Making the cut: UK spending review special - Steer Davies Gleave

Drastic times call for smarter measures
Unprecedented public spending cuts could just be the catalyst smarter choices need to take centre stage.
By Jon Foley
For many transport
professionals, the
current pinch on UK
public sector spending is
forcing a rethink on the
future of local transport
planning. This presents
a real opportunity for
smarter choice interventions to come
to the fore as they address two key
issues that are on everyone’s mind:
t innovative, low-cost, high-value
options. As spending on large transport
infrastructure projects comes under
pressure, there’s an opportunity
to consider lower cost solutions
such as investing in smarter choice
interventions that optimise the use of
the existing transport network rather
than changing the network itself. Local
authorities have massive assets at
their disposal – in the form of their
transport networks – and making better
use of these should be a focus during
this period of financial uncertainty.
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special uk spending review
t ways to spend less. We are all thinking
more seriously about our spending. In
addition to us as individuals rethinking
how we undertake some journeys
to reduce costs, many organisations
are accelerating a change in working
practices in order to cut back their
spending on staff-related travel.
Maximising impacts
The overall cost on travel behaviour
change interventions is typically
much lower than large infrastructure
expenditure. The economics of behaviour
change have also shown that lasting
change to active travel for just tens
of people justifies the expenditure of
hundreds of thousands of pounds.
People have been becoming more aware
of their health and fitness over the
years, and this trend, combined with
today’s financial pressures, could be the
catalyst that will accelerate changes to
travel behaviour. Looking at the signs:
t One of the clear outcomes of the soaring
fuel prices in 2008 was that car-use
dropped. The same has happened
recently. As improved road safety figures
were a result of the fuel protests, the
travel behaviour change agenda can
benefit from the current economic crisis.
t As people reconsider their situations,
they are likely to discover what is
literally on their doorstep. From our
Sustainable Travel Towns experiences,
one Darlington man had said, “I would
cycle but there’s no cycle routes here”.
What he didn’t realise was that there
was actually one less than 50 metres
away from the bottom of his garden.
t While the proportion of households
with access to a car may not change,
purchases of new cars are falling
and it is possible that the car will
be seen as a high-cost option
for a larger number of trips.