2011-04-20 Final Report Issue Complete

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Department for Transport

New Ways to Increase Cycling

Lessons from the 'Finding NewSolutions' Programme

FNS Master

Issue | April 2011

This report takes into account the particular

instructions and requirements of our client.It is not intended for and should not be relied

upon by any third party and no responsibility is

undertaken to any third party.

Job number 207514-00

Ove Arup & Partners Ltd

Arup Campus, Blythe Valley Park, Solihull, B90 8AE

www.arup.com


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Department for Transport New Ways to Increase CyclingLessons from the 'Finding New Solutions' Programme

FNS Master | Issue | 19 April 2011

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Contents

Page

Executive Summary i

1 Introduction 3

1.1 Finding New Solutions 3

1.2 Purpose of this report 5

1.3 Report Structure 5

2 Planning and Managing the Project 6

2.1 Introduction 6

2.2 Define the target audience 62.3 Develop a customised package 10

2.4 Establish partnership roles and responsibilities 13

2.5 Provide appropriate skills and brief all project staff 17

2.6 Develop contingency plans 19

2.7 Develop realistic plans for start-up and long-term viability 21

2.8 Provide opportunities for knowledge sharing 23

2.9 Identify and cultivate Project Champions 25

3 Getting People Involved 28

3.1 Create a positive first impression 28

3.2 Obtain feedback from existing cyclists and would-be cyclists 33

3.3 Use appropriately tailored communications 36

3.4 Create and maintain a relationship with new cyclists 40

3.5 Use different goals as a means to promote cycling 42

3.6 Retain new cyclists after the initial introduction events 43

3.7 Follow up introductory offers with a commitment 45

3.8 Use incentives to maintain involvement 46

4 Leisure Cycling Projects 494.1 Introduction 49

4.2 Summary of good practice advice 49

4.3 Create opportunities to engage repeat visitors 50

4.4 Work with the available audience 52

4.5 Make the economic case for local cycling investment 54

4.6 Provide supporting infrastructure and services for novices 56

4.7 Use family-friendly activities to appeal to a wide audience 57

5 Workplace Cycling Projects 58

5.1 Introduction 58


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5.3 Use existing workplace travel planning resources 59

5.4 Develop specific measures for different parts of the workforce60

5.5 Integrate cycling into general planning and operations 62

5.6 Use good practice advice to address health and safetyconcerns 63

5.7 Start with leisure cycling, move onto commuting 64

5.8 Use existing cyclists to help with advice about site facilities 65

6 Bike n Ride Projects 67

6.1 Introduction 67


6.3 Employ people with specialist rail and cycle planningexperience 69

6.4 Develop approaches suitable for an origin or a destination 70

6.5 Target communications at existing rail users 73

6.6 Use partner organisations to develop and refine the project 75

6.7 Check the viability of new ideas with key decision makers 77


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Master | Issue | 19 April 2011

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List of Appendices

A1 Summary of Finding New Solutions Projects

A2 Partners Reports

A3 - Sustrans Interim Evaluation Report

A4 Challenge for Change Interim Evaluation report


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Department for Transport New Ways to Increase CyclingLessons from the Finding New Solutions Programme


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Executive Summary

Finding New Solutions sought to investigate what measures could be used mosteffectively to encourage cycling to workplaces and rail stations, and to encourage

new and occasional leisure cyclists into more regular cycling. This reportsummarises the lessons learned and consequent good practice from the first 18months of the projects up to the end of central DfT funding in March 2011. Mostof the partners intend to continue their work next year with other sources offunding.

The general good practice has been divided into the key areas listed below.Further lessons from each of the strands are included in the main report:

Planning and Managing the Project

Before the start of the project, define which target audience(s) will best

deliver on the objectives, and how to effectively address their obstacles togreater cycle use. Having identified a target audience, there is usuallyexisting information about what their barriers to cycling are likely to be,and what measures can be employed, based on others and past experience.Without this focus on people, a place and a journey purpose however,it is hard to seek out the appropriate guidance.

Carry out an analysis prior to the start of your project, to fully understandwhat the constraints and opportunities affecting your location andcircumstances are.

Before embarking on a project carry out a whole-life cost estimate,including plans for how the on-going elements of it could be sustained.This should be reviewed once the project is underway and lessons arebeing learnt to plan effectively for the next phase.

At the start of the project identify who the key partners are likely to be,then what they could contribute and how they might benefit. The latter islikely to be an important prerequisite to their involvement.

Ensure those involved in delivering the project, particularly the projectmanager, are sufficiently skilled and knowledgeable.

When developing a project plan for promotional campaigns orinfrastructure projects, identify potential fast-track opportunities and

delays in order to take advantage of the former and take steps to mitigatethe latter.

Establish networking arrangements to keep key players engaged, informedand enthused from the start. Ensure those with acute time-pressures /limited opportunities to travel to meetings can also participate remotely.

Identify enthusiastic and influential project champions who can takeresponsibility to ensure the projects success, both at project managementand senior officer levels

Getting people involved and keeping them engaged

The target audience must have a very positive and professionalengagement with cycling right from the start.


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Involve both cyclists and non-cyclists in the decision-making processessurrounding the project.

Develop a communications strategy once you understand who your targetaudience is, with sufficient flexibility to enable good situations to be

exploited. Understand the opportunities and constraints associated withdifferent types of media, and vary the media and messages to reflect thecontext.

In deciding what type of promotional cycling project to embark on,consider what relevant assets and opportunities the local context offers. Isit an viable area for leisure cycling, or are there a number of largeremployers / local cycling groups willing to assist with delivery /promotion? If both are present, a project that feeds participants throughleisure into utility cycling might be feasible.

Look for Trojan Horses to sell the many benefits of cycling as a means

of achieving a wide range of lifestyle aspirations.

Develop a strategy to maintain engagement with your target audiencethroughout the year, taking advantage of seasonally-specific hooks.Once achieved, behaviour change then needs to be regularly rewarded tomaintain the new cycling habit.

Accommodate an element of try before you buy for free, or at adiscounted rate, for goods and services associated with a cyclingpromotion project, but determine at what point in time, and at what level, auser contribution to help cover costs could be introduced to help sustainthe project.

Use incentives to nudge people into making changes and to reinforce thedesired behaviour.


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1 Introduction1.1 Finding New SolutionsFollowing its formation in 2005, Cycling England established six Cycling Demonstration Towns andalso developed Bikeability, the national cycling proficiency standard. Sustrans Bike-It and Links toSchools programmes, supported by Cycling England, were also being implemented at this time.Evaluation of these initiatives revealed that significant increases in cycling are achieved with a specificgroup of people, by looking at hubs of activity and at why people travel. This enables a focusedpackage of measures to be developed and is summarised as People, Place, and Purpose.

A further conclusion from the early projects was that while infrastructure improvements orpromotional programmes can help to increase cycling, the greatest success was achieved whereinfrastructure and revenue-funded activities were applied in combination.

The Finding New Solutions strand started in September 2009, aiming to draw on the lessons learnt so

far, and consider what package of measures works best to increase cycling at stations and workplaces,and to engage with people experiencing leisure cycling. The main intention of the leisure programmewas to establish how the vast near market of beginner, occasional and weekend cyclists might benudged into cycling for more everyday journeys as a result of having an initial, positive leisurecycling experience.

A diverse range of project partners has been involved in the Finding New Solutions programme. Thethree leisure projects have been delivered by the Peak District National Park, Devon County Counciland a consortium including the Forestry Commission England, in partnership with Hoseasons Holidaysand the CTC Charitable Trust, The workplace partners include two individual hospitals in the SouthWest selected for their specific barriers to cycling, six PCT regions in the South East, four acutehospital sites in the North East (covering 30,000 NHS staff in the region); and a teaching hospital and

two universities in Nottingham. The four Train Operating Companies (TOCs) in the Bike n Rideproject were selected due to the involvement of the Cycle Rail Integration Taskforce (CRIT), a forumcomprising of Cycling England, the Association of Train Operating Companies, Network Rail,Passenger Focus, DfT and other stakeholders. They secured an additional 4 million from the DfT viaCycling England. The TOCs are South West Trains, Virgin Trains, Merseyrail and Northern Rail. Theproject locations are shown in the illustration below, while the contents of each project are summarisedin Appendix A1.

Cycling England funding ended in March 2011, when most of the projects were completing their firstfull financial year. Projects of this nature tend to require the first six months as a start-up period

where plans are developed into programmes of expenditure, and staff familiarise themselves with theproject requirements. Therefore this report presents initial results and learning, based on what hasbeen achieved in 18 months. A more comprehensive picture of the overall impact of the projectinterventions will emerge from those projects continuing into 2011/12, enabling the initial researchquestions to be answered in more depth.

An interim report, detailing the results from the monitoring programme is included in Appendix A3The partners own reports and case studies, in Appendix A2, provide more in-depth information abouthow the projects were set up, what was delivered, specific lessons learnt and overall results.


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Location of the Finding New Solutions Projects and Cycling City and Towns


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1.2 Purpose of this reportThis report will be useful to anybody that wishes to implement measures to increase cycling within alocal area or for a specific journey purpose, and is based on the experiences of Cycling EnglandsFinding New Solutions project partners. It investigates some common issues and how they wereovercome, and includes case studies and anecdotes from the people directly involved in the project.

1.3 Report StructureChapters 2 and 3 consider some Key Lessons drawn from the various project teams and categorisedbroadly into issues related to setting up and managing the project, and those related to engaging withpeople to start them cycling and developing relationships with them to maintain their enthusiasm andreinforce the initial behaviour change. Each project (Workplace, Leisure and Rail) also brought somespecific issues, and these are covered in chapters 4, 5 and 6.

The Appendices include reports provided directly by the project partners, together with independentinterim evaluation reports of progress and outcomes to date.


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2 Planning and Managing the Project2.1 IntroductionThe following selection of key lessons learnt across all three strands of the Finding New Solutions(FNS) programme offers good-practice advice for people looking to set-up similar initiatives. Theselessons are supported by anecdotes, images and case studies from individual projects.

2.2 Define the target audienceLesson: From the outset, there needs to be a clear understanding of who the target audience forthe project is, what barriers to cycling that audience is likely to face, and why they might chooseto cycle if nudged. People new to cycling often have different perceived needs and priorities toexisting cyclists.

The three FNS strands sought to encourage new and occasional cyclists, in order to get more peoplecycling, more safely, more often. Each strand offered a discrete entry point into cycling for this verylarge, generic target group, namely, cycling to work, leisure cycling, and cycling to connect to the railnetwork. Each project further refined its target audience in response to local circumstances such aspolicy objectives, existing infrastructure, and the available communication channels and opportunitiesto meet people who could persuaded to cycle.

Leisure:

The Pedal Peak District team decided that the focus of their leisure cycling programme was, tosome extent, to be aimed at types of people that the National Park Authority is already trying toengage with because they are under-represented among visitors, including young people, blackand minority ethnic communities, and residents from disadvantaged inner city areas. Thisenabled them to draw upon previous experience to encourage visitors from these groups intothe national park. They then sought specific advice on engaging people in cycling from theneighbouring towns of Derby and Stoke, to learn from their experience of involvement in theCycling City and Towns project.

The Cycle Devon team focussed on local residents in their five project hub towns Exeter,Exmouth, Barnstaple, Tavistock and Newton Abbot because this offered the best opportunity tobuild a relationship over a sustained period. They deliberately aimed many of their initiatives atfamilies, confident that these type of activities would not only attract parents and children, butwould also draw in other cyclists of all ages and abilities.


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Promotional flyer for a Cycle Devon leisure cycling initiative carefully targeted at families

Workplace:

The hospital-based workplace projects soon discovered that, within such a large workforce there weremany different groups each presenting their own range of barriers and opportunities.

Some of the hospital-based workplace cycling projects found nursing staff a rather reluctantaudience that would require quite specific interventions. In addition to the fact that a highproportion are women (traditionally less inclined to cycle compared to men), with thecomplications of shift working (females generally have greater concerns about cycle use after

dark), these are also a group of people on their feet for a good proportion of their working day,engaging in physically arduous tasks at times, and therefore less inclined to increase their levelof physical activity by cycling to/from work. A focus on staff with regular work patterns andless physically challenging jobs is more likely to yield a high proportion of cyclists.

The north-east hospitals workplace project attempted to define realistic, accessible organiccycling catchment areas to define their target audience. This used a selection of typical (i.e.old, young, male and female) cyclists who were instructed to identify what is for them theboundary of where they could cycle easy every day and then go slightly further out to theeasy most days limit. This then identified the zones containing the highest number ofpotential cyclists. It included a time and distance basis (around 2.5 miles and 3.5 milesapproximately) Critically, it also took account of physical conditions on the ground, such ashills, significant barriers (e.g. rivers and rail lines) and even the quality of the environment todefine a fairly precise area (not just a circle) around a trip generator (e.g. a hospital) withinwhich cycling would be feasible on most days. A key point about the organic catchment area isthat it is also subjective and not only about physical conditions. One zone was narrow becausenobody wanted to cycle through that estate, for example.

People living within the catchment area were sent personalised correspondence, with suggestionsfor a cycle-friendly route, the distance and how much time would be required for them to maketheir journey by bike.


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The easy everyday (solid blue) and easy most days (dashed) lines on the original Sunderlandsurvey form

Rail:

The Merseyrail Bike n Ride project targeted commuters within a 1.5 mile radius of the stationswhere improved secure cycle parking facilities were provided and direct mailed them all withinformation about the improvements. Sefton Council improved cycle routes and installeddirection signs in the areas serving each station. This initiative was particularly aimed atcommuters from Southport, many of whom drive through the congested town centre en-route to

stations south of Southport where they can more easily park, because town centre car parking attheir nearest station is expensive.

Direct mail leaflet sent to Merseyrail commuters within 1.5 miles of stations with improved facilities

Northern Rail made cycle parking improvements at around 100 stations. Of these, fourteenwere selected for intensive marketing because they were believed to have greatest potential to


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increase cycling. This was based on a number of factors including; steady increase inpassenger numbers in recent years, extensive new housing developments, difficulties with carparking, large local employers nearby, and opportunities to build activities onto existinginitiatives such as local green groups, local supporters / champions and existing or newcycle routes to/from the station.

South West Trains and Virgin Trains recognised that many commuters wish to have a bikeavailable at both ends of their railway journey as this provides a fast and convenient travelcombination. Peak time rail services cannot accommodate large numbers of conventionalcycles. They therefore investigated ways to provide folding bicycles that could be carried ontrains, including a self-manned, folding bike locker scheme at Manchester and Guildford.

Good practice advice: Before the start of the project, define which target audience(s) will bestdeliver on the objectives, and how to effectively address their obstacles to greater cycle use.

Having identified a target audience, there is usually existing information about what theirbarriers to cycling are likely to be, and what measures can be employed, based on others andpast experience. Without this focus on people, a place and a journey purpose however, it is

hard to seek out the appropriate guidance.


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2.3 Develop a customised packageLesson: No one size fits all. What package of measures is chosen to deliver a project depends onthe range of opportunities and constraints associated with the delivery location. These includethe scope for building partnerships, resource availability (staff and finances), culture,

topography, project objectives, access to the target audience, timescales, etc. What works well inone area might not in another.

Leisure:

The Pedal Peak District team took advantage of the network of traffic-free, relatively flat, trailsthrough beautiful countryside, and its cycle hire outlets to offer a gold standard leisurecycling experience to its target audience, including a series of led rides. Some rides werefurther tailored to appeal to industrial history enthusiasts, nature lovers, foodies and led bylocal experts such as park rangers again capitalising on the availability of resources.

Participants were also offered the opportunity to get some basic training in riding techniques,and free advice on bike sizing/positioning which both proved very popular.

Pedal Peak District leaflet that maximised opportunities for leisure cyclists to benefit from local food

and drink providers

The Cycle Devon team made the most of the fact that Exeter had been one of the originalCycling Demonstration Towns and had thus enjoyed significant investment in cycling capital both hard and soft measures together with the build-up of extensive knowledge andexpertise re cycling promotion. The launch of the FNS leisure programme in the county alsocoincided with the completion of the very attractive Exe Estuary Cycle Trail, running betweentwo of its hub towns, Exeter and Exmouth, while the project also made good use of the wellestablished Tarka Cycle Trail, serving the hub town of Barnstaple.

Workplace:


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Bournemouth Hospital held a discussion session at the outset to identify all the possiblebarriers to staff cycling to work and then endeavoured to put in place some means ofaddressing each barrier. A particularly innovative idea was born out of the fact that hospitalsgenerally employ a relatively high proportion of female staff with childcare responsibilities.These were offered the opportunity to borrow a folding bike to enable them to park and cycle

from the vicinity of a nursery, childminder or school where they had dropped off children. At Derriford Hospital, folding bikes were also used to provide a customised package. The

hospital is situated on a significant hill in Plymouth, reasonably well-served by publictransport. This workplace project found that a pool of folding bikes for loan extended theappeal and feasibility of cycle commuting for the slightly less energetic, who could enjoy apredominantly downhill journey home by bike, then return the next morning with a folded bikeon the bus.

At the James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough, a personalised intervention involved a self-specified cycle journey that was chosen by the user during a short engagement with aconversationalist. This was part of a Social Marketing campaign that used integratedmarketing techniques with common communication themes, including the use of backgroundpriming messages. After testing various branding, the most popular was revealed to be thealready recognised Bike 4 Life logo. Early results suggest an increase in cycle use by around10% of participants for what was a very cheap (200 plus unskilled staff time) promotion.

Personalised Travel Planning at the JCUH: Postcard size record discussed with each participant. Thetop half was retained and the bottom (business card size) given to staff members interviewed.

A detailed discussion about what has worked well, or not so well in terms of cycle parkingprovision for the NHS NE hospital sites is given in Appendix A2.

Rail:

South West Trains actively sought out sites where cycle facilities could complement otherinitiatives. At Southampton Airport Parkway a new footbridge was installed with Accessfor All funding from Network Rail and cycle parking was then added into the worksprogramme. At a number of other locations Sustrans and local authority partners offered routeenhancements to improve access, such as at Hillsea, near Portsmouth. In Gillingham, newfacilities were added to coincide with a bus / cycle / train travel promotion by North DorsetCouncil.


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Southampton Airport Parkway Station local cycle route leads directly to/from the station platformand nearby cycle parking

Good practice advice: Carry out a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats typeanalysis prior to the start of your project, to fully understand what the constraints andopportunities affecting your location and circumstances are.


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2.4 Establish partnership roles and responsibilitiesLesson: Partnerships are critical to the success of any project to promote cycling, i.e.constructive local and, if appropriate, national joint working, between the public, private andvoluntary sectors; and internally between departments, and sites for larger organisations. Each

partner brings a unique set of attributes, whether it is knowledge and skills, financial resources,or a remit to take action. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

A mix of infrastructure and encouragement is usually the most effective way to increase cycling.The responsibility for implementing physical cycling measures usually falls to a different person thanthe one tasked with promoting their use, especially within big organisations. Similarly, organisationswithin partnerships may hold different roles. The two sides need to work collaboratively throughoutthe project, albeit the infrastructure delivery / management element and themarketing/communications element will be in the driving seat at different times.

Different partner organisations are likely to be driven by different interests and motivations forengagement related to their core functions, for example rail operators provide cycle parking because

they are interested in increasing rail patronage and managing demand for cycle carriage on trains,while local authorities may support cycle parking and access as part of an effort to reduce trafficcongestion around station sites. These need to be identified at the outset, and kept in mind throughoutproject delivery, to maintain partner commitment.

Securing buy-in via a contribution to the resources required to run the project, either direct or in-kindfrom each of the partners involved, will also help to ensure on-going, meaningful commitment on allsides.

At the same time, it is also important to be honest with all involved in a partnership about what hasntworked so well, to learn what to avoid in future, or how to improve the programme.

Leisure:

The Cycle Xtra leisure project was built on a relationship between the CTC, the ForestryCommission and Hoseasons Holidays Ltd. The three parties explored the potential for a jointinitiative to promote recreational cycling to novices, drawing on the CTCs expertise, thesetting offered by the Forestry Commission, and the audience that Hoseasons could deliver.The three organisations different motivations for involvement were recognised andaccommodated in the overall planning i.e. a public service interest to increase participationand visitors (CTC and the Forestry Commission) and Hoseasons offer to visitors as acommercial holiday provider.

The value of this partnership is being realised, not just at a strategic level, but also locally. Forexample, the cycle hire centre at Halden Forest is benefiting from a pool of Cycle Xtra bikeson loan during the winter, in return for signing up participants to the Cycle Xtra programme.This results in a win-win situation, as the cycle hire centre gains from an expanded hire fleetfrom which it can generate revenue, while Cycle Xtra benefits from promotion of itsobjectives during the off-peak season, when staff are not active at the Hoseasons sites.

However one set of partners in the project that were not fully engaged at the outset were theindividual holiday site managers, who were tasked with frontline delivery. Providing with astrong business case for the promotion of Cycle Xtra to the holiday makers was overlookedwhen setting up the project and this resulted in a rather circumspect response to the initiativeat some sites during the first season, which constrained it from reaching its full potential. Thesites that did engage and were supportive from the outset were more successful.


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Feather flags and leaflets for the Cycle Xtra partnership

During the quieter visitor season Pedal Peak District engaged a cycling social enterprise fromone of the neighbouring cities to deliver promotional events and cycle training to residents insome of the National Parks towns and villages. The Peak Park contributed local knowledge,contacts and financial resources, while the social enterprise brought expertise in deliveringcycle training and promotional events.

Examples of 2 leaflets promoting activities for Peak District residents

A recent partnership between DCC and the NT Killerton Estate has involved the creation of anew cycle route in Broadclyst near Exeter. A 5km muddy track had been sympathetically

upgraded to allow multiuse activity including walking, cycling and horse riding. The

upgraded, shared use path was officially opened during February 2011 half term holidays with

a celebratory launch event that attracted over 500 visitors to the estate house and gardens. As

part of a pilot phase, free cycle hire was provided with qualified cycle instructors on hand togive expert tips and advice on cycling. Most of the 286 people who took advantage of free


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cycle hire were non- regular cyclists and their feedback has been extremely positive. The

recent joint working to promote sustainable transport, specifically cycling links at the National

Trust Killerton Estate, has been key to a wider National Trust approach to sustainable visitor

transport and community engagement, supporting the NTs Going Local theme.

The Cycle Devon team developed a very constructive relationship with the National Trust to help

promote the concept of cycling to and, where feasible, around leisure destinations.

Workplace:

The Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle established a strong, working relationshipwith a receptive local cycle shop, which provided bikes and equipment, together withexpertise and advice tailored to personal requirements. The bike shop was particularlysensitive to the needs of new and novice cyclists, offering a service that was accessible,unintimidating and at the right level for each individual referred to them. The RVI was alsovery effective at drawing different internal departments and players into cycling promotion,utilising those concerned with staff health and wellbeing, for example.

The Ucycle Nottingham project set up a steering group of key partners in the city, on whosecooperation and support it was realised at the outset the success of the project would likelydepend. The group included the universities and hospital where the project was implemented,the City and County Councils, the Greater Nottingham Transport Partnership, RideWise(Nottinghams cycle training provider), together with the Sustrans project delivery team.

Ucycle Nottinghams working group and high-level steering group members attending the launch of

the bike hire scheme.


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Rail:

Merseyrail and local councils, together with Merseytravel worked closely to ensure that theBike n Ride work contributed to the Local Transport Plan objectives for the area. Sefton andWirral Councils were able to install waymarking and route improvements to the stations, whileMerseyrail concentrated on facilities at the station. The local passenger transport authority,

Merseytravel, was able to publicise improvements and events through its MerseysideTravelWise initiative. The cycle centre at Southport station also became the main base for acycle hire scheme that was introduced by Sefton Council as part of its Cycling Townprogramme.

Good practice advice: At the start of the project identify who the key partners are likely to be,then what they could contribute and how they might benefit. The latter is likely to be animportant prerequisite to their involvement.


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2.5 Provide appropriate skills and brief all project staffLesson: Ensure those involved in delivering the project, particularly the project manager, aresufficiently skilled in, and knowledgeable about, their areas of responsibility. There will,undoubtedly, be a need for some briefing and training, particularly for those new to the type of

work, as well as for those drawn into the project on an ad-hoc basis, for which it is only oneelement of a wider remit.

Leisure:

The Pedal Peak District team ran a series of workshops at its cycle hire centres, for relevantstaff, to appraise them of the aims and objectives of the project, how it was being rolled-out,and how they could contribute. The volunteer trail rangers, who helped lead rides, were givennational standards cycle instructor training and carefully briefed. They subsequently provided avaluable extension to the capacity of the project delivery team.

Cycle Devon appointed two project managers with different, complementary skills, whosubsequently worked collaboratively, playing to their individual strengths and knowledge base.

Cycle Xtra staff were deployed to their Hoseasons holiday centres having received acomprehensive package of relevant skills training, including cycle instructor, bike mechanic,first aid, ride leader and IT skills where required.

Cycle Xtra staff member in the refurbished facility at Oakdene


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Workplace:

A couple of the workplace programmes benefitted from project managers who had travelplanning experience working with the organisations involved. They were able to draw on theirrelevant local contacts and knowledge to get up and running and make progress more quickly.However Darlington Memorial Hospital started their workplace project from, on their own

admission, a low knowledge base in relation to promoting cycling. They subsequentlyappointed an advisor for a couple of days a week during the initial three months of their projectto help bring them up to speed with what was required.

A good practice guide to delivering cycle loan schemes through universities to staff andstudents has been developed, based on the experience of the Ucycle Nottingham project. Thiswill be of assistance to those considering similar schemes in comparable locations.

Ucycle student loan bikes being assembled

Rail:

Northern Rail drew extensively on expertise from its Cycling Forum and from the CyclingEngland consultancy team to help to develop ideas. It was then able to give experiencedcontractors and managers a detailed brief for implementation of facilities. A similar processhas been applied to its Bike n Ride marketing. An initial workshop was held to develop ideaswith stakeholders from the Cycling Forum. This is now being acted on by staff and relevantcontacts with experience in community railways and marketing.

Good practice advice: As part of the project set-up process undertake a knowledge and skillsaudit of those likely to be involved at different stages. Offer opportunities for those involved inproject delivery to fill any knowledge or skills gaps. These should apply to those at the peripheryas well as the epicentre. A variety of tools will be appropriate, including one-off workshops, aswell as on-going mentoring via email and telephone to respond to quick queries.


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2.6 Develop contingency plansLesson: Wider policy / guidance and physical developments can affect the direction and viabilityof a cycling project. Some of these will have a positive influence whilst inevitably others will havea negative one.

Leisure:

The leisure cycling projects each faced challenges that they have had to deal with, and learnfrom over the course of the programme. In the first year, the Cycle Xtra project experiencedseveral unanticipated events. Hoseasons was taken over by a US company at the projectinitiation stage, which delayed their full embrace and support of the initiative. The Hoseasonsbrochures, that advertise what is on offer at each holiday park site, are printed many months inadvance of each season, and the Cycle Xtra sites therefore missed out on the opportunity to beincluded. Cycle Xtra have also learnt that the main audience for their activities and indeedHoseasons holidays in general families dont arrive in any significant numbers until thestart of the school summer break in mid July. Officers, who were in post from early summer,

had a slack initial few weeks and could, with foresight, have sought other markets such ascorporate day events at which to offer their cycling activities.

The challenges faced by the Pedal Peak District project were mainly due to the complexity ofwhat it was trying to achieve - an ambitious infrastructure programme within a limited timeperiod ie. the reopening of four tunnels on the disused High Peak railway line to extend thenetwork of novice-friendly off-road, multi-user routes in the Peak Park, between the towns ofBuxton and Bakewell. Satisfying the planning requirements associated with the uniquelandscape, conservation and heritage features of the trail, tunnels and the surrounding area haveinevitably required extensions to the initial, anticipated timelines. However, the other strand ofactivity: a programme of soft measures to promote cycling, such as led rides and training hasexceeded its initial targets, at a lower overall cost. For further details about the lessons learntfrom the Pedal Peak District project see Appendix A.

The initial clearance work of the disused Peak Railway line tunnels discovered 500 tonnes of wastethat had to be removed before any surveying work could commence

Workplace:

Several of the workplace projects have had to react to issues arising unpredictably related to the

time of year or other organisations timetables. For example, several of the cycle promotionalevents associated with FNS projects have been compromised by adverse weather conditions.Aside from the obvious dampener that rain puts on outside activities at any time of year, it was


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discovered that outdoor cycle maintenance sessions, during which people are not particularlyphysically active, do not work well in cooler conditions. During autumn, winter and earlyspring it is preferable for such activity to take place in a sheltered indoor space.There were alsoconflicts with the inevitable demands of large workplaces, including completing the NationalStaff survey for which a high response rate influences NHS funding.

One of the south-east workplace Cycle Challenges unfortunately took place just when a keycycle route serving the area was subject to closure due to wider road works. However, therelevant highway authority, once alerted to the problem, was quick to put in place remedialmeasures to minimise the disruption.

The Ucycle Nottingham project managed to take advantage of timings for the announcement ofthe introduction of a workplace parking levy in Greater Nottingham to raise awareness abouthow the service it offers provides opportunities to circumvent the charge.

Rail:

Virgin Trains experienced delays with obtaining planning permission and Transec security

clearance at some sites. With a limited number of stations and a few crucial sites required todeliver their project, they had no alternative but to tackle these issues through lengthynegotiation and redesign. Some of the other train operators were simply able to reallocatefunds from difficult sites and install facilities where a quick win was achievable.

Good practice advice: When developing a project plan for promotional campaigns orinfrastructure projects, identify potential fast-track opportunities, as well as possible delaysand complications, in order to fully capitalize on the former and take steps to mitigate the latter.


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2.7 Develop realistic plans for start-up and long-term viabilityLesson: Any cycling promotion programme will have a lifespan, and careful consideration needsto be given at the outset to meeting the resource requirements at each stage of the project.Generally, capital and revenue investment is highest during the first year or two, but prior to

doing anything, a project will typically demand a planning and initiation phase of a few months.

Successful pilot projects will require (and justify) on-going investment in revenue andmaintenance beyond the initial grant-assisted start-up phase. Embedding the project into thepractices and responsibilities of delivery partners also helps ensure sustainability.

The time it takes to establish a project, to select and appoint a project team, set up partnerships anddevelop a relevant programme of actions, should not be under-estimated. The real impact of projectsinvolving the provision of hard infrastructure is unlikely to be measurable until the scheme has beenin place and used for a twelve-month period post installation, to allow for seasonal variations.

Several of the projects invested a significant proportion of their resources in physical infrastructure,

such as routes, cycle parking facilities, pool bikes and cycle access improvements. They will beutilising this capital in subsequent years as part of the foundations for more soft measures-focusedcycle promotion initiatives, which tend to be less costly and easier to fund using existing staffresources.

Owing to the short timeframe of the funding window, together with seasonal influences (i.e. the onsetof Spring), most of the projects felt under pressure to start delivering initiatives on the ground beforethey were fully prepared. During the first few months, one of the leisure cycling partners investedheavily in a series of high-profile Cycling Fun Days to launch their campaign. Whilst successful, thesewere hugely resource intensive and consequently slowed down the process of delivering a rollingprogramme of continued promotion beyond the event launches. In retrospect, a more balancedportfolio of the two would have been preferable during the early stage of the project. A similar

imbalance occurred with rail projects, with most concentrating almost exclusively on capital spend inthe first year and not starting their promotional campaigns until spring 2011.

In addition to these seasonal issues, infrastructure can be delayed due to planning constraints,unexpected costs or adverse weather. Major decisions may also be deferred or changed due to politicalissues, such as purdah in the run up to elections or a change of administration.

However successful, projects with relatively small budget allocations can be more likely to suffer from

lack of senior interest, internal profile and commitment and, as a consequence be lower priority for

future funding. To help address this, ensure the value of the project is clearly documented and well-

publicised internally, promote quick wins whenever possible and make the best use of project

champion(s) to maintain interest and profile of your initiatives.

Workplace:

The Ucycle Nottingham project team quickly discovered it would need to operate more in-tunewith the university timetable. The most effective period for working with their target audiencewould be during the early half of the academic year, when students and staff are settling into anew routine, away from the distractions of study leave and exams. However, there are manymonths of the year when universities are fairly dormant. Consequently the project managementteam is exploring how it can maintain momentum out of term time, e.g. by hiring bikes out toNottinghams summer visitors.

Milton Keynes Council had, previously, undertaken a good deal of work with its many local

employers to promote workplace travel planning. The local authority was, therefore, able to use


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established contacts and partnerships to quickly gain a foothold for the Cycle Challengeprogramme it was delivering as part of the FNS workplace programme.

Rail:

Virgin Trains is investing in a cycle parking, repair, and folding bike hire centre at Stoke on

Trent station. The centre will be staffed by two trainees on an employment training schemeprovided in partnership with the local authority. They will be also be offered comprehensivetraining by Brompton Ltd. It is envisaged that the centre will continue to provide trainingopportunities for young people in the future.

Leeds CyclePoint was established by Northern Rail and also jointly funded by the Departmentfor Transport, Network Rail and the regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward. Thecapital cost of the project was met by the joint funders. Northern Rail has taken on the ongoingrevenue responsibility. The site is rented to a commercial cycle retailer who pays a premium toNorthern Rail. The retailer has opened a large shop nearby, considers the prominent positionof the CyclePoint to be advantageous in attracting business, and enables staff to share workbetween the two sites to accommodate busy and quiet periods. The CyclePoint itself takes a

small income from cycle parking, but a more significant income from repairs and cycle hire.

Leeds Cyclepoint had capital finance from Network Rail and Northern Rail with ongoing costs met by

a commercial operator

Good practice advice: A projects planning stage should include a whole-life cost estimate with

consideration about how its legacy will be continued once it has emerged from the initial seed-corn funding / subsidy / grant phase. This should be reviewed once the project is underway andlessons are being learnt to plan effectively for the next phase. Solutions should not be confined tocasting around for more time-bound funding to continue with more of the same. Some creativethinking can often reveal hitherto untapped sources of support and resources, and also enablerelevant knowledge, investment in infrastructure, effective partnerships and volunteer supportsecured through the start-up phase, as far as possible, be locked in for future benefit.


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2.8 Provide opportunities for knowledge sharingLesson: Networking forums enable knowledge sharing at national level for people undertakingsimilar projects in different geographical areas or in otherwise unrelated organisations. At aregional and project level, networking enables stakeholders to share in decision making and

enables the lead organisation to utilise their local knowledge and specialist skills.Where people dont already know each other, networking needs to be carefully managed to ensure thatpeople know what is expected of them and are able to get what they need out of the event. A lessformal approach can be productive once a working group is established.

Effective networking can also take place in a virtual environment, e.g. via conference calls and emails,and does not have to rely exclusively on face-to-face meetings. Those for whom delivery of cyclingpromotion projects is just part of their busy working lives, will often find it difficult to attend meetingsand site visits that entail long distance travel and / or a day or more away from their wider jobresponsibilities.

Leisure:

The Peak District National Park Authority owns and manages several well-used recreationalroutes e.g. the High Peak, Manifold and Tissington trails together with supporting cyclehire centres. At the start of the project, the Pedal Peak District team brought together the staffand volunteer rangers who help maintain the trails and cycle hire centres, to enable them toshare their ideas about how they could contribute to the leisure cycling project.

Similarly, the Cycle Devon team used cycling enthusiasts from its five hub towns, withexcellent local knowledge and contacts, to be the projects eyes and ears on the ground, andalert the delivery team to any relevant issues that arose.

Workplace:

The Cycle Derriford project manager was only able to attend one centrally organised FNSmeeting, which brought together all the workplace project partners to share information aboutgood practice and progress. However he was able to use the knowledge gained at that eventfrom those undertaking similar projects elsewhere to overcome hitherto unsolved obstacles tolocal delivery in Plymouth. At the same time, the six south-east workplace projects also set uptheir own series of regional meetings which involved NHS Trusts working in partnership withlocal authorities. They got together several times to share information about good practice andprogress. These entailed relatively short local journeys for most participants, and there weremany areas of commonality to discuss.

Rail:

Northern Rail worked closely with its Cycle Forum to develop and deliver the project. TheForum meets quarterly and also has a web portal and e-mail distribution. It includes nationaland local rail and cycling organisations, local authorities, campaign groups and Northern Railstaff with an interest in cycling issues. In addition to the usual means of communication,Northern Rail arranged stakeholder site visits to every station to enable engineering staff,station managers, local authorities, cycle users and other interested parties to discuss and agreeon the most appropriate location, type and amount of cycle parking at each station. The sitereports and recommendations arising from these visits were circulated to a wider group toenable those not present to add any comments.


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Northern Rail staff and stakeholders survey Harrogate station

Good practice advice: Establish networking arrangements to keep key players engaged,informed and enthused from the start. Ensure those with acute time-pressures / limitedopportunities to travel to meetings can also participate remotely.


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2.9 Identify and cultivate Project ChampionsLesson: A project champion, usually seated within the main project delivery organisation, is animportant asset able to lead, motivate and communicate effectively. They need to be of sufficientstanding and influence to drive progress and decision making at the pace and in the direction

required. Where a project is dependent on multiple organisations for delivery, it is common forone to assume the mantle of project champion or lead. Deputy project champions withinpartner organisations are also vital, as they will be far more effective at progressing internaldecision-making than an outsider, however senior that outsider is within their ownorganisation.

Projects that are managed, either by committed, knowledgeable and enthusiastic cyclists workingwithin the delivery organisations, or appointed pro-cycling organisations are likely to be drivenforward and deliver most effectively.

Leisure:

Cycle Devon has benefitted from senior level support, either from politicians, councillors or

senior officers. This helped to raise the profile of the project locally, as well as obtain high-level commitment from other key partners.

Devon Councils Head of Highways Management, councillors and the Mayor of Exeter posing for thelocal press on their bikes to show support for Exeters Cycle Fun Day

Workplace:

The Bournemouth Hospital project team carried out a stakeholder mapping exercise at thebeginning of their project to establish the extent of both internal and external allies i.e. otherdepartments and organisations that could assist them in project delivery. This was followed-upby identifying potential champions within the allies, with whom effective relationships mightbe established.

At the RVI a particularly enthusiastic radiographer took it upon himself to start to invite someof his work colleagues for a ride after work. This increased in popularity up to the point wherehe had 70+ people on his mailing list. A short newsletter Cycling Weakly (sic) has beenproduced and is sent to all subscribers. The Trust is in the process of transferring responsibility

for the BUG to this cycling champion.


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The mayor of Milton Keynes offered valued support in her championing of the FNS workplaceproject that city hosted. She attended the two high-profile events that marked the launch andcompletion of the centrepiece Cycle Challenge programme, signed up for the Challengeherself, and even tweeted her progress through the Challenge period as an inspiration to others.In many UK towns and cities more men cycle than women. Influential female role models can

be important in normalising cycling for people who may consider cultural and gender issuesto be barriers to cycling, as well as demonstrating high-level support to the project. Socialmedia can also be used to share practical information about personally overcoming barriers tocycling in order to help and encourage others.

The Mayor of Milton Keynes alongside Workplace Challenge winners and other project partners

The Ucycle Nottingham project secured senior level support from two of its three hostorganisations, with the Pro-Vice Chancellors of both universities involved with the projectshigh-level strategy group. They helped raise the profile of the project, particularly within thehigher education world, by providing quotes, attending events and supporting the submissionof the project for relevant awards. However, this level of senior support was not replicated bythe third host, a teaching hospital, which also suffered from notably more delays and obstaclesto project implementation.

NottinghamTrent University was ranked the number one green university in the People andPlanet Green League 2009. We take our responsibilities seriously and the Ucycle project sits

perfectly in our push to reduce our environmental impacts. We are delighted with the progress

the project has made to date, particularly with the imminent launch of loans of cycles tostudents. It will be great to see these bikes around our campuses in September and beyond.Professor Neil Gorman DL, Vice-Chancellor, Nottingham Trent University

Rail:

Abellio is the Dutch parent company of both Northern Rail and Merseyrail. They have beenkeen to replicate elements of good practice from the Netherlands in the UK operations, as cycleaccess and parking in stations is essential to commercial success of the rail network in theNetherlands. To this end, they have taken senior staff on site visits to Holland. This verysenior level commitment has had a direct influence on the staff running the projects, who havebeen encouraged to innovate and have been able to act with support from senior management.

Without this level of support in a heavily regulated and process driven environment like therailway industry, it can be difficult to introduce new ideas or address common obstacles, such


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as planning permissions and security issues. Having an experienced and motivated projectchampion also enabled the most successful projects to access the best team of people,enabling staff to work to their strengths in infrastructure, community engagement andmarketing rather than having just a single person trying to do everything.

Northern Rail plans to extend the champions concept to individual stations. At selected

stations it hopes to establish a Northern Rail Ranger in the community who will help tomarket cycling to the station at a local level, together with a Champion from within NorthernRail staff at each station who will support the external partners and act as liaison between thecompany and the community representative.

Good practice advice: Identify a key project champion from within the main organisationresponsible for delivering, or coordinating delivery, of the project. Ensure they are sufficientlymotivated and influential to be effective in this role. They need to be highly committed to theaims and objectives of the project, good at networking with excellent interpersonal skills,innovative, but also possessing some gravitas, and an ability to hold the respect and ear ofrelevant colleagues and collaborators, secure funding and influence policy decisions. They shouldconsider appointing deputy champions in partner organisations.


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3 Getting People Involved3.1 Create a positive first impressionLesson: First impressions count. The extent to which a programme of cycling promotion issuccessful in engaging with its target audience is significantly dependent on their initial contactwith, and exposure to, the project. Clearly, this needs to be as positive as possible. A high-impact, personalised experience generates confidence and trust in both the cycling product andthe organisations promoting it and is, thus, possiblymore likely to result in repeat and engagedconsumers, willing to give the offer another go, than one that is low-key or very generalised.

Leisure:

Each leisure cycling project sought effective ways to ensure that participants had a positive initialleisure cycling experience.

Pedal Peak District offered a package tonew and novice cyclists, targetedparticularly at those groups under-represented among visitors to the NationalPark. This included a range of keyingredients: free cycle hire, personalisedadjustments to participants bikes to ensurea good fit, basic bike handling andconfidence training; a non-challenging,sociable 1-2 hour leisure ride onpredominately traffic-free trails in attractivecountryside, all rounded-off with tea n

cake and a chat about how they might domore of this. Many of those who took upthis offer where women, and it helped thatthe Pedal Peak District team memberresponsible for running many of thesessions is a committed cyclist, with aninspirational rather than overwhelmingservice delivery style.

Cycle Xtra recruited, trained and deployed

specialist staff at their five Hoseasons /Forestry Commission sites. Theseenthusiastic and very experienced cyclistswere tasked with persuading Hoseasonsholiday-makers to try a cycling activityduring their stay. While they had fliers andposters at their disposal, advertisingtraining, bike maintenance sessions, ledrides, and other cycling activities, by far themost effective means of drumming upcommitted customers for their offer was a

personalised approach, usually to families,within a day-or-so of their arrival. What ensued, on numerous occasions, was the building of a

Katrina Watson, a working mum from Sheffield, attended

the Women on Wheels cycle ride in May 2010. This was

a guided 10-mile ride from Parsley Hay via the High

Peak Trail, quiet country roads and Hartington village.

Katrina said:

Finding time to do some exercise can be tricky when

youve got a family and a job; life just gets in the way

sometimes. I needed the incentive of booking on the bikeride to get myself organised to get out and do it. My

partner is a keen cyclist but when he took me out for what

he called an easy ride we ended up doing a 30 mile round

trip and I wasnt ready for going that far. The Women on

Wheels ride was just right, not too far, plenty of rests and

no pressure to go too fast, Ive really enjoyed it and Id

like to do another one.


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relationship between the family and Staff over a number of days, taking the non- and less-experiencedriders through bike handling skills, thus opening up opportunities for parents to enjoy an activity withtheir children. Cycle Xtra participants were sent home,where the opportunity arose, with the CTCsintroductory Cycling for Families Handbook, together

with tailor-made information about types of bikes andwhere to ride to suit their needs. The following is asnapshot of some of the feedback from satisfiedcustomers.

The Cycle Devon programme was launched with aseries of Cycling Fun Days, one held in each of the fiveHub Towns. These offered a mix of cycling-relatedactivities, with an emphasis on encouraging new andnovice riders a chance to have-a-go, and extend theircycling experiences to see just how easy, fun, versatileand inclusive cycling is. The Fun Days attracted almost6,000 members of the public, many of whom were keento sign-up to the Cycle Devon leisure cyclingprogramme of on-going support to enable them to cyclemore safely and more often. The free one-hour bikehire sessions were particularly successful withanecdotal evidence of many people wishing to purchasea bike immediately after their experience! Results fromresearch conducted at the Cycle Devon Fun Days showed that the majority of people who had apositive cycling experience at one of the cycling events, or after hiring a bike, intend to cycle moreoften. More than half of the sample group (66%) claimed they would cycle more in the next four

weeks.

Many case studies and anecdotes about participants experiences from the three leisure projects areprovided in Appendices A2.1, A2.2 and A2.3.

Workplace:

The workplace projects adopted various approaches to establishing a strong relationship withtheir target audience. For example, the south-east workplace project relied, to a large extent, onthe delivery of a Cycle Challenge programme within each of its six host locations. These offer,through workplace settings, an opportunity for non- and infrequent cyclists to identify their

personal barriers to cycling, e.g. never learnt to ride, no bike, bike in poor condition, lack ofconfidence. These barriers are then addressed via practical solutions, e.g. cycle training, DrBike sessions, social leisure rides. Worksites are subsequently invited to sign up to take part ina time-bound Cycle Challenge, usually lasting a couple of weeks, where colleagues areencouraged to log the most collective cycle miles for an inter-organisational competition. Thepersonalised warm-up to the Cycle Challenge, which makes particular efforts to reach out tonovice cyclists, appears successful in generating an engaged audience for the Challenge period.A particular contribution to success appears to be the use of trusted sources, i.e. known workcolleagues, to enthuse and encourage participation.

This lady had two, one-hour sessionsof Bikeability. She hadnt cycled for 35

years. Then she did this 12 mile ridealong the Exe Estuary with myself andher husbands support. They had such agood time. Cycle Xtra staff member

from Finlake


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A participant from the Isle of Wight Challenge increased his cycling confidence so much that he wenton to join a cycling holiday in France

Many of the hospitals ran cycling road-shows, including Newcastle, Sunderland andDarlington. Bournemouth Hospital ran their cycling road-show on the (unused) top floor of itsstaff car park at the start of its project. Local bike shops were invited to bring a range ofequipment and accessories for people to try, accompanied by knowledgeable staff to offerpersonalised advice, the police were on-hand to provide cycle security coding, cycle trainingopportunities were available, together with a host of other information to encourage and enableTrust staff to cycle to work. The offer of a free lunch ensured good attendance at the road-show, and special effort was made to ensure that what was on offer was packaged in a waythat made it easily accessible to those unfamiliar with cycling. One measure of success was that

200 bikes were subsequently sold through their Cycle to Work Scheme, during the year.

Electric bikes available for try-out sessions, bike-tagging by police plus other advice, available at acycle road-show for staff at Bournemouth Hospital

A number of workplace projects trialled bike-buddying schemes, through which a novicecyclist, unaccustomed to riding in urban conditions, is offered an experienced cycling partner


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to help build their confidence for on-road riding and to find cycle-friendly routes for theirregular local journeys. This idea seemed only to work successfully where the buddies kneweach other reasonably well, e.g. work colleagues, or they were offered an opportunity to get toknow each other in a social setting, such as a leisure cycle ride group.

Ucycle Nottinghams leaflet to explain the concept of buddy biking and how to get involved

Rail:

Setting up cycle hire and repair facilities at stations (and other journey attractors) potentiallyoffers the operator thousands of passing customers, especially if the centres are in highvisibility locations near the main entrance as at Leeds and Southport. Placing facilities remotefrom the main entrances and concourse significantly reduces the passing trade and requiresadditional high-profile publicity such as station banners, on-street advertising and direct mail toseason ticket holders in order to generate trade. The premises themselves should be attractively

fitted out and well lit to reassure users of the quality.


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Hire fleet at Southport Cycle Centre

Good practice advice: The target audience must have a very positive and professional

engagement with cycling right from the start.

Invest in your project up-front in quality initial engagement opportunities, ensuring these areappropriate and likely to appeal to the target audience. Be aware of their starting point re cyclingknowledge and experience, and any constraints they face, e.g. time, financial, or family commitments.While this approach is likely to require quite a heavy up-front investment of resources, experiencesuggests that this will pay dividends in terms of an engaged and malleable target audience. Allied tothis point, the initial exposure experience needs to be open, voluntary and non-threatening to theparticipants, enabling them to try before they buy, ideally in a fun and sociable setting, and samplethe offer without feeling under pressure to commit to anything.


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3.2 Obtain feedback from existing cyclists and would-be cyclistsLesson: The views of both existing and would-be cyclists should be considered in the decision-making process about how the project evolves. The former will have valuable insight into whatcyclists want and need. The latter will help identify the barriers to cycle use among the target

audience, i.e. non- and irregular cyclists.

Workplaces:

A good number of the FNS workplace projects engagedBicycle User Groups (BUGs) to help inform theirdecision-making. In some locations there was an existingBUG, in others one was established. Largerorganisations, with disparate staff working patterns, didencounter some problems trying to convene meetings attimes to suit all who wished to attend. Staff intranet sitesand e-mail helped bridge such communication issues

giving all those interested an opportunity to contribute.Rolling BUG meetings in a staff canteen, to whichcontributors come-and-go during their lunchtime workedin some cases to facilitate wider participation amonglarger employee groups. Although for this to function thestructure needs to be more drop-in with your ideas and /or for an update, rather than trying to follow a set agenda.

Bournemouth Hospitals BUG branding

The Derriford Hospital BUG grewfast and has proved to be a verysuccessful tool in shaping the Cycle

Derriford project. For example, ithas helped us identify severalchanging rooms with capacity toaccommodate new lockers andchanging facilities. Nearly half ofour regular cyclists who respondedto a recent survey indicated that theexistence of the BUG hasinfluenced them to cycle to work,not least as they now feel membersof an appreciated group. (Project

Manager, Derriford Hospital)


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At the James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough, a BUG meeting was allocated to the monitoringproject and this enabled an investigation of what users wanted as a resource from the hospital.A series of open- ended questions and a voting system were used to produce the representationbelow:

BUG members votes on what works best (Middlesbrough)

This was based on a group workshop exercise using voting and user-determined categorisation. Thesample size was not large but this was countered by there being a clear understanding of the task. Italso took place at a site with a good provision of bike parking already in place.

Leisure:

Many of the FNS project teams included both experienced and inexperienced cyclists. As arepresentative from Cycle Xtra pointed out: This helped us look at issues from a variety ofperspectives. The existing cyclists bring knowledge of how to do things. The non-cyclists aregood at highlighting the barriers that prevent people cycling, which enables you to come upwith solutions to tackle those.

Cycle Devon and Pedal Peak District teams used established local cycling groups both leisureand campaigning as sounding boards to bounce ideas off and to help deliver aspects of theirprogrammes, such as led rides, Dr Bike sessions, and cycle training. The programmes benefitedfrom relevant local knowledge, e.g. good leisure ride routes for beginners, as well as increased

human resource capacity; while the cycling groups welcomed an opportunity to promote theirobjectives, and might even have secured a few new members.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Flexible work hours

Park and Ride

Help with cycling insurance

car exclusion zone

incentives such as a bus pass or taxi for

Improved bicycle parking

emphasise benefits such as fresh air and saving

Training and maintenance lessons (inc for car

Place to get changed and store clothes

Monetary incentives and subsidies

Showers

Change car parking rules and costs

Better conditions for cyclists on the roads outside


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Good practice advice: Involve both cyclists and non-cyclists in the decision-making processessurrounding the project. The former are usually well motivated to become involved, and justneed constructive opportunities to do so. Drawing out the views of the latter is likely to requirefacilitation, but this will be rewarded with a programme that demonstrates it is genuinely

responding to the needs and concerns of its target audience of would-be and occasional cyclists.


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3.3 Use appropriately tailored communicationsLesson: The communication tools employed need to acknowledge the audience type, while themessages should vary over time to tie in with wider developments and influences, such as areduction in car parking spaces or seasonal changes. It is the norm that the recipient will need to

hear a message numerous times before it sinks in. Moreover, take advantage of opportunitieswhen your target audience is particularly susceptible to travel behaviour change, e.g. starting anew job, moving house, adversely affected by petrol, car-parking or public transport price hikes.

Another important consideration regarding communication is to ensure the tools selected enable two-way flow between the delivery organisation and the projects target audience. This is essential tofacilitate feedback from the customer to the service provider, to determine how the project is unfoldingand thus enable refinements where necessary.

Websites and social media:

Several projects used websites and other e-media as their key information providing tools.

This is a very cost-effective way to communicate with a wide audience, and overcomes thephysical and time constraints that can impact on meetings. On-line forums and blogs can alsohelp people to make initial contact with each other prior to participating in cycling, providingreassurance about what to expect.

Pedal Peak District engaged social media specialists to assist with marketing their campaignvia Facebook, Twitter, search engine optimisation, and the placing of blogs and stories onforums and sites likely to be used by (at least a segment of) their target audience. Online banneradverts appeared on over 50 sites ranging from Countrylife, Golf Monthly, AmateurPhotographer, Women and Home, Rugby World, Living, Marie Claire, the Field as well as allthe neighbouring town local papers.

A story about the Pedal Peak District project placed on the Ordnance Survey website

The north-east FNS workplaces developed a regional website providing a one-stop shop forinformation on all aspects of cycling to work at the NHS Trust sites involved, including

journey planning, relevant discounts, promotional events, the availability of training, etc. Thisis internet rather than intranet based, in response to the fact that only around 40% of staff at a


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typical hospital have access to a PC at work. Plus feedback indicated that many employees feltmore inclined to peruse information relating to their commuting journeys in the comfort oftheir own homes, where they could also discuss choices with their families. Furthermorehaving an independent website, separate to the Trust intranet meant that there was moreflexibility to be innovative with the content and format.

The Cycle Derriford team took ownership of the Trusts rather neglected staff travel planwebsite. The revamped version, not surprisingly, included a good deal of promotionalinformation about cycling.

Derriford Hospitals travel plan pages, including information on Cycle Derriford

Nudging people into direct contact:

As with anything new, taking the initial move to try cycling can be difficult and daunting, and somepeople may require a nudge to get them started. Projects approached this in a number of differentways.

An enterprising member of the Cycle Xtra staff wasnt getting much interest from the fliers andposters distributed around his host Hoseasons site, so decided a little more high-profilemarketing was required. He placed a small, glittery pink bike near the holiday parks receptiondesk, complete with an invitation along the lines: Want to learn to ride this, for free? Agaggle of little girls, parents and siblings in tow, were soon beating a path to his door!

Ucycle Nottinghams Everything you wanted to know about cycling but were too afraid to askclinic proved very popular as it was clearly aimed at filling the knowledge gaps of those whoknew little, if anything, about cycling but were curious in a non-intimidating environment.The project also considered where messages about cycling would stand-out and get the bestchance of being read. They ensured they had a presence at student freshers fairs, information

about the project was included in new staff in

Documents

2011-04-20 Final Report Issue Complete