Transport routemap

To reduce transport emissions, the growth in vehicle mileage needs to be lowered through active travel, reducing single-occupancy car journeys, and using digital technology to reduce people’s need to travel. Rail and road freight emissions can be reduced through transitioning to low-carbon options.

Council policies and infrastructure can support a move to active transport and increased use of public transport. Building this approach into planning and transport policy can switch the focus from car-use to alternatives. Decarbonisation of council fleets and working in collaboration with bus operators to deliver reliable, low-carbon bus services could build public confidence in public transport and increase uptake. Engaging communities through communications and events, and behaviour change programmes supported by infrastructure and schemes such as car clubs can be a systemic approach to reducing transport emissions.

The transport routemap suggests interventions that could embed sustainability in council services with a focus on transport, complementing existing council projects and actions. It enables reflection on your work in this area and how things could be improved.

This is the beginning of an ongoing piece of work for the LGA. These interventions are a first draft and we will be adding and amending them based on initial feedback. We welcome your thoughts on how we can improve and grow what we have started. Please fill in the feedback form (opens in new tab) to let us know your thoughts.

The routemaps provide a menu of interventions council staff can reflect on and consider applying to their role, team or service area. Some may require collaboration and partnership with colleagues, other service areas, businesses or communities. Others may be within the remit of individuals to explore.

The routemaps are not broken down by service area or council type, as the themes are cross-cutting and affect all councils and service areas. Instead, the routemaps present categories and sub-categories of interventions, based on their potential to drive change and achieve the project goal.

Some of the interventions councils could consider include:

Alternative mobility

• Introducing automated vehicles.
• Introducing demand-response and service-led transport to reduce the need for car ownership, especially in rural areas.
• Introducing car clubs and schemes to enable car sharing – having them in place before developments are occupied.
• Providing a safe and secure place to store bikes in public areas.
• Introducing e-cargo bikes for shop deliveries, for example, Calderdale Council Cargodale scheme.
• Introducing bike schemes to make cycling accessible to socially excluded groups, for example, London borough of Ealing
• Introducing e-bike hire to increase cycling rates, for example, Milton Keynes City Council.

Transport design

• Increasing the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points so all residents have access to charging, including those without driveways and residents living in rural areas.
• Upgrading council-owned electrical infrastructure to enable charging.
• Implementing low-traffic zones.
• Providing safe routes for active transport, with walking and cycling infrastructure across areas.
• Providing safe and secure bike storage facilities across areas to support the active transport infrastructure.
• Making transport integral to creating a green economy, focusing on linking up poorly served communities​.
• Pedestrianising some city streets, for example, Bristol City Council.
• Installing 22kW fast chargers for on-street charging, for example, Durham County Council Scaling On-Street Charging Infrastructure (SOCSI)
• Creating walking and cycling routes, for example, Highways England Avonmouth scheme in partnership with Sustrans, Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council.

City planning

• Using a ‘settlement hierarchy’ planning tool to keep homes, jobs and services close together to reduce travel requirements and support new infrastructure development, including bike lanes and walking routes.

Fleet

• Replacing vehicles with a green fleet.
• Making e-vans available for trial use by local businesses, for example, Leeds City Council try-before-you-buy scheme funded by Highways England and the Clean Air Zones Go Early grant. 
• Replacing buses with electric models and installing charging infrastructure, for example, Warrington Borough Council council-owned bus company.
• Using funding for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) from the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles (OZEV) to fund charging networks, low-emission taxis, buses and industry innovation, Haringey Council.

Fuel sources

• Exploring the potential for adopting all forms of low-emission energy.
• Using heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) fuelled in the most appropriate way (depending on requirements), for example, a mixture of EVs and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) preferably from waste.
• Expanding the fleet of biogas bus services, for example, Bristol City Council.  

Policy and regulation interventions relate to local council policies and strategies.

Transport policy

• Embedding transport solutions fully in local plans.
• Having a travel plan in place.
• Including planning for bus routes in transport modelling, not just focusing on capacity on the road for cars.
• Adopting a Transport for London model for other cities to drive policy.
• Creating a sustainable street plan, with bike parking, a car club and EV charging points.
• Introducing ULEZs and using income generated to improve public transport.
• Increasing car parking charges to disincentivise driving.
• Introducing workplace parking levies to raise funds for link buses, trams or other public transport infrastructure and promote a shift away from cars, for example, Nottingham City Council.
• Including transport behaviour change in travel strategies to encourage public transport use, active travel, and local travel within town and city centres, for example, Greater Manchester 2040 Transport Strategy Right Mix vision .
• Prioritising investment in the contribution to net zero rather than just focusing on value for money in transport strategy, for example, The LGA’s Financing Green Ambitions Guide.

Planning policy

• Introducing new development planning standards, for example, no or low parking numbers.
• Changing planning standards to ensure all parking spaces have EV charging points.
• Updating planning guidance to require new developments to increase funding for new and existing bus services, routes and frequencies.
• Removing car parking, except for a few disabled spaces, at new community buildings.
• Using funding from the Energy Saving Trust to support the EV transition, including support on planning policy.

Policy practice

• Aligning policies to have the same targets regionally.
• Adopting a longer-term view to policy making.  

Financial interventions relate to budgets and funding controlled and distributed by councils.

Funding

• Applying for funding and grants to support sustainability projects.
• Allocating more money to sustainability in budgets.
• Providing more funding for sustainable transport projects.
• Investing in public transport.
• Updating planning guidance to require new developments to increase funding for new and existing bus services, routes and frequencies.
• Introducing ULEZs and use income generated to improve public transport.
• Using funding (for example, from the Energy Saving Trust) to give free support to the EV transition.
• Using funding for ULEVs from OZEV to fund charging networks, low-emission taxis, buses and industry innovation.
• Funding free-to-use bike hire through selling advertising rights on bike hubs to fund staff salaries and maintain the service.

Incentives and levies

• Using apps such as Better Points where people log their journeys to get rewards (for example, free coffee, vouchers) for travelling sustainably.
• Increasing car parking charges to disincentivise driving.
• Introducing workplace parking levies to raise funds for link buses, trams or other public transport infrastructure and promote a shift away from cars, for example, Nottingham City Council.

Affordability

• Introducing simple and affordable pricing structures for public transport.
• Working with employers to encourage incentives to reduce car use, for example, funding discounted bus tickets.

Procurement

• Reviewing procurement processes to promote sustainable travel – speeding up processes.
• Prioritising the quality, durability and environmental credentials of items over cost.

Community engagement

• Talking to parents, teachers and children to inform and educate them about travelling to school sustainably.
• Consulting on the street to reach people directly.
• Running events to speak to the public about sustainable transport.
• Holding engagement events to talk to residents about sustainable transport.
• Running more events that offer online and in-person participation to increase access and reach.
• Setting up more community hubs with several services under one roof, for example, Medway Council library-based community hubs in Kent.

Sharing practice

• Sharing interventions and outcomes from the routemaps and the outputs from the project.
• Communicating good practice – learn from London transport policy and practice, for example, the assessment of the health impact of the London congestion charge.
• Considering how to get the message out – communications need to be real, personal and relatable rather than headline messages.
• Using storytelling and case studies to get a personal perspective.

Developing practice

• Learning from other countries’ public transport operations and approaches, for example, Holland.
• Using public transport and bicycle route use data to inform projects.  

Consultation and co-creation

• Involving all stakeholders in consultations so everyone has a stake in making the place they live beautiful and workable.
• Holding more focus groups – involving everyone in discussions and providing a forum to generate ideas with peer encouragement to adopt more sustainable options.
• Bringing the public and councillors with us when writing policies and implementing schemes, for example, a Citizens Panel of people to run schemes and policies by.
• Introducing co-created transport systems.

Private sector collaboration

• Working more closely with the private sector to understand what businesses are doing, for example, finding out where they have installed EV charging points.
• Introducing a strategy to bridge the gaps between the private and public sectors and avoid duplicating work – currently, there is no two-way reporting on this.
• Engaging with businesses on projects, for example, Norwich freight consolidation scheme.
• Co-producing relevant sustainability work with the private sector – involving businesses in decision making.
• Working with employers to encourage incentives to reduce car use, for example, funding or discounting bus tickets.

Internal collaboration

• Exploring opportunities for collaboration between sustainability officers and active-travel teams, to promote active travel and connect it to broader climate issues.
• Increasing cross-party planning.
• Explore opportunities for collaboration as part of a governance working group, with a view to creating working groups to lead on specific areas.

Networks

• Bringing different sectors together, for example, transport and healthcare sector pilot in Sunderland.
• Introducing car clubs and schemes to enable car sharing – having them in place before developments are occupied.
• Establishing a local action group as part of a network supported by expertise, training and resources, for example, South Coast Alliance for Transport and the Environment (SCATE).

System design

• Designing transport systems to prioritise public transport.
• Applying a systems approach to infrastructure design.
• Using a ‘settlement hierarchy’ planning tool to keep homes, jobs and services close together to reduce travel requirements and support new infrastructure development, including bike lanes and walking routes.

Circular economy

• Introducing mobility as a service (MaaS), using an app.
• Switching to service thinking, for example, ‘What service is a car providing?’, rather than thinking about car ownership.
• Making transport integral to prioritising a green economy and focusing on linking up poorly served communities.

Behaviour change

• Using behaviour change activities to encourage more sustainable and active transport.
• Using apps, such as Better Points, where people log their journeys to get rewards (for example, free coffee, vouchers).
• Increasing car parking charges to disincentivise driving.
• Introducing a workplace parking levy to promote a shift away from cars, for example, Nottingham City Council.
• Including transport behaviour change in travel strategies to encourage public transport use, active travel and local travel within town and city centres, for example, Swindon Borough Council: Sustainable Travel.

Business norms

• Moving away from the mindset that the solution is to build more roads to prevent congestion and keep traffic moving and towards integrating different transport options.

Leadership

• Walking the talk and demonstrating how to be sustainable.

Beliefs

• Switching perceptions to service thinking, for example, ‘What service is a car providing?’, rather than thinking about car ownership.
• Countering the aspirational attachment to car ownership.
• Using advertising to counter myths about car journeys being more enjoyable and convenient than public transport.
• Using education to help change mindsets about car ownership. 

Confidence

• Increasing the reliability and availability of public transport to enable a shift away from car use.
• Providing somewhere safe and secure to store bikes in public areas.

London Borough of Waltham Forest

‘Enjoy Waltham Forest’ scheme

The London Borough of Waltham Forest Council made use of the Transport for London fund to invest in infrastructure to improve active travel. The scheme includes developing more than 50 kilometres of segregated cycle lanes, creating 91 blended crossings, and the installation of large bike hangars at all Waltham Forest train stations. The scheme includes cycle training delivered by the council, and digital tools to highlight cycling routes. The council also works in collaboration with the local community cycling group and residents. This allows the community to take the lead in developing aspects of the programme, such as maintaining public gardens. Removing car access to 43 roads was paired with the introduction of a cargo bike delivery service.

Research shows a wide range of co-benefits resulting from the scheme, including increased active travel by residents, a 70 per cent decrease in road traffic injuries, and an 18 per cent reduction in street crime. Equity and community co-benefits have also been realised, with active travel encouraging community cohesion and offering more inclusive accessible options.

City of York

Bus-based Clean Air Zone

City of York Council introduced a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) to reduce emissions from diesel buses in York city centre. Buses were having a disproportionate impact on air quality and emissions in the city centre. The council identified three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) where health-based targets were being exceeded. The CAZ aimed to phase out older diesel buses and introduce electric or Euro 6 diesel-fuelled ultra-low emission buses.

The council bus fleet now comprises 33 electric buses serving its park-and-ride scheme, including 21 double decker buses. Charging infrastructure was also installed at the park-and-ride sites. Any buses that enter the CAZ more than four times a day must comply with the low-emissions requirements, being powered by either electric or Euro 6 diesel. Communities have also seen benefits from improved air quality through a reduction in air pollution. The project has resulted in increased public awareness of the health impacts of pollution.