Mobility management at Edinburgh Business Areas and Hospitals
LocationThe City of Edinburgh has a population of around 448,370 (2003) and covers an area of 262.28 square kilometres. Its economy is largely based around the service industries of banking, finance and tourism. The City was made a World Heritage Site in 1995. There are a number of sites that have been involved in the Edinburgh Pilot Project:
|
| Site |
Number of companies |
Numbers of staff (total) |
Numbers of patients/ |
|
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh |
1 |
10,000+ |
N/A |
|
Edinburgh Park |
20+ |
7,000 |
0 |
|
Fort Kinnaird Retail Park |
60+ |
2,000+ |
0 |
|
Edinburgh Telford College |
1 |
600 |
17,000+ |
|
Gyle Shopping Centre |
60+ |
2,000 + |
0 |
|
University of Edinburgh |
1 |
3,000+ |
23,000 |
|
Royal Bank of Scotland – Gogarburn |
1 |
3,000 |
0 |
Origin of travellers
In 2007, approximately two-thirds of survey respondents travelled ten miles or less to work, with 14% travelling two miles or less. This finding is much the same as in 2005 and 2006. Further information can be found in Table 1.6 of the Final Monitoring Results Report.
Accessibility information for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Accessibility information for Edinburgh Park.
Accessibility information for Fort Kinnaird Retail Park.
Accessibility information for Edinburgh Telford College.
Accessibility information for Gyle Shopping Centre.
Accessibility information for University of Edinburgh.
More general accessibility information can be found at www.clevercommuting.info – a core output of the Edinburgh OPTIMUM² Pilot project.
In Scotland, the ‘national’ body responsible for planning transport is the Scottish Executive, which aims to "promote economic growth, social inclusion and sustainable development through a safe, integrated and efficient transport network". To deliver this, a new executive agency was created on 1 January 2006.
Transport Scotland is responsible for helping to deliver the Executive's £3 billion capital investment programme over the next decade, overseeing the safe and efficient running of Scotland's trunk roads and rail networks and establishing and running a national scheme for concessionary travel in Scotland. It will also:
• Help to deliver a number of major infrastructure projects;
• Specify and fund the Scottish rail network on behalf of Scottish Ministers;
• Help to deliver transport improvements by building a centre of excellence with the right professional skills.
More locally, the City of Edinburgh Council is responsible for setting transport and planning policies (such as the Local Transport Strategy) and for implementing local scale infrastructure improvements. Private operators e.g. Lothian Buses, FirstGroup, ScotRail then actually deliver public transport services to the customers (some of which are subsidised by the local authority).
The Pilot was led by the City of Edinburgh Council and the majority of the work was carried out by consultant Steer Davies Gleave.
At the individual site levels, the key players were as follows:
Each site was involved in discussions about how best to disseminate information to their staff. Those employers that received Personal Travel Advice were involved in identifying the most appropriate measures and the best way of implementing them.
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
The hospital moved from a spatially constrained site in the city centre to an edge of town site in January 2002 to allow it to modernise and expand by raising money through selling off prime real estate. Consequently, it is now more difficult for staff, patients and visitors to access the site by walking, cycling or taking the bus and there is a greater incentive for people to drive to and from the site than previously. Crucially though, the hospital was required to adopt a travel plan as a condition of being granted planning permission.
Edinburgh Park
As an edge of town site (with potentially poor access arrangements for non-car users) that has only been granted planning permission relatively recently, Edinburgh Park is subject to planning conditions that require it to have a travel plan. There is significant congestion on the surrounding road network during peak periods.
Fort Kinnaird Retail Park
Located on the outskirts of the city, this location does have good access by public transport although it also provides a plentiful supply of free parking, therefore discouraging people to use public transport. The roads surrounding this site are congested at peak times.
Edinburgh Telford College
Telford College moved from three separate sites to a purpose built campus at Granton in the summer of 2006 – i.e. during the middle of the project period and hence was keen to ensure that staff and students could still access the college. And, once again the legal requirement for a new development to have a travel plan and to limit parking availability also played a key role in the decision to try mobility management.
Gyle Shopping Centre
Located on the outskirts of the city, this location does have good access by public transport although it also provides a plenty supply of free parking. The roads surrounding this site are particularly congested at peak times.
University of Edinburgh
Located in a number of locations across the city, the University already had a travel plan in place and were keen to successfully implement mobility management measures. The areas surrounding the university campus have very restricted parking availability although public transport provision is generally good.
Royal Bank of Scotland, Gogarburn
RBS moved 3,000 staff to their new world headquarters at the beginning of the OPTIMUM².
West Edinburgh Cycle Guide
An opportunity arose during the project to assist Edinburgh Park in promoting a new bike hire scheme that they had recently introduced. The OPTIMUM² project designed and produced a cycle leaflet which provided information about the scheme, reasons to try cycling and maps of cycle routes in the local area.
Walking challenge at Fort Kinnaird Retail Park
A walking challenge was carried out which provided participants with a pedometer and record card and encouraged staff to walk the 10,000 steps a day recommended for a healthy lifestyle. To learn more about the walking challenge at Fort Kinnaird, click here.
Walking challenge at Edinburgh University
After hearing about the walking challenge at Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh University expressed an interest in doing the same at the university. In total, 302 members of staff requested a walking challenge pack which included a pedometer, record card and tips on how to incorporate more walking into the daily routine. After the end of the two week challenge period, 60 staff returned their forms. Responses to this challenge indicated an increase in walking and positive impacts on the general health and wellbeing of the participants.
To see the leaflet that was poduced, click here.
Website
Online resource for the project to provide information and news about transport initiatives and to provide a useful source of information for participating employers and employees. The website can now be viewed at http://visuals.sdgworld.net/optimum2/.
Personal Travel Advice
Personal Journey Plans (PJP) at the Royal Bank of Scotland. This activity was carried out in June 2005 to assist RBS in their large scale move to their new site. During an open week at the new site, all staff were offered a PJP to help them plan their journey to their new workplace. Staff who wanted a PJP were asked to complete a simple questionnaire about their journey requirements. In total, 77 PJPs were requested and prepared.
Personal Travel Assistance (PTA) at Fort Kinnaird Retail Park. PTA at this site was carried out between 10th and 13th April 2006. This activity was based around providing staff with the opportunity to talk about their travel needs and problems they experience. A wide range of resources were available for distribution including relevant timetable information for local buses and cycle information. A walking challenge was also carried out which provided participants with a pedometer and record card and encouraged staff to walk the 10,000 steps a day recommended for a healthy lifestyle.
Travel Information Clinics and Personal Journey Plans at Telford College. Similar to the process carried out at RBS, however two travel information clinics were held at the college (one prior to the move to the new site and one after the move). This provided staff with greater opportunity to discuss their travel requirements and take away relevant timetable information. PJPs were also available to staff. In total, 62 PJPs were prepared.
Travel Information Clinics at Edinburgh Park. Travel information clinics were provided at four separate companies at Edinburgh Park during European Mobility Week 2006. They provided staff with the opportunity to discuss their current journey to work and for OPTIMUM² staff to help in identifying public transport, cycling and walking journeys. Relevant timetable, cycle and other information was available for staff to take away with them. The companies that hosted travel information clinics were Diageo, HSBC, Miller Group and BT.
To gain an understanding of perceptions of transport in Edinburgh, employees were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with a number of statements relating to transport. The Table below shows a comparison of the average degree of agreement with each statement between 2005, 2006 and 2007 and shows whether there has been a positive or negative change in perceptions during the lifetime of the project. A score of three means, on average, respondents neither agree or disagree with the statement, whereas a score of above three shows general agreement and a score below three shows general disagreement with the statement.
|
Statement |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
Public transport services are never on time |
3.0 |
3.1 |
2.8 |
|
Finding out about routes and times are easy |
2.9 |
3.1 |
3.2 |
|
Services are too infrequent |
3.2 |
3.2 |
3.1 |
|
Services do not run when I need them to get to and from work |
2.7 |
3.1 |
2.9 |
|
It is easy deciding which type of ticket I need |
3.3 |
3.2 |
3.3 |
|
Buses are faster than they were 18 months ago |
2.5 |
2.8 |
2.6 |
|
Buses get held up in traffic too much |
2.9 |
3.1 |
2.9 |
|
It is convenient to take the train to work |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
|
Cycling to work is getting safer |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
|
If walking to work I find it easy to cross the road where I need to |
2.7 |
2.7 |
2.8 |
|
I feel personally safe and secure on public transport in Edinburgh |
2.9 |
3.0 |
3.1 |
|
The fares are too expensive |
3.0 |
3.0 |
2.8 |
|
It is easy changing from one form of public transport to another |
2.3 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
|
The quality of public transport in Edinburgh is high |
2.5 |
2.7 |
2.8 |
|
The quality of bus stops and shelters is high |
2.3 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
Overall only one negative shift was made with the average degree of agreement with the statement ‘services do not run when I need them to get to and from work’ rising from 2.7 to 2.9. The greatest positive shift in perceptions can be seen for the statements ‘finding out about routes and times is easy’ and ‘the quality of public transport in Edinburgh is high’.
Regarding awareness of the outputs of the OPTIMUM² project, 110 (6%) of all the survey respondents to the 2007 survey stated that they were – an increase from 3% of all respondents in 2006. Of these 110 previously aware respondents, 32% stated that the OPTIMUM² project had either changed the way in which they travel to work, prompted them to think seriously about doing so or made them more aware about where to find information on public transport, cycling and walking. A further 16% stated that it had not influenced the way in which they travel as they already travel to work by public transport, bicycle or on foot.
For more detailed information read the final monitoring report on the Edinburgh case.
The consultant Steer Davies Gleave was contracted to carry out the project on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council. No Steering Group was directly involved, although the members of the pre-existing Edinburgh Employers’ Travel Planning Forum did form the basis of the initial awareness raising exercise. All financial resources, £139,141.00 or € 203,051.23, (September 2007) were spent as directed in the plan.
The key contact at each participating employer was the ‘workplace champion’. These were particularly successful at those locations where Personal Travel Assistance (PTA) was undertaken. This included Personal Journey Plans at RBS Gogarburn, PTA and a walking challenge at Fort Kinnaird, PJPs and Travel Information Clinics at Telford College, Travel Information Clinics at Edinburgh Park and PTA in the form of a Walking Challenge at Edinburgh University.
Having an enthusiastic workplace champion can make a big difference to the success of PTA initiatives. Some workplace champions were more enthusiastic than others and although all were keen to participate in the project and all facilitated the distribution of the website, posters and newsletters, PTA was carried out at those locations with enthusiastic workplace champions. It is important to have access to communication channels through which the initiatives can be effectively promoted, such as email and internal communications.
Positive synergies include the Walking Challenge adopted by the University of Edinburgh and the development of an OPTIMUM² Communications Group within the City of Edinburgh Council.
A whole range of Personalised Travel Assistance methods were used including Personalised Journey Planning, Travel Information Clinics, Newsletters, Posters, Postcards, and Clever Commuting Website. (http://visuals.sdgworld.net/optimum2/). Further information can be found in Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Final Report.
Social marketing techniques were used - rather than dictating the way that information is conveyed from the top-down, social marketing entails listening to the needs and desires of the target audience themselves, and building a programme from there. The focus is on the "consumer" and this involves research and continual re-evaluation of every aspect of the program. Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviours – to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviours. Again, see Final Monitoring Results Report.
Would you like to know more about mobility management at Edinburgh Business Areas and Hospitals?
Please contact: Clive Brown (Clive.Brown@Edinburgh.gov.uk)
