Improving Local Transport Helps the Economy – Experience from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund
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Improving local transport helps the economy – experience from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund www.bettertransport.org.uk Reducing unemployment, widening The good news is that these problems labour markets and supporting can be addressed: local authorities and local businesses are priorities for LEPs, with partners such as Chambers Local Enterprise Partnerships and of Commerce and transport operators, local authorities, as well as for the can use a range of measures to tackle Government. Poor local transport local transport problems and improve can get in the way of meeting these access to jobs. This briefing outlines priorities, while improvements in examples of successful measures transport can help achieve them. Traffic implemented during the 2011-15 phase congestion and poor or unreliable public of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. transport can impose costs and inhibit These are largely drawn from the 12 economic development. Transport larger LSTF projects that were awarded difficulties are increasingly recognised funding in excess of £5 million. as major barriers to employment. 2 www.bettertransport.org.uk www.bettertransport.org.uk 3 Introduction: Growth Fund, while local authorities have also been able to bid for further LSTF funding. This briefing The Eddington Report in 2006 found that small scale Behind these lie wider issues – there is sometimes Transport problems is designed to help LEPs and councils learn from schemes including investment in buses, walking and a mismatch between unemployment, often and the economy experience so far in developing the detail of their cycling could have very high returns. Other research concentrated in urban areas or isolated communities, programmes for the future. – in the UK and in other countries – has found and current job opportunities often located in Transport problems can harm local economies and that investment in travel planning and other such business parks and out-of-town locations poorly businesses in a number of ways. Congestion and local LSTF projects are typically packages of small measures measures can help to tackle traffic problems and give served by public transport. LSTF projects have been 2 traffic problems can add to business costs, impede or applied in an area or to a transport corridor in order to: people alternatives to car use. able to address these issues and problems. even block new developments and put off customers and clients. Local economies are unable to expand • Improve the choices available for people in getting Smaller, sustainable transport projects can be very The rest of this briefing sets out the kinds of measures without spare capacity in local transport networks. around, and inform them about those choices good value for money. These are examples of benefit- introduced, with case studies drawn mainly from More widely, congestion and traffic problems can • Cut transport costs the 12 major LSTF programmes which have budgets • Make cycling and walking easier and safer 3 create a poor environment with pollution and low LSTF project BCR of more than £5 million. • Remove barriers to reaching employment quality public space, where people don’t want to South Yorkshire 7.0 live or work and firms to locate or invest. Local firms • Work with businesses, schools and leisure providers Hertfordshire 5.3 “Evidence from the TravelWise programme may experience a shortage of labour because of poor to help them tackle traffic and transport problems Nottingham 4.5 of workplace travel plans showed how transport access. For unemployed people, transport and give people better alternatives for commuting Bristol 6.1 encouraging sustainable travel also helped to issues may be a key barrier to getting into the labour and school travel Surrey 3.9 increase the pool of labour for companies by market. In a West Midlands survey of unemployed South Hampshire 8.5 increasing access to non-car users.” people, 46% said that transport was the main barrier In practice, this involves combinations of measures: LSTF Initial Proposal for Merseyside to getting employment and 32% cited it as a barrier capital spending on infrastructure projects such as to getting to an interview.1 improving public spaces, new rail stations, park and ride, bus priority or cycle lanes and revenue spending cost ratios of some major LSTF projects. Many local authorities have been using the such as marketing or start-up subsidies for bus and Transport measures tend to be overlooked as ways Government’s Local Sustainable Transport rail services, bus service improvements, car clubs, bike of tackling unemployment, but the LSTF has enabled Fund (LSTF) to tackle these issues, to unjam hire schemes. There have also been targeted fares the development of targeted measures designed to communities and remove barriers to employment. reductions, cycle training, travel planning at schools, help specific communities or groups access jobs and The fund was launched in 2011 and provided workplaces and stations, and personal travel advice. training. The emerging evidence is that these projects £600 million in funding over a four-year period to are effective at addressing various problems: allow local authorities to implement packages of Such smaller transport projects tend to be overlooked transport measures that help the economy while by policy-makers and the wider public. The focus in • A lack of awareness among unemployed people (and cutting carbon emissions. This has supported 96 transport tends to be on big infrastructure projects, employers) of transport options programmes across England, and has been boosted but while these are attractive, and often important, • Poor access to travel information by local contributions bringing the total to over £1 there is good evidence that smaller projects or • Limited travel horizons and a reluctance to travel billion for the period 2011-2015. Local Enterprise packages of measures can be very good value for longer distances Partnerships have been encouraged to include money. Some LSTF projects have helped to make • The cost of transport to an interview or employment proposals for further such programmes in their better use of larger projects and allowed bigger particularly before payment is received Strategic Economic Plans and bids for the Local projects, such as public transport or development • The absence of public transport services to an area schemes, to work more efficiently. or at the times required for some employment, particularly shift work • Poor conditions for walking and cycling 4 www.bettertransport.org.uk www.bettertransport.org.uk 5 1 Helping employers Local employers like Capita have welcomed this in promoting commuter cycling there are free bikes scheme and five percent of employees trying for business, on-site cycle training and maintenance alternatives stay with buses afterwards. http://www. courses and help with setting up Bike User Groups Employers and businesses often face transport inmotion.co.uk/ and organising led rides. http://www.tfgm.com/ problems including congestion and parking issues and travelchoices/Pages/business-home.html a lack of choices for staff travel. Some employment Case study: sites are poorly served by public transport. Some Greater Manchester – unlocking benefits As well as working with individual businesses, TfGM’s shift times are badly matched by public transport through business engagement Travel Choices team is also delivering area-wide services. These problems can restrict jobs to those This project works directly with employers and their measures suitable for groups of organisations and with cars thus reducing the size of the labour pool and staff to increase the use of sustainable and active modes businesses with shared transport issues. One example creating labour shortages while potentially adding to for commuting journeys and in the course of work. is MediaCityUK, the large, mixed use development of congestion and other costs. Businesses are offered advice and practical support creative industries located on the Manchester Ship from a team of expert business travel advisors as well as Canal. By working in partnership with Peel Media (the Many authorities have worked with employers in their access to “sustainable travel grants” of up to £10,000, site owners) and Salford City Council, and organisations areas to help them address these problems, through Personal Travel Planning for employees, a web-based such as the BBC, ITV and Salford University, it has been “travel plans”, which encompass a range of measures travel survey and travel plan management tool, and a possible to ensure that over 50% of trips being made to that give employees real choice in their commuting free car share matching tool. For businesses interested the site are by non-car modes. and business travel.3 There are long standing business engagement programmes and local travel planning networks in many areas, and these have been further developed with the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. Merseytravel, for example, runs “employers networks” Case study: with local Chambers of Commerce and so far has Maylands Business Park, Hertfordshire engaged 200 businesses with 110,000 employees Maylands is a large business park near Hemel across the conurbation. http://www.letstravelwise. Hempstead in Hertfordshire; it is close to the M1 and org/content99_Employers--Network.html was originally planned in the 1960s with car access in mind. The area now suffers from road congestion The West of England partnership has a “business and car dependence. A travel plan has been produced engagement” programme with area travel plans with businesses in the Park. Using the LSTF, a range of bringing together clusters of employers in the As of May 2013, over 300 businesses, covering 250,000 travel options are being put into the park in order to strategic employment sites across the city-region for employees have signed up to TfGM’s Travel Choices give those working there alternatives in how they get example at the Port, the Airport, along the M4 and in business network, with over £100,000 of grants having to work. A bus and rail interchange enhancement, and the Local Enterprise Areas http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ been awarded.