An integrated approach pays dividends at the University of Bristol

In 1998 the University of Bristol was experiencing increased difficulty in providing car parking for staff, and losing £20,0000 a year in doing so. A working party was established to recommend a new policy, which was introduced in 1999. This raised charges to the point that revenues have more doubled, but avoided many potential problems by making charging fairer. One aspect of this was the creation of three needs-based categories of parking (with some, such as the disabled, paying nothing) and the introduction of daily rather than annual fees so that individuals could pay only for what they used. The surplus which is now created by the scheme is recycled into improvements for non-car users, such as a web-based car sharing scheme, washing and changing facilities for cyclists and walkers, a joint initiative to provide a bus shuttle service and interest free loans for purchase of public transport season tickets.

The new policy was preceded by a baseline survey of how people travelled to work in 1998. A subsequent survey in 2001 found that 32% of staff claimed that they ‘usually’ drove to work alone, compared to 44% in 1998.  This reduction infers that 600 less cars are travelling to the university on a daily basis. 24% of staff claimed that an increase in the cost of parking influenced their decisions on how to travel to work.

These achievements are very significant given that personal transport choice is a very emotive issue.  In order to keep staff informed, they were consulted frequently on changes and proposals within the transport plan.  Indeed communication was a key factor to the successes at Bristol with staff being educated in the viable transport alternatives to the private car.

 

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