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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (20 November) . . Page.. 3860 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

vehicles and support increased opportunities for physical activity through walking or cycling all or part of the way to one's destination. Increasing the level of physical activity is in line with a whole series of very important health measures. The pilot program used a personalised marketing approach relatively intensively, involving questionnaires, travel diaries, personalised travel information and a range of complimentary products designed to encourage alternative transport choices.

Initial estimates show that applying this study to the whole of the ACT would reduce vehicle kilometre travel for passenger vehicles by approximately 2.5 per cent, with a corresponding equivalent reduction in vehicle emissions. Preliminary calculations indicate that a reduction of around 20,000 tonnes per annum may be achievable by the implementation of this study across the entire ACT.

This program is particularly relevant to my recent trip to the world summit in Johannesburg. My presentation there focused very much on vehicles and the significant volume they contribute to emissions in the atmosphere here.

In recent years voluntary travel behaviour change programs have been successfully implemented in Australia and are now recognised as one of the most cost-effective greenhouse gas abatement and alternative transport methods in the transport sector. One of the key benefits of projects like this is that they encourage the use of bicycles and walking. Members would be aware that in recent years there has been more impetus for such strategies. I think Mr Corbell is working on that area extensively, and he might even say something more about it.

MS TUCKER (5.32): Way to Go and similar travel demand management programs around the world are aimed at informing people about, and motivating them to use, alternative transport modes to the motor car. The most significant program in Australia is the Western Australian program called TravelSmart. I would like to provide some details of this program, as it provides a good model for what we could do in the ACT with the Way To Go program.

As part of the TravelSmart program, households are contacted and asked whether they are interested in using alternative transport to the car. If the household is interested, a discussion takes place about their current transport arrangements and what specific buses they could catch or cycle routes they could use instead of taking their car. The focus is to see how alternative transport options can fit with individual needs rather than trying to force people to use these options when they might not be suitable. The advantage of this approach is that it allows a dialogue with participants and does not rely on their knowledge of alternative modes, especially public transport routes and timetables. This process also provides feedback to authorities on how alternative transport options could be structured to better suit individual needs.

The TravelSmart program also works with businesses, schools and institutions to encourage them to accept responsibility for how their staff, students or customers travel and to empower them through training and funding to implement their own TravelSmart programs. The aim is to get people to make even a small change to their transport behaviour rather than expect major changes that may not be feasible, given the level of public transport currently available. However, once people start using alternative

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