safer, continuous and better-connected will not only compliment the existing BU Travel Plan and our aspirations to be carbon net zero by 2030/31 but will benefit local residents and visitors across the SE Dorset area. We are excited to see this fantastic programme of works commence and develop in the future”.
Community Transport Action Groups
Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN) has a number of working groups focused on developing solutions across the county. One of these is focused on Transport. Meetings are open to everyone, see their website for more information.
BH Active Travel has been campaigning for better cycling and walking infrastructure in the conurbation since the 1990’s. It is a group of “unpaid professionals, many of whom have extensive experience in planning and infrastructure (with a) mission … to supply opinion, ideas and evidence of user experience to the Council staff tasked with promoting cycling and walking. It is not funded by or affiliated by the council in any way.” Their website contains full details of their activities and the group runs an active Facebook group.
Recipients for TCF End of Trip Schools Grants
21 schools in the BCP Council region will be benefiting from a total of just over £214,000 worth of grants (up to £20,000 each) from the Council’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme. The grants are being awarded to the schools to help them pay for the installation of new or improved ‘end-of-trip’ facilities, which encourage healthy and eco-friendly journeys to school.
The grants, supporting the council’s Transforming Travel programme, are being awarded for projects to install end of journey facilities for students and staff, who cycle, walk or scoot to school. These include facilities such as lockable bike and scooter stores, showers, lockers, bike repair stands, clothes drying facilities and electric bike charging points.
Schools were given the opportunity to apply for the grants of between £500 and £20,000 to help cover the cost of installation or upgrade work. They will be match-funding at least 20% of the total cost of the project themselves through their own fundraising activities.
How to make your travel green
Aimed at BCP residents, How to make your travel green is a useful guide on how to make your travel plans more sustainable.
Car Clubs & Car Share
The Lyme Regis Car Club will start a 6-month trial with a Co-Cars electric car as soon as the town council's electric charging points are installed. The car will be available for hire to car club members for as little as £4 an hour or £29 a day (+18p per mile) and will be based in the Woodmead car park in the centre of town. Research shows that most of us only use our cars 8% of the time so a car club membership is a great alternative for infrequent car users. During the trial, the long-term prospects for a permanent car club will be assessed as well as the opportunities to install electric bike rental hubs in Lyme, the neighbouring towns and villages, along the Jurassic Coast and inland to provide another flexible, environmentally friendly, active way to enjoy our beautiful countryside and visit other places. Please contact Belinda Bawden on [email protected] for further details
Co-wheels Car Club, Bournemouth & Poole aims to make driving is easy when for club members, covering everything, including insurance, cleaning, servicing and refuelling. Car club members can book cars on an online booking system or over the phone and use a smartcard to access them. Members can book a car for 30 mins to days at a time, only paying for the hire time, the distance driven and ensuring there is a minimum of a quarter tank remaining at the end of the booking.
Members pay an upfront £25 joining fee, a monthly membership subscription and additional charges per booking. There is an additional mileage fee for all non-electric vehicles. While not all vehicles are electric, this scheme helps reduce car ownership (and therein overall usage).
Anyone can join Liftshare for free to reduce commuter traffic and save money. Participants enter their journey details in three simple steps, and Liftshare use their matching database to show everyone else going the same way. Once matches have been found participants introduce themselves by getting in touch and arrange details of how and when to meet. There are community hubs and over 4,000 people registered on the site.
Vehicle Charging
Already referenced in the Power Up chapter, Blandford Hill Eco Hub is also worthy of mentioning here as a local example of how infrastructure can be developed to support the transition to a fully electric transport system. The proposal consists of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, a 15MW ground-mounted solar farm and a 3MW battery storage facility on land south of the A354 at Blandford Hill, Winterborne Whitechurch near Blandford Forum.
To support staff and students in changing their travel behaviours and remove perceived ‘barriers’, the University offers secure cycle storage and end-of-trip shower and changing facilities; free monthly bike servicing; access to the Cycle to Work scheme for staff; a student long term bike loan scheme; and discounts on the Beryl Bike hire scheme. As well as this, the university also works with local bus service providers to run 4 bus routes to/from campus sites.
However, despite these various initiatives, Lauren notes “the feedback received from staff and students through our annual travel surveys is that a perceived safety risk is still the biggest barrier to active travel and this is linked to a lack of high quality and safe infrastructure.” Their hope is the construction of new sustainable travel routes and safer active travel infrastructure, through the South East Dorset TCF programme, will be a huge benefit to the university population, and is why they are active partners in the scheme. Specifically, the Bournemouth to Ferndown TCF corridor will provide a direct link between the Bournemouth town centre and our BU Talbot Campus and Chapel Gate sports centre sites and will greatly improve the sustainable travel choices between these locations.
“The TCF Programme is laying the foundations and setting the standard for a strategic network of priority cycling and walking routes across the conurbation. The provision of infrastructure, which is greener, healthier, safer, continuous and better-connected will not only compliment the existing BU Travel Plan and our aspirations to be carbon net zero by 2030/31 but will benefit local residents and visitors across the SE Dorset area. We are excited to see this fantastic programme of works commence and develop in the future”.
Community Transport Action Groups
Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN) has a number of working groups focused on developing solutions across the county. One of these is focused on Transport. Meetings are open to everyone, see their website for more information.
BH Active Travel has been campaigning for better cycling and walking infrastructure in the conurbation since the 1990’s. It is a group of “unpaid professionals, many of whom have extensive experience in planning and infrastructure (with a) mission … to supply opinion, ideas and evidence of user experience to the Council staff tasked with promoting cycling and walking. It is not funded by or affiliated by the council in any way.” Their website contains full details of their activities and the group runs an active Facebook group.
Recipients for TCF End of Trip Schools Grants
21 schools in the BCP Council region will be benefiting from a total of just over £214,000 worth of grants (up to £20,000 each) from the Council’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme. The grants are being awarded to the schools to help them pay for the installation of new or improved ‘end-of-trip’ facilities, which encourage healthy and eco-friendly journeys to school.
The grants, supporting the council’s Transforming Travel programme, are being awarded for projects to install end of journey facilities for students and staff, who cycle, walk or scoot to school. These include facilities such as lockable bike and scooter stores, showers, lockers, bike repair stands, clothes drying facilities and electric bike charging points.
Schools were given the opportunity to apply for the grants of between £500 and £20,000 to help cover the cost of installation or upgrade work. They will be match-funding at least 20% of the total cost of the project themselves through their own fundraising activities.
How to make your travel green
Aimed at BCP residents, How to make your travel green is a useful guide on how to make your travel plans more sustainable.
Car Clubs & Car Share
The Lyme Regis Car Club will start a 6-month trial with a Co-Cars electric car as soon as the town council's electric charging points are installed. The car will be available for hire to car club members for as little as £4 an hour or £29 a day (+18p per mile) and will be based in the Woodmead car park in the centre of town. Research shows that most of us only use our cars 8% of the time so a car club membership is a great alternative for infrequent car users. During the trial, the long-term prospects for a permanent car club will be assessed as well as the opportunities to install electric bike rental hubs in Lyme, the neighbouring towns and villages, along the Jurassic Coast and inland to provide another flexible, environmentally friendly, active way to enjoy our beautiful countryside and visit other places. Please contact Belinda Bawden on [email protected] for further details
Co-wheels Car Club, Bournemouth & Poole aims to make driving is easy when for club members, covering everything, including insurance, cleaning, servicing and refuelling. Car club members can book cars on an online booking system or over the phone and use a smartcard to access them. Members can book a car for 30 mins to days at a time, only paying for the hire time, the distance driven and ensuring there is a minimum of a quarter tank remaining at the end of the booking.
Members pay an upfront £25 joining fee, a monthly membership subscription and additional charges per booking. There is an additional mileage fee for all non-electric vehicles. While not all vehicles are electric, this scheme helps reduce car ownership (and therein overall usage).
Anyone can join Liftshare for free to reduce commuter traffic and save money. Participants enter their journey details in three simple steps, and Liftshare use their matching database to show everyone else going the same way. Once matches have been found participants introduce themselves by getting in touch and arrange details of how and when to meet. There are community hubs and over 4,000 people registered on the site.
Vehicle Charging
Already referenced in the Power Up chapter, Blandford Hill Eco Hub is also worthy of mentioning here as a local example of how infrastructure can be developed to support the transition to a fully electric transport system. The proposal consists of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, a 15MW ground-mounted solar farm and a 3MW battery storage facility on land south of the A354 at Blandford Hill, Winterborne Whitechurch near Blandford Forum.
Figure 8. Blandford Eco Hub
By combining green electricity generation, storage and charging, the project is maximising the potential of renewable power with charging for up to 19 EVs at a time. Around 6 ultra-rapid (up to 350kW) and 6 rapid (43-100kW) charging points with additional fast chargers and Tesla “Superchargers” are proposed. These chargers would allow all types of EVs to charge at the eco hub.
After starting the public consultation process for the plans in February 2021, the planning application was submitted to Dorset Council in July 2021.
Dorset Council have supported the roll out of charging points across there area and provide helpful information on location and costs on their website. Information isn’t quite so comprehensive on BCP’s site and the roll out has been noted as falling behind many other areas.
After starting the public consultation process for the plans in February 2021, the planning application was submitted to Dorset Council in July 2021.
Dorset Council have supported the roll out of charging points across there area and provide helpful information on location and costs on their website. Information isn’t quite so comprehensive on BCP’s site and the roll out has been noted as falling behind many other areas.
Lush Electric Bus
Lush Cosmetics introduced Electra, their electric bus service in 2020. Electra replaces the use of taxis between manufacturing sites in Poole, eliminating around 10-20 car journeys a day and saving the equivalent of 8 tonnes of carbon each year.
Electric Refuse CollectionIn November 2021, BCP introduced the first electric refuse collection vehicle to their fleet as part of their plans to be carbon neutral in their own operations by 2030.
BikeabilityDuring 2021, BCP Council secured extra funding from the Bikeability Trust in order to run further cycling training courses at schools and training centres across the area. £80,500 has been allocated enabling the BCP Council Bikeability team to provide a further 2,183 course places for children this financial year. The courses, which are described as “like cycling proficiency, but better”! cover the whole range of cycle training from teaching children to ride for the first time, all the way up to the finer points of road cycling and dealing with junctions, roundabouts and traffic queues.
Lush Cosmetics introduced Electra, their electric bus service in 2020. Electra replaces the use of taxis between manufacturing sites in Poole, eliminating around 10-20 car journeys a day and saving the equivalent of 8 tonnes of carbon each year.
Electric Refuse CollectionIn November 2021, BCP introduced the first electric refuse collection vehicle to their fleet as part of their plans to be carbon neutral in their own operations by 2030.
BikeabilityDuring 2021, BCP Council secured extra funding from the Bikeability Trust in order to run further cycling training courses at schools and training centres across the area. £80,500 has been allocated enabling the BCP Council Bikeability team to provide a further 2,183 course places for children this financial year. The courses, which are described as “like cycling proficiency, but better”! cover the whole range of cycle training from teaching children to ride for the first time, all the way up to the finer points of road cycling and dealing with junctions, roundabouts and traffic queues.
Figure 9. E-bike adoption in the Purbecks
Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust E-Bikes
Following a visit to the Netherlands, community nurses have started using e-bikes to make their visits. Discover more in this video.
Local Rail ImprovementsConsideration is being given to an amenity / commuter train service using the Swanage Railway track and stations between Swanage and Worgret, and then Network Rail track and stations to Bournemouth. As part of the funding for this service, the feasibility of enhancing the railway bridge over the Rock Lea River between East Holton and Rockley to add a shared use cycling / pedestrian route alongside the railway track is to be investigated. Such an enhancement would shorten the cycle route between Wareham and Poole by approximately 1 mile but would avoid using the busy A351.
There is also a proposal for a light rail / tram service between Corfe Castle and Studland to connect with the train service at Corfe Castle and the regular bus service at Studland. The proposed route would share the track between Corfe Castle and Norden as far as a new junction at Norden, then use new track on the existing road to Wytch Farm and to proceed to Studland using new track on existing private roads / tracks or a new access road across the heathland to Studland. The route between Norden and Studland to be a dual running light rail / tram and cycling / pedestrian route.
The Business Travel Network
The Business Travel Network, is an initiative set up and supported by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and Dorset Council. The BTN offers employers within Dorset FREE practical advice and resources to help their staff access more sustainable travel choices. The BTN helps each business develop a travel action plan focused on the staff commute and also facilitates business-to-business good practice sharing and acts as a collective voice to feedback information to local authorities and public transport providers.
Brittany Ferries
Local ferry operators Brittany Ferries have already announced plans for two new hybrid (liquid natural gas / electric) ships which will operate out of Portsmouth from 2024/25 and are exploring options for a zero-emissions, all electric seaglider which could be operational by 2028.
Following a visit to the Netherlands, community nurses have started using e-bikes to make their visits. Discover more in this video.
Local Rail ImprovementsConsideration is being given to an amenity / commuter train service using the Swanage Railway track and stations between Swanage and Worgret, and then Network Rail track and stations to Bournemouth. As part of the funding for this service, the feasibility of enhancing the railway bridge over the Rock Lea River between East Holton and Rockley to add a shared use cycling / pedestrian route alongside the railway track is to be investigated. Such an enhancement would shorten the cycle route between Wareham and Poole by approximately 1 mile but would avoid using the busy A351.
There is also a proposal for a light rail / tram service between Corfe Castle and Studland to connect with the train service at Corfe Castle and the regular bus service at Studland. The proposed route would share the track between Corfe Castle and Norden as far as a new junction at Norden, then use new track on the existing road to Wytch Farm and to proceed to Studland using new track on existing private roads / tracks or a new access road across the heathland to Studland. The route between Norden and Studland to be a dual running light rail / tram and cycling / pedestrian route.
The Business Travel Network
The Business Travel Network, is an initiative set up and supported by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and Dorset Council. The BTN offers employers within Dorset FREE practical advice and resources to help their staff access more sustainable travel choices. The BTN helps each business develop a travel action plan focused on the staff commute and also facilitates business-to-business good practice sharing and acts as a collective voice to feedback information to local authorities and public transport providers.
Brittany Ferries
Local ferry operators Brittany Ferries have already announced plans for two new hybrid (liquid natural gas / electric) ships which will operate out of Portsmouth from 2024/25 and are exploring options for a zero-emissions, all electric seaglider which could be operational by 2028.
Figure 10. Images of Brittany Ferries’ proposed Seaglider from brittanyferriesnewsroom.com
NoFurther exploration of ideas such as this, and other zero-carbon marine technologies, could provide local opportunities for both the marine transport, fishing and tourist sectors.
Beryl Bikes & e-Scooters in BCP
BCP has partnered with Beryl for a five-year contract to deliver an innovative Bike Share scheme across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Beryl’s distinctive green bikes are now a familiar sight across the conurbation and can be easily hired through the Beryl App. The App tracks the GPS location of the bike allowing users to access and unlock any Beryl bike simply using a smartphone.
Over 1,000 bikes are available with handlebars and seats are fully adjustable for a wide range of riders, from 4’11” to 6’5”. The bikes are available for instant hire at over 300 parking locations, including rail and bus stations, town centre shopping areas, university campuses and tourist attractions. The Beryl app displays every location of ‘Beryl Bays’, the preferred parking locations to leave the bikes. The scheme allows users to safely park the bikes elsewhere in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Pool, by paying an additional convenience fee. The operator keeps track of all the bikes through GPS and redistributes them as required to maximise availability. Riders have a payment choice of ‘pay-as-you-ride’ for a £1 unlock fee & minute bundles (e.g. 100 minutes of riding time costs just £5) or a 24-hour pass for £12.
The Beryl e-scooter share scheme (part of a government backed trial) provides emission-free transport option for both residents and visitors to the area. The initial trial will run until 31 March 2022 and help the government’s research into the use of e-scooters, ultimately informing national policy. The rental scooters can be ridden on roads in Bournemouth and Poole as well as on the expanding network of signed cycle lanes and cycle/shared-use facilities.
Further Information
Learning from Europe
Many towns, cities and regions have made significant improvements to their transport systems which we can learn from. CIVITASis one of the programmes helping the European Commission achieve its mobility and transport goals, and in turn those of the European Green Deal, by acting as a network of around 300 cities dedicated to sustainable urban mobility. They aim “through peer exchange, networking and training” to foster political commitment and boost collective expertise, “equipping cities to put mobility at the centre of decarbonisation.”
Their website is a rich source of research and project data on cycling, urban transformation, low carbon freight, and much more. One example is Preston, here in the UK where, working with CIVITAS, the city has developed many initiatives to deliver sustainable transport improvements including, “personalized travel planning, which reduced single-occupancy car trips by over 13 percent; a car-pooling initiative; the introduction of clear zones in the city; improved parking at the railway station; and improvements to the availability and quality of passenger transport information”.
There is also much we can learn from the Netherlands where a quarter of all journeys are made by bike (increasing to 38% in Amsterdam and 59% in the University town Groningen) by comparison the UK rate is around 2%.
VeloCity
Part of the Bridport Renewal Corridor proposals, VeloCity is a ‘strategic approach to growth and placemaking, centred on a re-imagining of the village for the 21st century’. As explained on their website their vision ‘has been developed to enrich village life and a sense of place, while creating new homes and working environments in healthy and socially cohesive places. It comprises a ‘polycentric’ cluster of new and ‘expanded’ villages, which are connected to one another by a fine-grained network of cycle routes and within cycling distance of new/existing rail stations. It proposes a way to install a low-cost high-speed data network and introduce technology to foster a more sustainable environment and new employment opportunities with an emphasis on the retention and enhancement of the natural environment.
The village clusters are supported by the necessary social, environmental and economic infrastructure to enable them to operate in a sustainable manner within their environmental limits. Cycling as the mainstream form of movement will shape the way places are planned and the way people communicate and relate to one another, forming resilient, intergenerational communities and a strong identity for this progressive region.’
Birmingham 2031
The home of Spaghetti Junction, one of the UK’s most infamous examples of car focused infrastructure, Birmingham may be about to embark on an entirely different path. The council’s latest plan (Birmingham Transport Plan 2031) recognises the need to reduce carbon emissions and the negative effects of private cars and plans to address these by reallocating road space to public transport, extending the metro, improving bus services and expanding the cycle-lane network.
It also aims prioritise walking and cycling and the use of public transport, building a ring road around the city centre within which private vehicles will not be able to travel while imposing a 20mph limit on all local roads and car-free zones around schools.
Perhaps even more controversially, it aims to reduce the number of parking spaces, increase fees for the remainder and fine companies for providing parking for employees. In an article in The Conversation, Joanne Leach, Research Fellow at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, notes the ambition of the plan and highlights some other areas they may need to consider if this plan is to be successful.
15 Minute City
This short video from the World Economic Forum explains what a number of cities are doing to promote this concept.
Green Shipping
Smart Green Shipping is an award-winning systems design-house focused on the rapid reduction of fuel consumption and emissions from the shipping sector and has been working with the University of Southampton on green solutions for the shipping industry.
The Cartwright Moms
Hear how one a community in one of the most polluted areas in the USA took a stand against diesel school transport and secured funding for an electric bus and the associated infrastructure.
Read the story and see the video here.
Free Taxis and Buses
Not a utopian demand but actual schemes, up and running. In the Slovenian capital Ljubljana[1]. Kavalirs (Gentle Helpers) are a free city centre public transport option mainly intended for the transport of the elderly, mobility-impaired people, and visitors, that run around the pedestrianised city centre at a speed slow enough to allow you to hail them anywhere on the street.
Closer to home, Herefordshire Council have made weekend travel on buses free (and unlimited) for anyone in the county. Additional Sunday services have been laid on in several locations. Across Europe more than 50 towns and cities offer free public transport.
Improving Rail Case Studies
South Wales Metro are planning for electric and battery-powered with fast acceleration tram-trains to operate “turn up and go” services on railway lines and on-street tramways, providing access from rural areas to the city centre, reducing journey times to 50 minutes from over an hour, and significantly increasing the frequency.
Coventry Very Light Rail is in the feasibility and development project stage. The aim is to create a reliable, frequent, environmentally friendly, battery-driven hop on hop off transport system that will work in small to medium-sized towns and cities at a fraction of the cost of a traditional tram.
There are a number of examples of battery and hydrogen powered trains that are in use across the world today, showing that alternative traction technologies can be a genuine alternative to diesel.
Beryl Bikes & e-Scooters in BCP
BCP has partnered with Beryl for a five-year contract to deliver an innovative Bike Share scheme across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Beryl’s distinctive green bikes are now a familiar sight across the conurbation and can be easily hired through the Beryl App. The App tracks the GPS location of the bike allowing users to access and unlock any Beryl bike simply using a smartphone.
Over 1,000 bikes are available with handlebars and seats are fully adjustable for a wide range of riders, from 4’11” to 6’5”. The bikes are available for instant hire at over 300 parking locations, including rail and bus stations, town centre shopping areas, university campuses and tourist attractions. The Beryl app displays every location of ‘Beryl Bays’, the preferred parking locations to leave the bikes. The scheme allows users to safely park the bikes elsewhere in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Pool, by paying an additional convenience fee. The operator keeps track of all the bikes through GPS and redistributes them as required to maximise availability. Riders have a payment choice of ‘pay-as-you-ride’ for a £1 unlock fee & minute bundles (e.g. 100 minutes of riding time costs just £5) or a 24-hour pass for £12.
The Beryl e-scooter share scheme (part of a government backed trial) provides emission-free transport option for both residents and visitors to the area. The initial trial will run until 31 March 2022 and help the government’s research into the use of e-scooters, ultimately informing national policy. The rental scooters can be ridden on roads in Bournemouth and Poole as well as on the expanding network of signed cycle lanes and cycle/shared-use facilities.
Further Information
Learning from Europe
Many towns, cities and regions have made significant improvements to their transport systems which we can learn from. CIVITASis one of the programmes helping the European Commission achieve its mobility and transport goals, and in turn those of the European Green Deal, by acting as a network of around 300 cities dedicated to sustainable urban mobility. They aim “through peer exchange, networking and training” to foster political commitment and boost collective expertise, “equipping cities to put mobility at the centre of decarbonisation.”
Their website is a rich source of research and project data on cycling, urban transformation, low carbon freight, and much more. One example is Preston, here in the UK where, working with CIVITAS, the city has developed many initiatives to deliver sustainable transport improvements including, “personalized travel planning, which reduced single-occupancy car trips by over 13 percent; a car-pooling initiative; the introduction of clear zones in the city; improved parking at the railway station; and improvements to the availability and quality of passenger transport information”.
There is also much we can learn from the Netherlands where a quarter of all journeys are made by bike (increasing to 38% in Amsterdam and 59% in the University town Groningen) by comparison the UK rate is around 2%.
VeloCity
Part of the Bridport Renewal Corridor proposals, VeloCity is a ‘strategic approach to growth and placemaking, centred on a re-imagining of the village for the 21st century’. As explained on their website their vision ‘has been developed to enrich village life and a sense of place, while creating new homes and working environments in healthy and socially cohesive places. It comprises a ‘polycentric’ cluster of new and ‘expanded’ villages, which are connected to one another by a fine-grained network of cycle routes and within cycling distance of new/existing rail stations. It proposes a way to install a low-cost high-speed data network and introduce technology to foster a more sustainable environment and new employment opportunities with an emphasis on the retention and enhancement of the natural environment.
The village clusters are supported by the necessary social, environmental and economic infrastructure to enable them to operate in a sustainable manner within their environmental limits. Cycling as the mainstream form of movement will shape the way places are planned and the way people communicate and relate to one another, forming resilient, intergenerational communities and a strong identity for this progressive region.’
Birmingham 2031
The home of Spaghetti Junction, one of the UK’s most infamous examples of car focused infrastructure, Birmingham may be about to embark on an entirely different path. The council’s latest plan (Birmingham Transport Plan 2031) recognises the need to reduce carbon emissions and the negative effects of private cars and plans to address these by reallocating road space to public transport, extending the metro, improving bus services and expanding the cycle-lane network.
It also aims prioritise walking and cycling and the use of public transport, building a ring road around the city centre within which private vehicles will not be able to travel while imposing a 20mph limit on all local roads and car-free zones around schools.
Perhaps even more controversially, it aims to reduce the number of parking spaces, increase fees for the remainder and fine companies for providing parking for employees. In an article in The Conversation, Joanne Leach, Research Fellow at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, notes the ambition of the plan and highlights some other areas they may need to consider if this plan is to be successful.
15 Minute City
This short video from the World Economic Forum explains what a number of cities are doing to promote this concept.
Green Shipping
Smart Green Shipping is an award-winning systems design-house focused on the rapid reduction of fuel consumption and emissions from the shipping sector and has been working with the University of Southampton on green solutions for the shipping industry.
The Cartwright Moms
Hear how one a community in one of the most polluted areas in the USA took a stand against diesel school transport and secured funding for an electric bus and the associated infrastructure.
Read the story and see the video here.
Free Taxis and Buses
Not a utopian demand but actual schemes, up and running. In the Slovenian capital Ljubljana[1]. Kavalirs (Gentle Helpers) are a free city centre public transport option mainly intended for the transport of the elderly, mobility-impaired people, and visitors, that run around the pedestrianised city centre at a speed slow enough to allow you to hail them anywhere on the street.
Closer to home, Herefordshire Council have made weekend travel on buses free (and unlimited) for anyone in the county. Additional Sunday services have been laid on in several locations. Across Europe more than 50 towns and cities offer free public transport.
Improving Rail Case Studies
South Wales Metro are planning for electric and battery-powered with fast acceleration tram-trains to operate “turn up and go” services on railway lines and on-street tramways, providing access from rural areas to the city centre, reducing journey times to 50 minutes from over an hour, and significantly increasing the frequency.
Coventry Very Light Rail is in the feasibility and development project stage. The aim is to create a reliable, frequent, environmentally friendly, battery-driven hop on hop off transport system that will work in small to medium-sized towns and cities at a fraction of the cost of a traditional tram.
There are a number of examples of battery and hydrogen powered trains that are in use across the world today, showing that alternative traction technologies can be a genuine alternative to diesel.
- Alstom is the pioneer of hydrogen fuel cell trains with the Coradia iLint multiple unit being the first of its kind launched in Germany in 2016. The trains have now also been tested in the Netherlands and can run for 600 miles on a single tank of fuel (which is on par with the distances that diesel trains achieve).
- Eversholt Rail and Alstom announced a plan in July 2020 to fast-track the UK hydrogen train industry by investing £1 million in British hydrogen trains, creating an entirely new class of train, the first-ever 600 series (Breeze trains).
- Porterbrook have developed a “FLEX Family” to operate on electrified and non-electrified routes. The HydroFlex, in partnership with the University of Birmingham, was launched in 2019 and put into trial operations in the UK in September 2020. It involved retrofitting an electric train with a hydrogen powered fuel cell. The BatteryFlex, introduced in 2018, involves converting one of the Electrical Multiple Units (EMU) into a battery/electric bi-mode.
- Bombardier introduced an emission-free and energy-efficient battery-operated train into public service in 2018. The Bombardier Talent 3 does not generate any exhaust and is 50% quieter than conventional modern diesel-powered trains.
- Hitachi Rail and battery company Hyperdrive Innovation have partnered to develop a battery pack suitable for powering trains, and a roadmap towards a manufacturing agreement which would cover any future orders.