Participants in the SMARTi initiative
The City of Melville in the southern suburbs of Perth has just completed an eight month initiative encouraging workers to use alternative forms of transport to get to their workplaces.
Believed to be the first of its kind in Australia, SMARTi (Smarter Mobility Achieving Reduced Traffic Initiative) ran from September 2007 through to May 2008. It aimed to ease traffic and parking congestion in Melville’s busy Canning Bridge Precinct.
The initiative offered SmartRiders public transport passes, free bicycles and other incentives to businesses that committed to using active modes of transport, including cycling, walking and catching public transport.
Featuring the slogan ‘It’s Your Move’, SMARTi incentives were offered to all staff in the Canning Bridge Precinct.
Melville Mayor, Russell Aubrey, said the City received a $105,000 grant from the Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts to run the project. Additional funding has also been provided by Council.
“It was another one of our excellent TravelSmart initiatives and was part of our commitment to sustainability,” he said. “We encourage residents and workers to walk, cycle or use public transport wherever possible to not only reduce their impact on the environment but also make them healthier and happier.”
SMARTi Officer, Ruth Behn, said the project addressed the problem of traffic and parking congestion in a non conventional way.
“Often the focus is on the problem of too many cars for the road or parking spaces available and what can be done to create more space for those cars,” she said. “However, SMARTi is a behavioural change program, which focused on identifying the way workers travel to and from work in the precinct and provided them with advice on all travel options available. We wanted to see what increase in active transport modes can be achieved by workers when provided with various levels of information and incentives.”
As part of SMARTi, Council offered the following incentives:
- a free bicycle to staff who agreed to cycle
to work three times a week for one year - three months’ worth of free public
transport tickets for staff who agreed to
travel three days per week or more using public transport - sports shoe vouchers to workers who
agreed to walk to work - spot prizes for ‘active travellers’
- lunchtime active transport information
sessions.
More than 120 workers signed up to the initiative, with around 50 free bicycles given away and over 70 public transport passes.
Software Engineer, Richard Muniz, was the first business person to receive a free public transport pass. He said about three quarters of the staff at his workplace had agreed to take part in SMARTi.
“It’s a good program to help keep the environment clean,” he said. “It is not hard for me to catch a bus to work – there is a bus stop near my house – but I had just got into the habit of driving to work every day. By catching a bus to work instead, I can save some money on petrol and can also have a few drinks on a Friday afternoon without having to worry about driving home.”
Other initiatives under the TravelSmart program include a walking school bus, Cycling Around the City initiatives, participation in Bike Week, and the publishing of information on public transport, cyclepaths and walking tracks so that the community can access clear information on what transport options are available in the City.
Council also runs Magical Mystery tours, which involve visiting retirement villages and taking residents on a tour of the City, showing them what public transport is available and how they can get where they need to go.
For further information on SMARTi contact Ruth Behn on (08) 9364 0680
