Individualised Marketing pilot study in the City of South Perth under Transport's ..... Quarry Street, Fremantle as the operational centre, where a sophisticated ...
Socialdata Australia
INDIVIDUALISED MARKETING TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR CHANGE PROGRAM FOR THE CITY OF SOUTH PERTH UNDER THE TRAVELSMART PROGRAM
- FINAL REPORT-
February 2001
Socialdata Australia Pty. Ltd. 45 Quarry Street Fremantle 6160 WA PO Box 803 Fremantle WA 6959
Phone: 08 / 9431 1860 Fax: 08 / 9431 1865
Contents
1. Summary
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2. Introduction
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3
2.1 Existing Behaviour Trends .................................................................
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2.2 Potential for Change ........................................................................
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3. Individualised Marketing 3.1 Background .....................................................................................
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3.2 Concept ..........................................................................................
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4. South Perth Pilot Study 4.1 Summary .................................................................................................
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5. The Individualised Marketing Campaign 2000 ...................................................................................
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5.2 Project Set Up .................................................................................
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5.4 Marketing Materials .........................................................................
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5.6 Staffing and Training ........................................................................
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5.7 Database ..........................................................................................
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5.1 Background
5.3 Schedule
5.5 Office Establishment
Course of the Individualised Marketing Campaign 2000 6. Contact Phase 6.1 Background .................................................................................
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6.2 Procedure .....................................................................................
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7. Segmentation Phase 7.1 Background ..................................................................................
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7.2 Procedure .....................................................................................
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8. Information and Motivation Phase 8.1 Background .................................................................................
35
8.2 Procedure .....................................................................................
35
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9.1 Background ..................................................................................
45
9.2 Procedure ....................................................................................
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9.3 Walking and Cycling Home Visits ....................................................
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9.4 Walking and Cycling Survey............................................................
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9.5 Bus Driver Home Visits ...................................................................
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9.6 Test Ticket Survey ..........................................................................
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10.1 Summary ..................................................................................
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10.2 Changes ...................................................................................
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8.3 Delivered materials
9. Convincing Phase
8.7 Additional Bus Driver Home Visits
10. Evaluation
1. Summary This large scale TravelSmart Individualised Marketing programme, offered to all households in the City of South Perth, was evaluated as a resounding success. It exceeded the projections that were determined possible by the pilot study conducted in 1997, which showed that a 10 % reduction in car trips could be achieved following the implementation of a large scale programme. Random sample surveys of the population were conducted before and after the Individualised Marketing programme to measure its effect. The results from the 'after' survey are expressed across the whole population, not just those taking part. This measured a 14 % reduction in car trips, with these trips changing to: ·
walking (up 35 %),
·
cycling (up 61 %),
·
public transport use (up 61 %)
·
and car sharing (up 9 %).
People spent more time exercising through walking and cycling, and overall they made more trips within the City of South Perth than before. There was a significant change in the main mode share of trips: ·
8 % from car-as-driver, (‘before’ survey 60 %, ‘after’ survey 52 %)
·
2 % to car-as-passenger, (‘before’ survey 20 %, ‘after’ survey 22 %)
·
4 % to walking, (‘before’ survey 12 %, ‘after’ survey 16 %)
·
1 % to cycling, (‘before’ survey 2 %, ‘after’ survey 3 %)
·
1 % to public transport (‘before’ survey 6 %, ‘after’ survey 7 %).
The 8 % reduction in main mode share of car-as-driver trips has restored travel patterns to lower car dependence than the 1986 levels of 55 %.
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The Individualised Marketing programme, conducted between February and May 2000, was delivered in a number of phases. A 'before' study of a random sample of households measured mobility behaviour prior to the campaign. ·
Contact and dialogue with 94 % of the City of South Perth households, representing around 35 000 people.
·
Segmentation phase, identifying households that would be interested and who would benefit from the programme, from those who were unable to participate.
·
Information and Motivation Phase, 54 % of those contacted initially took an active part in the programme.
·
Convincing Phase, offering further services for walking, cycling and public transport with home visits.
·
Evaluation Phase, to measure the effectiveness of the programme.
During the Information, Motivation and Convincing Phases of Individualised Marketing, 7 795 households requested around 42 000 items of information, which were personally delivered as 6 000 individualised packages. This was followed by around 2 600 home visits for walking and cycling and over 600 home visits by bus drivers for public transport. More than 1200 households responded to the questionnaires, with 97 % positive about the programme. The demonstrated success of the TravelSmart Individualised Marketing programme, as part of the integrated approach to reducing car usage, has wider applications for the whole of metropolitan Perth.
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2. Introduction Car use in the Perth metropolitan area is high by world standards, with 63 % of all personal trips undertaken as car as driver. However, if people could be encouraged to use alternative modes of travel for just a few of these trips, this would make a huge difference overall. If the population of Perth does grow to two million by the year 2029 as expected, and car use increases faster than population growth, this will place great pressure on transport systems and the environment, as well as being socially and economically unacceptable. By reducing our reliance on cars, traffic congestion would decrease, the air quality would improve, there would be less road trauma, and people would be fitter and healthier. The need to change mode share from car use to the environment-friendly modes of public transport, cycling and walking is clearly expressed as a set of targets in the 1995 Perth Metropolitan Transport Strategy (MTS).1 This strategy is a vision for the future, and establishes transport targets to help achieve this vision.
Metropolitan Transport Strategy Targets 5
Number of Weekday Trips (millions)
4.5
2029 Current Trends
4
2029 MTS Targets
3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Car Driver
Car Passenger
Public Cycle Transport
Walk
Commercial Trips
Alternatives to Transport
Trip Type
This means that in order to achieve a better balance in the use of the car, 24.5 % of all trips made by car will need to re-distributed to the alternative modes by 2029.
1
Department of Transport, Main Roads Western Australia, Ministry of Planning, Fremantle Port Authority, Westrail and Metrobus (1995) Metropolitan Transport Strategy Perth Western Australia
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The traditional approach to achieve mode change has been through the provision of transport services and infrastructure, including pricing, and longer term land use policies. In order to influence behaviour (with respect to modal choice) there are both “measures in the system” (hard policies) and “measures in the mind” (soft policies). The application of a behavioural approach to mode change has not, until recently, been considered in Western Australia. The Department of Transport developed TravelSmart, an integrated transport approach to encourage people to be less reliant on car usage by providing improved services and infrastructure, land use planning, and through travel behaviour change programs. TravelSmart is a world-first initiative to help preserve Western Australia's environment and quality of life. It is about empowering people, by providing them with localised information, advice and encouragement, and leaving the choice up to them. Individualised Marketing, as part of this integrated approach, aims to improve the perception of the community towards environment-friendly modes – public transport, walking and cycling - to inform people about these modes and to motivate people to use them. Socialdata has been involved in the research of travel behaviour in Europe and Australia and has undertaken large scale travel behaviour change programs in many German, Austrian and Swedish cities. The “Individualised Marketing” approach has been developed and applied by Socialdata to more than 75 projects in 13 European cities, with more than 20 of these involving more than 10,000 households. The largest project was in Leipzig, Germany with more than 75,000 participants. In October 2000, Socialdata was awarded the OECD’s Environmentally Sustainable Transport est! best practices award for Communication and Awareness Raising. In 1997, Socialdata Australia was contracted by the Department of Transport to provide an Individualised Marketing pilot study in the City of South Perth under Transport’s TravelSmart Initiative. The municipality of South Perth occupies land bound on three sides by the Swan and Canning Rivers, and comprises seven suburbs in close proximity to Perth City Centre. It provides a wide variety of travel options to residents and visitors, through an extensive network of cycleways, walkways, bus routes and a ferry service.
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The pilot study consisted of a before study, the IndiMark® campaign and an after study to evaluate travel behaviour change. (Further evaluations were carried out at a later date to determine the sustainability of the changes in travel behaviour). The results showed that a large scale project had the capability of effecting travel behaviour change, measured against the relevant MTS targets of car occupancy, trip length and mode share, as well as an extensive cost/benefit analysis. Following the success of the pilot study, Socialdata Australia was contracted to provide a large scale travel behaviour program using the Individualised Marketing concept for the whole of the City of South Perth. The aim of this report is to document the background and concept of the large scale campaign, to present the processes undertaken in the marketing campaign, to present the findings from the evaluation and to document responses to the project from all those taking part.
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2.1 Existing Behaviour Trends to 1997 An analysis of travel surveys carried out in the Perth metropolitan area in 1986 and again in 1997, showed that a number of behaviour trends will need to be changed to meet the Metropolitan Transport Targets.
These measures are before the Individualised Marketing pilot study. Mode choice is the central indicator for evaluating changes, and in this report we use "main mode". From 1986 to 1997, there was a 5 percentage point shift from environment-friendly modes to motorised private modes. Expressed as mode share, in 1986, 25 % of residents' trips were either walking (15 %), cycling (3 %) or using public transport (7 %), with 75 % using motorised private transport. By 1997, 80 % of main mode trips were either as car driver or car passenger, with less people walking (12 %), cycling (2 %) and using public transport (6 %). The shift from environment-friendly modes can be found in the car as driver share, with car as passenger remaining constant. Change in mode share has occurred while other mobility indicators have remained almost constant.
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The number of activities (2,0 per person / day) and trips (3,4 per person / day) of an average South Perth resident was the same in 1986 as well as in 1997, while the travel time decreased by three minutes (from 61 to 58 minutes travel time per person / day). Meanwhile the average distance covered by a person per day decreased by 3 kilometres to 27 kilometres per person per day.
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Similarly, some indicators on car usage show a relatively unchanged picture over the decade from 1986 to 1997. Out of all private cars, 80 % were used on an average day in 1986 and 79 % in 1997. Those cars used made 3,2 trips (1986) compared to 3,3 trips (1997) per day. While the average travel time decreased by five minutes (from 50 minutes in 1986 to 45 minutes in1997) the car occupancy remained at 1,3. This shows that all car usage characteristics are declining or remaining (almost) the same. The increasing share of trips with car as driver between 1986 and 1997 is therefore due to an increasing number of cars owned by South Perth residents and not by a more intensive use of the single car (i.e. more trips per car, higher occupancy etc).
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2.2 Potential for Change Many people would think the task of changing travel behaviour in a car-dominated city such as Perth, difficult if not impossible. The number of car trips as driver or passenger has increased since 1986, and the use of environment-friendly trips has decreased. Every time someone makes a trip, there is a choice between different modes. Nearly everyone would have one trip each day where environment-friendly modes are feasible alternatives. If everyone changed their mode to an environment-friendly mode for just a few of these trips, it would make a huge difference. In many cases, only subjective reasons hinder the use of alternative modes to the car such as overestimating the time taken on public transport, walking only for recreation or lacking information about cycleways. On the other hand, there are always trips without an alternative, such as an inadequate bus connection. There are also trips that can be defined as free of choice, where for example, people already have the information for alternative modes, but still choose to use the car. To determine the potential for travel behaviour change, an indepth survey is carried out to obtain the reasons for an individual’s mode choice for each trip, as well as to evaluate the potentials for behaviour change. To determine the potential for alternative modes like walking in place of car trips for example, it is necessary to investigate each individual trip to see if there was an objective reason for using a car (using the car for business reasons, carrying heavy parcels) and whether an alternative mode would actually have been available. It should be noted at this point that the travel survey and indepth analysis are conducted for a random sample of the whole population and do not form part of the Individualised Marketing information campaign process. The interactive approach of the indepth technique together with each individual’s travel diary makes it possible to clearly differentiate between people’s subjective and objective situations. With this information, the potentials for change are determined. For example, in the following graph for South Perth, 80 % of trips are made by motorised private modes and 20 % by environment-friendly modes.
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There are 15 % of all trips that are undertaken by motorised private modes that have constraints, and these trips have limited potential for change. For 31 % of trips, there are system or "objective" choice reasons for not using alternative modes. However, for around a third of the trips (34 %) there is the potential for change, and only subjective reasons – lack of awareness (11 %), perception (6 %) and free of choice (17 %), hinder the use of alternative modes. These changes are possible without the need for system improvements, pricing and land use policies, if a behavioural approach to mode change is applied.
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The graph above illustrates this another way. There are 31 % of trips that require system improvements, such as providing an adequate bus connection, or improved walking and cycling facilities. However, there are around a third of trips (34 %) where there are only subjective reasons against using environment-friendly modes. This group has the most potential for change and is the focus for a travel behaviour change program. Theoretically, there is the potential for 85 % of trips to be made by environment-friendly modes, provided that all potentials are completely exhausted. This would require system improvements, and the implementation of a travel behaviour program to inform, motivate (including the 20 % of trips that already use alternative modes, so that they are not lost to motorised travel) and encourage people to use environment-friendly modes. The following chapter gives a background to Individualised Marketing, as applied in this large-scale project.
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3.
Individualised Marketing Background We all perceive the world subjectively – subjective views of the world are built up in our minds. These subjective views are incomplete and distorted, but they are nevertheless what determines behaviour. This does not mean that the individual does not behave rationally, but that the rationality is subjective. Thus, in order to influence behaviour (with respect to modal choice) there are both “measures in the system” (hard policies) and “measures in the mind” (soft policies). The impact of soft policies is underestimated. Although improvements in the transport system are necessary for increased use, they are of limited value if people are unaware of the system improvements. Research has shown that "soft policies" can activate large potentials, on the same scale as system measures. Using the "soft policy" approach, measures to activate these large potentials must be professionally adapted to the specific needs of the alternative modes as well as to potential customers. Priority has to be given to distributing information effectively. If the concept of customer orientation is taken at all seriously, information has to be "brought" to the customer instead of expecting him/her to catch it from the provider. One might think that all necessary information about alternative modes - such as walking, cycling and public transport - is readily available. But all empirical surveys show that this information does not reach the respective target groups. Even using more sophisticated marketing methods still requires the (potential) customer to enquire for information (e.g. customer / information centres). There are other approaches which bring greater success: motivating individuals by direct contact (so-called "Individualised Marketing"). In order to achieve noticeable increases in the use of public transport, walking and cycling, it is essential to use a marketing tool that can identify households who are more likely to be potential users of environment-friendly modes, and focus available resources on them. With this concept, a further problem is resolved at the same time. Every person in “Perth” makes around a thousand trips per year. Choices are made as to which mode will be used for a particular trip, and most people choose and use all kinds of different modes, depending on their situation. To classify each person as a car driver, public transport user
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or cyclist is misleading, because everyone has a trip each day where an alternative to the car could be used. However, people may not be aware that there is an alternative, and this is where Individualised Marketing can inspire behavioural change. In the 1990’s Socialdata undertook a series of projects of an experimental nature, in order to prove the effectiveness of so-called "soft policies". The starting point of these experiments was the recognition that opposition to the use of public transport is due to a lack of information and motivation. Potential users of public transport were directly contacted to motivate them to think about their travel behaviour, then they were thoroughly informed about the availability of public transport. As an added incentive, selected test candidates were given a special ticket to use the public transport system free of charge for one month. The first experiment was carried out in 1991 in the German city of Kassel, which was extremely successful: the use of public transport for the test group nearly doubled, with constant mobility indicators. A similarly encouraging result came from a second experiment in Nuremberg in 1993. These results remained nearly constant for almost four years (without further measures). Both experiments showed that the largest percentage of new trips was won in off-peak traffic periods (the field with the largest potential). These findings led to an International demonstration project called “Switching to Public Transport”, initiated by the UITP (International Union (Association) of Public Transport) with scientific leadership from Socialdata. About 45 projects in 13 European nations were carried out and these projects were hugely successful.
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The success of the IndiMark® concept is due to having a direct contact approach to the customer and this is of vital importance. For this direct contact approach, a three stage procedure was developed: ·
Motivation
·
Information
·
System experience
A particularly simple but important cause of “wrong” subjective perception is a lack of information. For example, in communities in Germany, nearly every second motorist is not (or not sufficiently) informed about alternatives for his / her trips using environment-friendly modes. In the subjective world there is no alternative to the car they use – even though there is one in the real world. Here “information” does not simply mean the (“physical”) awareness of the existence of alternatives, but also a knowledge of how they can be used. A sufficient level of information, however, is absolutely needed when changes to alternative modes are desired. If the aim of fostering the use of environment-friendly modes is really taken seriously, a “soft policy” approach must be used which is based on the following criteria:
CHANGING MOBILITY BEHAVIOUR - The role of information and awareness OBLIGATION TO "DELIVER" EVERY PERSON IS A THOUSAND PERSONS DON'T CLIMB MT EVEREST EMPOWERMENT MOTIVATION by PERSONAL CONTACT CUSTOMISED instead of 'READY-MADE' DIALOGUE instead of MONOLOGUE CHANGING IS MORE THAN CHAINING PLEASE PASS IT ON
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·
Obligation to deliver: As in other areas of marketing, people should receive information with the least amount of effort instead of being forced to “catch” it from the provider (as in most approaches in transport marketing). People are more likely to be motivated to make changes if this material is personally delivered to them and it is specific to their individual situation. A personalised information package, hand delivered to their doorstep is extremely effective.
·
Every person is a thousand persons: On average, a person makes about 1 000 trips a year, using different modes for different activities (car, walking, cycling, public transport, car-sharing etc). If the reasons for mode choice are broken down, then the first step can be taken to estimate the present scope for a switch from motorised modes to environment-friendly modes. Everyone has car trips that cannot be changed or replaced by an alternative mode, such as the need to carry heavy parcels, taking passengers or travelling long distances. However, many motorised modes are in principle replaceable by alternative modes, and these changes can be made without modifying supply, system or infrastructure. People can be encouraged to consider changing modes for each trip – if they are motivated and supported to make changes. Mobility is not therefore a typical 'consumer product' which can be promoted to specific social groups. It is more useful to define it on the basis of the types of trips that people make and their readiness for change.
·
Don't climb Mt Everest: Certain trips are more likely to be changed. A communication strategy should focus on these comparatively 'easy' trips in the beginning, where progress can be made and the outcomes are positive, and then promote change for other trips. An emphasis on changing particular types of trips may not be appropriate, such as work trips, as these may account for only a comparatively limited number of trips. There are many trips that have the potential for change that are not readily apparent to researchers and planners, which depend upon personal decisions and situations. Encouraging a lot of people to make small changes has the largest effect.
·
Empowerment: People should receive information which enables them to improve their perception and to empower them to make their own decisions. It is also possible that they are able to change other small things in their out of home behaviour to accommodate
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changes in their mode choice. Rather than telling people what they should do, they are provided with information, advice, encouragement and incentives – leaving the choices up to them. ·
Motivation by personal contact: Through direct contact in an ongoing communication process, people can be motivated more effectively to think about their daily travel. The information needs of people can be identified and provided in a very specific way, and should be given as “food for thought” rather than pedagogical advice (people should not be told by someone else what they should do).
·
Customised instead of ready-made: People should receive only information which they really need instead of a low-level “flood of material”. Providing information that is tailored to individual situations is far more convenient and motivating than having to filter through and select from multiple possibilities.
·
Dialogue instead of Monologue: Personal contact should be aimed at establishing a dialogue with people instead of regarding marketing actions as “one-off events”. In a phased approach to marketing, people are personally contacted in their households and are engaged in conversation where they can discuss their specific issues and needs. This is followed up by supporting them on an individual basis.
·
Changing is more than chaining: Every person has trips that can be changed and it is not just a matter of making these trips more efficient. For example, providing improved transport infrastructure will not necessarily encourage people to change their mode choice, only to use the system more efficiently. The decisive factor in improving the transport situation and everyday mobility is to change to alternate modes. It is more important for people to identify trips where alternate modes can be used – small changes across the population result in large changes overall.
·
Please pass it on: Satisfied recipients of information will share their (positive) experiences with relatives, friends, neighbours etc and will give recommendations to them. These side effects can be used for reinforcing the effects of the marketing action. In considering these criteria, an Individualised Marketing approach was developed by Socialdata. IndiMark® is employing direct contacts for approaching (possible) users of environment-friendly modes. Through direct contacts – embedded in a step-by-step
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communication process – the real (individual) demand for information can be identified. In addition, people can be motivated more easily to think about and to change their behaviour. The basic concept of Individualised Marketing and its successful application on large scale projects, presents an important marketing tool for the coming century.
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3.1 Concept of Individualised Marketing In general, Individualised Marketing means establishing a dialogue through an individualised, direct contact approach via a detailed step-by-step procedure:
Through these stages there is a communication process based on personal contact, and therefore providing information and further support on an individual basis. This personal contact can motivate people more effectively to think about their daily travel, provide them with information if requested, and support their need to try out the alternatives if required. The choice is always left to the individual.
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Phases of IndiMark® Contact phase: In the first phase all households / persons in a defined area are contacted. The aim in this phase is to collect information for the segmentation in phase two. All householders in the target area receive an introductory letter announcing the project, and they are then personally contacted by telephone. Segmentation phase:
·
The information obtained during the contact phase allows segmentation of the contacted persons / households to be divided into ten groups according to specific criteria. From those three main groups are formed:
·
Group "I" (interested / interesting households) are provided with further services. Group “I”, the “receptive” households, are more likely to change and continue to use environment-friendly modes with personal contact, motivation and information. This group is selected to receive the most attention.
·
Group "R" (at least one member of the household is a regular user of an alternative mode) is "confirmed" in their behaviour (little gift) and distinguished into "R with" and "R without" (additional) requests for information. Households that have at least one member using environment-friendly modes regularly, Group “R”, benefit from encouragement and support, and they are rewarded with a small present. Group “R” includes those who are regular users of environment-friendly modes who do not require further information “R without”, and “R with”, who are regular users and may also need up-dated or more information.
·
Group "N" (not interested / not interesting households) are excluded. Group “N” are those who do not wish to participate, have no interest, intention or possibility of using environment-friendly modes. This group receives no further contact.
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Motivation phase:
·
Detailed discussions with group "I" and "R with" to identify problems they have and
support their need. Mailing of a "service-sheet" and follow-up telephone discussion. Information phase:
·
All information required was provided.
Required material is personally delivered Convincing phase:
·
Finally, in the convincing phase, specially selected households of group "I" received
an incentive to stimulate more frequent use of alternative modes. This is done by conducting home visits. Evaluation: An important part of all IndiMark® projects is the extensive evaluation of results. Each evaluation consists of the minimum of a 'before' and 'after' survey. The results of the target group are compared with those of the “control” group, who do not receive Individualised Marketing.
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4.
South Perth Pilot Study Socialdata Australia was contracted to conduct a community survey and marketing campaign in South Perth as a pilot study with 400 Households net. (Final Report: Community Survey and Marketing Campaign for the South Perth TravelSmart® Project, July 1998). Although Socialdata had conducted Individualised Marketing campaigns previously, this was the first which aimed to increase the share of all environment-friendly modes – walking, cycling and public transport – in contrast to prior projects which aimed at public transport only. The project consisted of several stages: ·
A 'before' study to determine current mobility behaviour
·
An analysis of the behaviour study to measure potential for change
·
The marketing campaign
·
An 'after' survey to measure the effects of the Individualised Marketing campaign
·
A detailed cost/benefit analysis
Both the 'before' and 'after' surveys consisted of a random sample of the target population (including the "Not Interested" group in the 'after' survey) and a control group. The impacts of the project are measured across the whole population and provide a genuine measure of the total change achieved by participants and non-participants in the programme. The campaign was evaluated as a success, with an excellent and extensive cost/benefit analysis carried out by Ker and James, Department of Transport.2 Individualised Marketing was proven to be an effective tool to foster the use of environment-friendly modes and to reduce the use of private motorised modes. The main mode share of public transport use increased by 21 %, cycling by 91 % and walking by 16 %, while private car as driver trips decreased by 10 %. To measure the success of the campaign in the longer term, and to establish that the effects are sustainable, two more evaluations were carried out - one year following the Ker, I. and James, B. 1999, Evaluating Behavioural Change – a Case Study of Individualised Marketing in rd South Perth, Western Australia, 23 ATRF Conference, Perth September
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marketing intervention and again two and a half years later. These showed that the changes in travel behaviour from the campaign were sustainable. These results are available in more detail in reports available from the Department.
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5.
The Individualised Marketing Campaign for the City of South Perth 2000 5.1 Background
Following the success of the pilot study in 1997, Socialdata Australia was contracted in 1999 to provide the Individualised Marketing Travel Behaviour Change Programme for the entire City of South Perth under the TravelSmart® Initiative. The main objective was to bring about changes in the travel behaviour of the target group of 15 000 households in the City of South Perth, in line with Metropolitan Transport Strategy targets. This means converting car driver trips to the environment-friendly modes of walking, cycling and public transport without constraining people’s mobility. The pilot study showed that a 10% reduction in car-as-driver trips could be expected from the application of a large scale Individualised Marketing Travel Behaviour Programme. This is achievable without the need for extra transport services or infrastructure, and within the current land use planning and transport policies. For this project however, there was the provision of about 175 bus stop specific timetable stands on the major bus routes in South Perth, and public awareness-raising in the local media and the community. The success of this project is to be measured by the achievement of travel behaviour change. The processes for the evaluation were the same as in the pilot study. This includes using a control group and an indepth survey in the after study to measure the effects of Individualised Marketing on key mobility behaviour and on people’s attitudes, perceptions and level of information.
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The design of this large scale project was in three sections: ·
The 'before' study, which is an amalgamation of the 1997 and 1999 random sample surveys
·
Individualised Marketing Campaign
·
An 'after' study consisting of a random sample of households in South Perth, and a control group in Victoria Park.
The use of random sample surveys allowed the travel behaviour changes achieved to be measured across the whole population, including those not active in the IndiMark® programme.
5.2 Project Set-up
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5.3 Schedule A strict time schedule was adopted to implement this campaign in order to avoid the impacts of school holidays or adverse weather during the behaviour forming period. Similarly, the after survey was conducted to be consistent with the conditions during the before surveys. The main phases of the campaign were established as follows: Contact Phase
February to March, 2000
Segmentation Phase
March
Motivation Phase
March to April
Information Phase
March to April
Convincing Phase
April to May
Evaluation Survey
October to November
5.4 Marketing Materials Socialdata Australia confirmed with the Department of Transport the availability of the marketing and information material in late 1999. These materials were similar to those distributed in the pilot study, which were very well received by those who took part – from the feedback received, people found the information to be really useful. The information material to be distributed for the large scale project was up-dated and there were some additions such as wallet-sized timetables for specific bus stops, and the provision of personalised timetables obtained from the Transperth Journey Planner web site. Information materials were supplied by the Department of Transport, and the Western Australian Heart Foundation, with support from the City of South Perth. The information materials and gifts are illustrated in the Appendix. Perth Bus supported the public transport bus driver home visits by providing trained bus drivers and test tickets.
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5.5 Office Establishment For a campaign on this scale, two offices were necessary. One was established at 45 Quarry Street, Fremantle as the operational centre, where a sophisticated phone system with 30 phone extensions was installed. Project related information technology processes were established. The office at Canning Highway, South Perth became the centre for field work during the service phase of the project, where marketing materials were stored, collated and distributed to residents.
5.6 Staffing and Training For this large scale project, it was necessary to employ people from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. The majority of the staff were employed on a casual basis, and were sourced from a local employment agency in Fremantle, South Metropolitan Youth Link who advertised for positions through their extensive network and assisted in the selection process of employees. The staff at SMYL were extremely helpful and professional. For specific phases of the project, especially during the contact phase, selection criteria for the positions included a pleasant and well spoken telephone manner so as to minimise the possible number of complaints from contacted households. Staff were also specifically selected for the home visits for walking and cycling, with selection criteria stating essential experience in both of these modes as well as having knowledge of the local area. Staff training began in early January with training in all aspects of Individualised Marketing and specifically IndiMark® and to ensure all staff were conversant with the TravelSmart® Initiative and Metropolitan Transport Strategy targets. Ongoing training was provided for coding, data entry and computer skills. Close liaison was maintained with experienced staff in the Socialdata Munich office to ensure the smooth operation of the project in Perth. Sampling and analysis of the data from the South Perth project was undertaken in Munich. Socialdata Australia encouraged an 'open door' policy, and stakeholders in the project were welcomed to the offices in Fremantle and South Perth to see the process in action.
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5.7 Database The Individualised Marketing concept provides for all possible households and persons to be contacted. This required collecting information from several sources (all of which are available to the general public) to compile a complete contact list for South Perth residents). ·
the 1996 Australian Bureau of Statistics census for the City of South Perth,
·
City of South Perth electoral roll, and
·
Perth White Pages telephone directory.
Electoral Roll Data The City of South Perth provided Socialdata with the current electoral roll data, which contained 23 895 names and addresses. All listed people are Australian citizens and eighteen years of age and over. Filtering for the same names and addresses resulted in 16 934 names with non-duplicated addresses. ABS Statistics The following statistics are listed by the ABS from the 1996 Census for the City of South Perth: 23 404 Australian citizens 18 years of age and over 28 895 Australian citizens in total 35 376 persons in total 2,1 persons average household size This calculated to: 5 491 Australian citizens under the age of eighteen 6 481 Non-Australian citizens or 11 972 persons not included in the electoral roll data Telephone Listings The most current CD-ROM telephone listing was used to compare the above data, to obtain the most accurate contact list of all households for the City of South Perth. This resulted in a list of 15 267 contactable households, which represented approximately 35 000 people, being 82 % of the total households in South Perth. In agreement with the Department, these households were defined as the base population.
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Course of the Individualised Marketing Campaign 6. Contact Phase 6.1
Background
As per agreement with the Department of Transport, all available households in the City of South Perth with a telephone listing were contacted. This required cross-referencing data from various sources, and maintaining up-to-date records. The City of South Perth includes the suburbs of Como, Karawara, Kensington, Manning, Salter Point, South Perth and Waterford. In the contact phase, the aim was to successfully contact a target of 11 000 households from a total of 15 267 available addresses. A successful contact is defined as a response from a household that can be segmented as per the Individualised Marketing technique, that is, segmenting households into “Interested / Interesting”, “Regular Users” and “Not Interested / Not Interesting”. The main aim of the contact phase was to collect information for this process, and to determine information needs by discussing with residents how often they used the environment-friendly modes of walking, cycling and public transport; if they were interested in using these modes more often and if they would like more information.
6.2
Procedure
To introduce residents to the project, an announcement letter, signed by the Minister for Transport and the Mayor of South Perth was mailed to each of the 15 267 households commencing in mid-January 2000. This briefly explained the TravelSmart Initiative and the aim of the project, and informed households that they would be contacted shortly. To further raise public awareness, the Department of Transport arranged for an advertisement and articles to be published in the local community newspaper. (Please refer to Appendix B). From the third week in January to February 19th, staff trained in the IndiMark® technique telephoned households. It was important to contact as many households as possible, because nearly everyone has at least one trip that has the potential to be undertaken by
28
walking, cycling or public transport. In some cases, up to 10 attempts were made to contact households who were not easily reached. In order to contact this number of households in the time allocated, there were two telephone shifts Monday to Friday during the day and in the evening, with one shift on Saturday. There were 30 phone lines available throughout the project. Also during this time, and in keeping with Socialdata’s open door policy, a series of presentations were arranged at both offices to inform the community and stakeholders of the project. A series of presentations were also held to gain community acceptance and those who attended took advantage of observing the contact phase in full operation. Visitors at the 10 meetings included the Minister for Transport, the Shadow Minister for Transport, Government representatives, Local Government representatives and members of various interest groups. The feedback from visitors indicated their confidence and firsthand evaluation of the success of this particular marketing approach. Socialdata Australia exceeded the target of 11 000 households, and successfully contacted 13 382 residents, representing a 94 % response rate. In the following two graphs, the percentage represents the total number of residents contacted (rather than households) as information was collected for all members of the household.
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In discussions with residents (14 years and over) as to their households’ use of environment-friendly modes, it was found that nearly two thirds (64 %) hardly ever or never used public transport, nearly a quarter (22 %) used the service several times a month, and 14 % used public transport on a daily basis. With cycling, 64 % (almost) never rode a bicycle, nearly a quarter (24 %) cycled several times a month and 12 % of all residents cycled daily. Half the residents walked on a daily basis, nearly a third (30 %) walked several times a month and (20 %) almost never walked.
When residents were asked if it would be possible for them to use environment-friendly modes more often in the future, 43 % of residents contacted thought it would be possible to use public transport, 32 % could cycle more and 43 % could do more walking trips.
30
As a percentage of households, eight in ten of the “Interested / Interesting” and “Regular users with information needs” groups requested more information, with only 18 % having no need for further information. About a third of the contacted households commented further on all aspects of living in South Perth, and on issues relating to public transport, walking and cycling. Many of these people were happy to talk at length about these issues, and had obviously given the issues some thought. ·
The contact phase illustrated that the majority of people were generally satisfied with the provision of public transport services, and walking and cycling facilities. Many respondents offered suggestions on how to improve the public transport system, or improving walking and cycling facilities to encourage more people to use alternative modes. There were many positive comments on the TravelSmart® Initiative.
These comments were collated and a summary passed on to the Department of Transport and the City of South Perth. These summaries are included in Appendix A.
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7.
Segmentation Phase 7.1 Background The benefits of segmenting households using the Individualised Marketing method, is that it makes it possible to identify households that are willing and able to change their mobility patterns at the earliest possible stage, and focus resources on this group. This ensures that households who are simply not interested or have no potential for change will not be contacted again, as it is highly unlikely that these households will be able to change their current travel behaviour.
7.2 Procedure The total number of available households in South Perth was 15 267, and there were 967 households that were not contactable. These households were either away from home or repeatedly not able to answer the telephone. Of the remaining 14 300 households, there were 918 who preferred not to take part in the marketing campaign, because of personal reasons or privacy concerns. The remaining 13 382 households engaged in a dialogue and were classified into three main groups “I”, “N”, and “R”. Group “I”
6 128 interested / interesting households
46 %
Group “R”
2 337 regularly using environment-friendly modes
17 %
Group “N”
4 917 not interested / not interesting
37 %
TOTAL
13 382 successfully contacted
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Group “R” includes 670 households who had at least one member of the household regularly using one or more environment-friendly modes and did not require further information (“R without”), and 1 667 households who were regularly using public transport, walking or cycling, and who indicated a need for more information.
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There were 46 % of households in the "Interested/Interesting" group, 17 % who were regular users of environment-friendly modes and 37 % of households who would not be contacted again.
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Direct Contact 15,267 Telephone Households
13, 382 Households classified
967 Households not contactable
918 Households Refused to take part in campaign
SEGMENTATION “R without”
“R with”
“I”
670 households
1,667 households
6,128 households
Regular User of environmentally Friendly Mode without need for Information 670 Households (5% of Total) (5% of contacted households)
Regular User of environmentally Friendly mode with need for information
Interested/Interesting
Households with no interest in using alternative modes
1,667 Households (12% of Total) (12% of contacted households)
6,128 Households (43% of Total) (46% of contacted households)
4,917 Households (34% of Total) (37% of contacted households)
Reward for using alternative mode and delivery of requested
Motivation
Reward for using alternative modes
Direct contact
“Not Interested/ Interesting” 4,917 households
No further contact
information
Information Public transport: Bus Stop Specific Timetables Cycling: Cycling Maps and Information Walking: Heart Movers Kit
System Experience / Home Visits Public transport: Cycling/Walking:
Home Visit/Test Ticket Home Visit
Evaluation Travel Behaviour Survey to measure behaviour change
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8.
Information and Motivation Phase 8.1 Background This phase focuses attention on all households in the “I” and “R with” groups, that is the “Interested / Interesting” and “Regular” users of one or more of the environment-friendly modes with information needs. Households are approached with the offer of ordering a wide range of information materials and further services if they require. A comprehensive list of available information (referred to as the Service Sheet) is mailed to households so that all household members are able to discuss their information needs. This also aims to further stimulate people to think about their travel choices, and to encourage them to choose information according to their specific needs. A stamped addressed envelope is included to encourage households to return the Service Sheet promptly.
8.2 Procedure There were 7 795 households comprising Group “I” and Group “R with”, that is, residents who expressed an interest in receiving information. A thank you letter for participating in the TravelSmart® Initiative was sent to households, together with a Service Sheet, offering a wide range of specific information on public transport, walking and cycling. Households could also request the free history book on South Perth and TravelSmart® gifts if they answered promptly. A reminder telephone call was made to households who hadn’t returned their Service Sheet within a reasonable time. In the meantime the office at South Perth was being prepared for the large scale distribution process. An experienced staff member from Socialdata in Germany was flown in to supervise the collation and distribution of materials, as this was one of the largest and most complex
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distribution operations undertaken by Socialdata. This project also included walking and cycling information and further services. Around 9 tonnes of information material was delivered to the South Perth office. As Service Sheets were returned in Fremantle, the 12 staff who were based in the South Perth office started collating, packaging, documenting, addressing and distributing information / gift bags. The TravelSmart® information and gifts had to be individually packaged according to each household’s requested information and delivered to them personally. The first priority for deliveries were the 670 households in the “R” group, who had at least one member using public transport, walking or cycling on a regular basis, and who did not request further information.
They immediately received a hand delivered reward to
encourage their continued use of their choice of transport. Similar to the materials provided to the “R” group in the pilot study, each household received the history book “Peninsular City”, a special South Perth TravelSmart® Local Access Map, bag, cup, and a notepad. And almost immediately , the staff in the Fremantle office were taken by surprise with the number of appreciative responses from householders phoning in to say thank you. ·
“Very appreciative of the gifts. Using the bag for library books”
·
“Thank you so much for the gifts, it is very generous. I really appreciated the gifts”
·
“I have lived in South Perth for 51 years, thank you very, very much for the package”
·
“ Started to read the book. Lovely gifts. I have lived here for a long time and it makes me feel part of history”
·
“Visitors were really impressed with the Initiative”
·
“Thank you so much for the gifts – I feel like a young pioneer”
·
“Thanks for the parcel. Please can I have a copy of the walking routes and general maps?”
·
“The map is really great. It is good enough to frame”.
Additional public transport information was provided for this project – small wallet-sized timetables for each bus stop, and personalised “Journey Planner” timetables. If the household had requested a timetable for their bus stop, their address was referenced on the map, and then the appropriate stop –specific timetable found from the 175 available for South Perth.
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Personalised timetables were an addition to the materials offered in the pilot study. Households could request the time they would like to leave home and state their destination, and from the Transperth Journey Planner web site, staff downloaded the five most appropriate public transport options. This proved to be a very popular service, with far more requests than expected. Households wanted to know public transport options to shopping centres, the city centre, and workplaces. In many cases there were requests for up to 10 destinations including the return journey, and in some cases this challenged staff to work out the timing and reasonable walking distance to the next service. The average time to compile and print each personalised timetable was approximately 4 minutes. A note was included with these timetables to provide information on how to access the Transperth Journey Planner web site. Distribution of the materials was carried out in February and March, by more than 12 staff, working every week day for a month. Some of the deliveries were made on foot or by bicycle. Those residents who were at home were genuinely surprised and very appreciative that their package was delivered personally, and that there were staff to explain the contents and information. Over 400 phone calls and letters were received from households who had received their information materials and presents.
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·
"Thrilled with the package, happy to see the cup and water bottle were made in Australia"
·
“Thank you for TravelSmart. You’re doing an excellent service”.
·
“Thrilled with the parcel, especially the book, mug and timetables. Need to travel by bus”
·
“Very, very impressed with the gifts and whole initiative. Think that it is very well organised and the information is easy to understand”
·
“Thank you. Very impressed with buses on Canning Highway arriving every half hour instead of every three quarters, and that bus drivers wait until passengers have sat down”
There were a few phone calls from people who had in the meantime found the information they needed, and there were more requests from people who had not been able to be contacted in the initial contact phase, or had gone on holiday since receiving the announcement letter. These households had noticed that their friends and neighbours were receiving information, and phoned the office or asked the staff delivering the materials, if they could also participate in the TravelSmart® Initiative.
·
“I received your letter, but have been away since the end of January, so I didn’t participate earlier. I would like the book, timetable for my bus stop, ferry and the general map”.
·
“I have a silent phone number, so I couldn’t be contacted. Would like the book, map, walking information, and a timetable for the bus that used to be #33”.
·
“Any chance of another book? I have friends in South Perth who missed out.”
·
“Received the letter, and I would like a walking kit and cycling information please. And a discount card for the cycle shop”.
·
“I would like the whole information package please, and a personalised timetable from Como to Shenton Park”
·
“I changed my phone number and I didn’t receive a letter but I would really like to take part”.
·
“My neighbours have received their parcel. I have lived in South Perth all my life, and would like to be involved”
·
“I’d like information on bike paths please”.
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For the information phase, nearly three quarters of the households indicated an interest in receiving information on all environment-friendly modes, showing a high level of interest in combining alternative travel options. Over a quarter of households chose information specific to public transport and / or walking and cycling.
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The following page lists all the materials delivered that were distributed during the information and motivation phase, and including the materials for the further services phase.
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8.3 Delivered Materials
MARKETING MATERIAL
Numbers Delivered
TravelSmart Map Public Transport
6800
Tickets and Fares guide Bus Stop Timetables (175 different types) Ferry Timetables Test Tickets Personalised timetables Cycling
2470 3670 4500 734 3200
Ride Around the Rivers Guide Cycle Instead Brochure Cycle Information Buying a Bicycle Cycling Accessories Cycling -Maintenance Cycling in Comfort Cycling at Night Cycling to Work Cycling for Children Cycling Awareness, Motorists Cycling for Health Cycling for Seniors Cycling for Pleasure Water Bottle Cycle shop discount card Walking
2808 1623 1060 895 873 1220 911 865 810 857 894 1096 803 1160 2000 1900
Be active- brochure Be active-walk it kit Presents
2336 2965
TravelSmart bag TravelSmart note pad TravelSmart cup Peninsular City Book
5616 5616 5664 5616 42
A closer look at the materials delivered to the end of the information phase shows that there was a high interest in the material offered, with nearly 60,000 items distributed. A total of 5 600 presents comprising a TravelSmart map, cup, calico bag, notepad, and the social history book “Peninsular City” were distributed to the “I” and “R” groups.
The TravelSmart® map was very a popular request from those households in the “Interested / Interesting “ group, with 6 800 distributed in the information phase to all interested households. There were also further requests from the South Perth community a local real estate agent requesting copies of the TravelSmart® map to give to new residents to encourage them to use environment-friendly modes, more copies of the map to display in the local South Perth libraries and a request from the President of an aged persons home who was actively encouraging residents to use alternative modes to the car. On average there were 8,5 requests per household in the “Interested / Interesting group” and 10,8 requests per household in the “R with” group. The higher number of requests in
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the group who were regular users of alternative modes is worth noting, as this clearly demonstrates that even regular users have information needs.
There was a high number of requests for ferry timetables, and personalised timetables were very popular. Also the wallet sized bus stop timetables were requested from both groups.
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Households that included at least one member who cycled on a regular basis requested more information specific to their needs than those in the “Interested” group. Pamphlets on basic maintenance was popular for both groups, as well as cycling for health and pleasure and “Round the River Guide”. Water bottles were also very popular with demand exceeding supply.
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Regular walkers were also more likely to request more information than those in the “Interested / Interesting” group of households. All requests for information were delivered, including those who became involved at a later date, resulting in direct contact with 94 % of households, of which 15 % received rewards, and 40 % received information materials and further services. Some people rang in from other metropolitan areas asking if they could join in and receive the information for their suburb.
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9.
Convincing Phase 9.1 Background This phase of the project aimed to further motivate and convince people to use alternative modes more frequently, by offering incentives to households. Households wanting to walk more often had the offer of a walking kit, provided by the Western Australian Heart Foundation. Health benefits were emphasised in the kit. Those wishing to cycle more often were offered a discount voucher from two local bicycle shops, which enabled people to purchase a bicycle at a discounted rate, or to buy accessories and service their bicycle with a discount. Households who wanted to use public transport more often were offered a home visit by a local bus driver from Perth Bus, and 4 weeks free travel on all public transport to “test” the system. The ticket provided was validated from the day of the bus driver home visit and was non-transferable. To ensure that residents had received the information that they required, and to gauge their response to the service they had received, questionnaires were mailed to households following their further service. There was such a positive response, that Socialdata Australia established a system of sharing this feedback with the City of South Perth, the Department of Transport and Perth Bus. Each day, the “Quote of the Day” was selected from the questionnaires received for that day, and immediately faxed to representatives. 9.2 Procedure Home visits for walking and cycling were organised and delivered by Socialdata Australia and the public transport home visits were conducted by Perth Bus, with Socialdata organising appointments.
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In the convincing phase of home visits, nearly a third of the households requested further services for walking only, 16 % requested a further service for cycling and 30 % for cycling and walking.
9.3 Walking and Cycling Home Visits The number of requests for further services regarding walking and cycling was far larger than anyone could have anticipated. A total of 3 403 households expressed an interest in participating in further special services, whereas the expectation was around 500. 1 062 requested a further service for walking only, 528 on cycling only, 1 011 on walking and cycling 301 on walking, cycling and public transport. This shows that households were selective on the service required, and further proves that the method of segmenting households is effective.
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Socialdata Australia staff received in-service training, and most were experienced walkers and cyclists from the local area with local knowledge. The further service included personally delivered information kits to 2 601 households, so that staff were on hand to explain the kits and to answer questions from households. A letter was included so that households could contact the Fremantle office for further assistance if required. Questionnaires were also mailed to households following the home visits to provide another opportunity to request further information. ·
Several people phoned in to request additional walking kits.
·
A few people also phoned in to request their cycle shop voucher be delivered as soon as possible, as they were eager to buy bicycles.
·
One resident was really thrilled to receive his package of information, and asked if he could have his voucher for the cycle shop as soon as possible, as he had sold his car and he needed to buy two bicycles.
Please refer to the Appendix for further citations.
Responses from Participating Cycle Shops Two local Cycle Shops offered a discount service for households who requested a further service for cycling. The discount card offered:
A HALF PRICE BICYCLE SERVICE A ONCE OFF DISCOUNT OF 15% ON ANY ACCESSORIES
A ONCE OFF DISCOUNT OF 5% ON ANY BICYCLE PURCHASE
Both businesses have reported encouraging results from this type of promotion. One said it is the best response from local customers he has seen in the industry in 10 years, and his staff were quite surprised at such a positive response. His business received at least 200 claims on the discount with customers returning to use other offers on the card, and he would be extremely interested in participating again.
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9.4 Walking and Cycling Survey As a further measure, questionnaires were mailed to all households to ensure that they had received sufficient information, and to provide follow-up information where needed. For example, there were a small number of requests for contacts for walking and cycling clubs and these were provided. A total of 2 601 questionnaires were mailed to households, to evaluate the success of the home visits. Apart from including a stamped addressed envelope, no further action was carried out to motivate households to return their questionnaire. A total of 758 questionnaires were returned, nearly 30 %, with a quarter from “walking” households, just over a third from “cycling” households and nearly a third from “walking and cycling” households. The responses showed that 99 % were happy with the information kit that they had received and that all their information needs had been fulfilled.
Responses from households were very positive, with 97 % endorsing the TravelSmart® material as useful, 94 % approving further campaigns.
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9.5 Bus Driver Home Visits There were 802 households who registered an interest to participating in a special service to inform them on how best to use the public transport system. Households who requested this further service received a visit by a specially trained bus driver from the local bus company, Perth Bus. They were able to advise residents on the local service, to answer any questions, and to deliver a “Test Ticket”. This special-issue ticket entitled the household to four weeks free travel on all public transport extending across the metropolitan area. Many people were impressed that they could travel so far on the system. Socialdata staff scheduled appointments in liaison with Perth Bus who allocated times when
their bus drivers were available. Bus drivers also rang residents prior to their
appointment to confirm the visit. A total of 550 test tickets were distributed at the home visits. (Additional bus driver visits were arranged in which a further 68 tickets were issued - please refer to page 51). A number of households could not be contacted during this time, despite many attempts. A number of residents had moved address, and a few were in fact ineligible for a “test” ticket as they were already using the public transport system. Responses from the households and the bus drivers who conducted the visits were extremely positive. One visit lasted two and a half hours, with the average being 25 minutes. These figures in the following graph are based on 540 bus driver home visits, being the number of protocols that were returned from a total of 550.
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People who were recipients of a bus driver home visit appreciated the information from the bus drivers. The following are just a few of the comments received.
·
“A special thanks to driver 1201 as he helped myself and my husband on getting organised as to what bus and number to Karawara. We caught the bus back to Henley Street”.
·
“It shows what a good public transport system you have here, I have found your drivers very pleasant and helpful. By the way, the idea of sending a bus driver to deliver tickets was brilliant : he knew all the “tricks” of travelling that way”.
·
“I liked having the bus PR man visit my home with the ticket. It gave a personal touch and allowed me to raise my previous problems with the buses. I also took the opportunity to catch up on the latest news. (I didn’t even know the 109 has been renamed)”.
·
“Driver helpful showing me how to use the card”
·
“We enjoyed the visit by a bus driver, it was very informative”
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Busdrivers were also very positive about the outcome of the home visits.
·
“Excellent visit. K.J. and M very interested in what Perth Bus is doing. Gave them the full “menu”. PS Sure needed a drink after that lot. Hope to see them on the 103’s soon.”
·
“N. said she will use buses more often now, after the visit. A very nice lady and of course a cuppa finished it off nicely”.
·
“Visit was positive. It transpired Mr S. and I went to High School together and we renewed acquaintance…….Accepted TravelSmart ticket with interest and will now experience “the System”.
·
“Excellent visit. I now know the full history of South Perth, wonderful old lady”.
·
“Excellent visit. Great couple…..they were interested in what Perth Bus is doing. Should see them on the 35 and 105 Routes in the very near future”.
A total of 734 tickets were distributed, more than at the home visits because:
·
Some people went away on holiday before they had a chance to use it, and rang to see if they could please have a replacement
·
Some were sick at the time or were in hospital
·
A few were replacements for tickets that didn’t work after a while
·
Compassionate grounds in the case where a person needed to be accompanied
·
Friends who wanted to travel together but some of their tickets had already expired
·
Lost ticket
·
Just didn’t get around to using it, but still wanted a chance to try out the system
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9.6 Test Ticket Survey Questionnaires were mailed to 550 households three weeks following the validation of their ticket. This was to ensure that those people receiving this further service were satisfied with the service that was provided, that they had made use of their ticket, their experience of testing out the system, and if they thought this was a worthwhile idea for future campaigns. From the 325 questionnaires returned, 83 % had already used their ticket with 97 % being very positive of their experience with the public transport system. Nearly everyone, that is 99 % of those who returned their questionnaire approved of the idea of trying the public transport system with a “test ticket” and 99 % thought the TravelSmart® Initiative, as the one in South Perth, is worthwhile and should be continued in the future.
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9.7 Additional Bus Driver Home Visits The first round of bus driver home visits was enthusiastically received by all involved. The participants involved indicated a great willingness to change their transport patterns, so in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, a second stage of home visits was offered to households in another segment of the group “I”. This also provided an opportunity for Socialdata Australia to carry out an experiment to test the effectiveness of the segmentation process. To qualify for this phase of the “test action”, households were segmented on the following criteria: ·
were not regular public transport users,
·
had requested information on public transport,
·
did not indicate a need for further services.
From a total of 927 households, 325 were selected who had requested a personalised timetable alone or in combination with other timetables. A second group of 602 households were selected on the basis of requesting bus and/or ferry tickets. These groups received a letter for an offer of further information, a home visit from a bus driver and a “test ticket” if required. From the total of 927 households who were sent this offer, 109 households responded with requests for further information (which were followed up). 68 households responded with a request for the "test action" and they received a bus driver home visit, with a test ticket to try out the system. This represented a 13.6% response rate for bus driver home visits. This "test action" used a different approach to the first phase of home visits, where households were contacted personally by telephone. In the second round they received only a letter with a form to be returned in a stamped addressed envelope. This indicated that most of households had selectively chosen the information and level of service that they had required in the first place. Questionnaires were also sent to the participating households with a response rate of 75%.
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During the course of the IndiMark® marketing campaign, and in contacting households, many phone calls were made and letters sent. Around 29 000 phone calls were made to households, and 37 000 letters were distributed. Over 3 000 home visits were conducted. Around 9 000 kilograms of materials were distributed in South Perth.
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10.
Evaluation
The main objective of TravelSmart Individualised Marketing is to reduce the number of caras-driver trips, without constraining people's mobility, and to increase the number of trips undertaken by environment-friendly modes. The basic measure for travel behaviour is mode choice, which distinguishes between non-motorised modes (walking and cycling), motorised modes of private transport (car and motorcycle – both as driver and passenger) and public transport. In order to measure the success of this large scale TravelSmart Initiative Individualised Marketing Campaign for the City of South Perth, a rigorous evaluation process was undertaken. ·
A 'before' study of a random sample of households in the City of South Perth
·
an evaluation study of a random sample of households within the segmentation groups of "I" (Interested), "R" (at least one member of the household regularly uses an environment-friendly mode) and "N" (Not interested).
·
a 'before' and 'after' mobility study with a control group in Victoria Park, which was necessary to identify any factors external to this project that may have led to people changing their behaviour.
·
data verification (bus ticketing) organised and undertaken by Transport to count public transport patronage that originate and pass through the City of South Perth.
·
an independent auditor, appointed by Transport, audited the travel survey and the analysis undertaken in 1997, and the 'after' survey undertaken in October 2000. (See Technical Appendix of this report).
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For the survey component of the evaluation, the 'before' study represents the integrated database of travel surveys conducted in South Perth – the 1997 surveys conducted for the pilot study, and the 1998 South Perth Mobility Behaviour Surveys. This integrated database of surveys is cleared of seasonal effects, the "Non-response effect" and "Nonreported trips". The surveys were conducted from a random sample of the population of the City of South Perth, with a total of 2 524 persons responding, a response rate of 80 %. The control group was used to identify any other factors that may have influenced people's normal travel patterns. The 'after' survey consisted of a travel survey conducted with a random sample of City of the South Perth households who were contacted for Individualised Marketing (94 % of the population). The survey included those households in the "Not Interested" group.
A total
of 1 454 persons responded, a response rate of 76 %. Please refer to the Technical Appendix for sampling frames. For this evaluation report, change of "main" mode will be used as the central indicator to measure travel behaviour change, along with other key mobility indicators such as the number of activities, travelling time, the number of trips per day, and the distance covered per person per day. ·
Main mode – determines the main method of travel as a percentage
·
Mobility – the number of activities, the travel time, the number of trips per day and the distance travelled.
·
Activities – the main business carried out in one spatial setting out-of-home
·
Spatial distribution – trip origin and destination
·
Exposure – the amount of time spent travelling
·
Car usage – as a percentage, number of trips, duration, occupancy
·
Use of environment-friendly modes
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10.2 Changes The large scale Individualised Marketing campaign resulted in significant changes in travel behaviour.
These results show the main mode share (as a percentage) before Individualised Marketing, the travel behaviour changes following it, and a comparison to 1986.
The effects of Individualised Marketing in South Perth can be clearly seen. Car trips decreased by 14 %, car-as-passenger trips increased 9 %, and for the environmentfriendly modes there was a 35 % increase in walking, 61 % increase in cycling and 17 % increase in public transport trips. In the 'before' study, on an average day in South Perth, 60 % of main mode trips were undertaken as car-as-driver. Following the marketing campaign in March to May 2000, and the results from the evaluation study in October 2000, car-as-driver mode share had reduced by 8 percentage points to around a mode share of 52 %. This is also 3 percentage points less than the 1986 mode share (relatively, nearly 6 %).
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In the before study, 80 % of main mode trips were undertaken by motorised private modes (MPMs) and following Individualised Marketing, this had decreased to 74 %. The main mode share for MPMs following Individualised Marketing (74 %) was reduced to below that of the 1986 main mode share (75 %). The share of all environment-friendly modes (EFMs) increased from 20 % in 1999 to 26 % following the marketing campaign. Public transport increased mode share from 6 % to 7 %, walking from 12 % to 16 % and cycling from 2 % to 3 %. The mode share of EFMs following the campaign is also slightly higher than in 1986. In the previous graph, the main mode is also expressed as trips per person per year. Trips per person per year is calculated on the following standard formula: – for South Perth it is considered that on average, a resident will spend 341 days of the year in South Perth. This takes into account days that a person is away, for example on holidays or business trips. Every South Perth resident makes on average 1160 trips per year, the majority of which are made by car, 696 as car-as-driver and 232 as car-as-passenger. Trips undertaken by environment-friendly modes total 232. Following Individualised Marketing, car-as-driver trips decreased by 97 trips per person per year, and these trips were converted to the environment-friendly modes. Walking trips increased by 35 %, cycling by 61 % and public transport 17 %. Nearly half of the car-as-driver trips became walking trips ( 49 ), around a quarter were undertaken by public transport and cycling ( 26 ) and 21 of the 97 car-as-driver trips were converted to car-as-passenger. This shows that it requires only small changes, two trips a week (for example, walking to the local shops and back) instead of using a car, to achieve significant effects.
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The use of a control group is important in order to identify any factors external to this project that may have led to people in the target group changing their behaviour. In the before and after studies of mobility behaviour in the control group of Victoria Park, there was a slight decrease in the use of environment-friendly modes, with a corresponding shift towards motorised private modes. However, in South Perth there are major changes, with environment-friendly modes increasing significantly, corresponding to a large decrease in the use of motorised private modes.
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In more detail for the main modes, there were significant changes in South Perth in the use of motorised private modes. Before Individualised Marketing, 80 % of trips were undertaken by car-as-driver and car-as-passenger. Following Individualised Marketing, these car-as-driver trips were reduced significantly to 52 %, with car-as-passenger trips increasing to 22 %, with a total of 74 % of trips as motorised private modes. Environment-friendly walking trips increased from 12 % before Individualised Marketing to 16 %, cycling from 2 % to 3 %, and the use of public transport from 6 % to 7 %. In the control group, there was an increase in the use of private motorised trips from 75 % of trips to 78 %. Car-as-driver trips increased 1 percentage point, and car-as-passenger increased from 20 % to 22 %, with 1 % of trips undertaken by motorbike. There was a decrease in the number of environment-friendly trips, attributed to a decrease in the number of walking trips.
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The changes in mode choice which have occurred in South Perth, have not impacted on people's mobility. The number of activities, travel time and trips have remained constant, with only the average distance travelled per person/per day decreasing slightly to 26 km following the marketing campaign. On an average day of the year, a South Perth resident spends for nearly an hour travelling (58 minutes), making 3,4 trips to 2 activities and travelling 26 kilometres. In the Control group, there are no changes in the mobility indicators between the 'before' and 'after' studies.
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As a general rule, activities can be grouped into three main areas: – those that are predetermined, such as going to work or school, those activities which are discretionary such as shopping, personal business and escorting another person, and finally leisure activities which are in the third grouping. The activities for South Perth residents remained relatively constant before and after Individualised Marketing, with only a percentage point shift between some activities. Trips to leisure activities which comprise just over a third of trips have remained constant, and still account for the highest number of trips. On average, a quarter of the activities were for work or work related business, around a fifth were for shopping, education a tenth, personal business trips remained constant and escort trips were a percentage point less following the campaign.
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Spatial distribution refers to the trip origin and destination, and it is therefore possible to distinguish between trips that are made entirely within the local area, those that are made from one area to another, and trips that are made outside one area. Following Individualised Marketing there was an increase in the number of trips made within South Perth, indicating that people were carrying out more activities in their local neighbourhood. Trips entirely within South Perth and to Perth City account for around half the trips, with the other half being made to other metropolitan areas. Trips outside the metropolitan area were registered at less than 0.5 %.
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On average, a resident of South Perth spends about an hour (58 minutes) a day travelling. The amount of time spent travelling has remained unchanged. However, there are differences in the amount of time a resident spent travelling for each mode. In the 'after' survey, more time was spent walking, 13 minutes, than in the 'before' survey (10 minutes). Cyclists spent on average an extra minute per day cycling, and caras-passengers likewise. Less time was spent travelling as car-as-driver, from 30 minutes in the 'before' survey to 25 minutes per day in the 'after' survey.
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Individualised Marketing also had an influence on (private) car usage. The 'after' survey results show that cars are used less and for less trips, that is, 73 % on an average day for 2,9 trips. On average, a car was used for 45 minutes per day in the 'before' study, which decreased to 38 minutes following Individualised Marketing. Car occupancy increased (1,4).
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In the 'before' survey, (54 %) of all people made on average 696 trips per year as car-asdriver, and on average they made 3,8 trips per day. In the 'after' survey, there was a 14 % reduction in the number of car-as-driver trips to 599 per year, that is, 97 less trips per year. The share of all persons using a car as a driver decreased to 50 %. The number of trips per day as car-as-driver also decreased from 3,8 to 3,5. Correspondingly, there was increase in the number of car-as-passenger trips, up 21 trips per person per year, with an increase in the share of car-as-passengers overall, from 23 % to 27 %. There were less car-as-passenger trips per day, from 3 to 2,7.
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For the environment-friendly modes, a comparison between walking, cycling and public transport shows that the indicators used reveal a higher use of EFMs in the 'after' study. More people were walking than before, increasing from 17 % to 24 %, representing an increase of 49 trips per person per year (35 % increase). There was a minor increase in the number of cyclists (rounding of figures made it equal in the graph), with an increase (61 % increase) in the intensity of trips. The 'after' survey showed that there were more people using public transport, and they were making more trips per person per day (17 % increase).
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Total
100
86 % (ie 14 % reduction)
There were 14 % less car-as-driver trips, from 696 trips per person per year in the 'before' survey to 599 trips following Individualised Marketing, as shown in the graph 'Use of Modes' on page 67. The largest relative decrease is in the number of car-as-driver trips for escort trips (often dropping children at school in peak traffic hours).
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Total
100
86 %
The differences shown in the activities of the groups are reflected in the different times of the day. In the 'before' and 'after' surveys, the majority of trips are made between the hours of 9am and 7pm. However, the most significant change is in the evening after 7pm, with car-as-driver trips reducing by over one third. Significant decreases in car trips (around 10 %) were achieved for the morning and afternoon peak traffic periods.
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The sociodemography for car-as-driver shows that there are decreases in the number of car-as-driver trips across all age groups. This is particularly evident in the female 20–59 years of age group, (43 % to 35 %). The number of car-as-driver trips undertaken by females in this age group has decreased by 8 %, representing around half of the 14 % less car-as-driver trips overall.
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For public transport there was a relative increase of 17 % (100 to 117 %) compared to before Individualised Marketing and following the campaign. Other modes of public transport in the City of South Perth include the use of ferries and taxis, with a 10 % increase in the use of these modes. Bus ridership increased 19 % for the total number of public transport trips.
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South Perth residents rated their satisfaction with public transport higher in 2000 than in 1998. The results led to a Satisfaction Index of +8 in 2000, (that is 47 minus 39). In 1998, less than a third of South Perth residents were satisfied with public transport, whereas following Individualised Marketing, nearly half were satisfied. The satisfaction index increased from –24 in 1998 (that is, 31 minus 55) to +8 in 2000 (47 minus 39). In evaluating public transport as better than 4 years ago, more than half the residents, (54 %) considered it to be about the same. More residents in 2000 thought that public transport was better than 4 years before, than in 1998 (23 %). In 2000, sixty percent of residents expected that public transport would be better in 4 years, compared to 38 % in 1998.
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The above graph represents responses from interviewees in the 1998 indepth survey, and from those interviewed following Individualised Marketing. To obtain the average rating, calculations are based on the following: good
+2
fairly good
+1
fairly bad
-1
bad
-2
For example, in the above graph, the average index in 2000 for comfort on public transport is +1,2 which is calculated by adding all the ratings in this category and dividing by the total number of responses. This shows that in all categories apart from the perception of security at night, the perception of public transport is positive. Small changes are noted for most categories, with the most positive changes being in the perception of cleanliness, reliability and timetable/ frequency, and a slight improvement in the perception of security during the evening.
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180 bus stop information stands were installed across South Perth, with information specific to each bus stop. This information modules included time zones, a route map, a route diagram and the number of the bus stop. Most people interviewed were aware of the timetable stands and the information displayed on them, with the bus stop number being more noticeable than the more detailed information.
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Interviewees were asked if they found the timetable stands and information displayed helpful. Over three quarters of respondents found the timetable stands and time zones helpful, nearly three quarters found the route map useful, and close to two thirds of the interviewees thought the route diagram and numbers were helpful.
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In 1998, 93 % of the residents of South Perth had the opinion that car traffic had increased in the past ten years, with only 8 % of these residents considering this to be positive. There were 7 % of residents who perceived no increase in car traffic. In 2000, 98 % of residents thought that car traffic had increased, with 89 % of those considering the increase in car traffic to be "negative", and 9 % considering the increase as "positive".
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83
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South Perth residents tried to assess the future transport situation till 2010, and there were large changes in this perception following Individualised Marketing, especially for the use of environment-friendly modes. In 1998, more than half the respondents (58 %) considered there would be no increase in public transport, whereas in 2000 more than three quarters of respondents suggested this would increase. For walking, half of the respondents interviewed following Individualised Marketing considered there would an increase, compared to just over a third in 1998. For cycling, 69 % of residents interviewed in 2000 assessed there will be an increase till 2010. Car traffic was also assessed, with 77 % of respondents considering there will be an increase compared to 83 % in the 1998 survey.
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Residents of South Perth responded very positively to this TravelSmart Initiative. More than eight in ten residents considered it to be a good idea, and over three quarters of residents the conduct of the project. Two thirds of the residents interviewed considered the Initiative to be effective.
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