Page 3719 - Week 12 - Thursday, 25 November 2021
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more pleasant, safer and provide greater amenity through the movement of people on foot, by bike and by scooter; and our local businesses and economy prosper.
My car plays a really important role in my life, arguably a critical role in my ability to facilitate my children’s lives between school, friends and sports all over Canberra and regional New South Wales. Much of my role in this job is driving to meetings all over Canberra. However, I recognise that I rely on my car perhaps more than I should and that I can use my bike or public transport for some of the shorter trips that I make from home or plan and prioritise a day a week to engage with different modes of transport. And the point is that I actually want to do this.
Through this process, I have actually had to question and look at my own habits that I have created. For example, one reason I have not engaged in active travel and public transport is that I had in my head that I need my car in case a child needs to be picked up from school, for whatever reason. But when I think about it, I can honestly say, in the 13 years of my children going to childcare and school, I can count on one hand the number of times my children have need to be picked up from school. Perhaps I can let go of that anxiety a little and put a contingency plan in place in case I do not have my car on hand and a kid needs to be picked up. It is actually not the end of the world.
For some of us, perhaps there may be a different way. And I do acknowledge that not everyone wants to change every aspect of their travel behaviour and not everyone has an ability to do so. But I want to help support those who do want to make changes. I know, through the results of community input to the Her Way discussion paper, that there are plenty of people who also want to make those changes. But they do not know where to start.
The comments provided by the community have been instrumental in helping me understand how women want to change their travel behaviours and the key constraints and how best to overcome them. In the survey women were asked questions about their current mode of transport; their appetite for change, and which mode or modes for which types of journeys; flexible working arrangements; and barriers and constraints to their transport options.
Most respondents, 60 per cent, currently travel by private vehicle to and from work; followed by riding a bike, 15 per cent; and nine per cent had a combination of modes. For non-work-related journeys, an even larger per cent, 71 per cent, travel by private vehicle, followed by being a passenger in a private vehicle, making a total of 82 per cent of non-work-related journeys being taken by car. Many of these journeys are often short and local.
What was encouraging about the results of the survey was that a high percentage of these respondents, 51 per cent, indicated an interest in choosing a different mode of transport: primarily riding a bike, followed by an interest in catching public transport and then walking. This is a great place to start. What we need is not a small handful of people doing active travel perfectly but hundreds, if not thousands, of people taking small steps.
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