| The SWITCH Project – replacing short car journeys with active travel | |
| Brief Description | The SWITCH project aims to promote engagement with active travel methods for the population and the subsequent reduction of car travel. Active modes, like walking and cycling are the basis of healthy, environmentally friendly multimodal travel behaviour with synergies to public transport. The project uses personalised travel planning approaches to encourage people to switch car trips to active modes. The innovation comes from a) the combination of tried and tested personalised travel planning approaches, b) their application to target groups in life changing moments on a large scale, c) the application of ICT solutions like Smartphone applications and d) the use of public health arguments to motivate behavioural change. It allows for the creation and implementation of local campaigns to raise awareness for the benefits of active travel, as well as providing actual incentives and personalised travel plans for the population in order to engage more with walking and cycling. |
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| European Country(s) | Austria, Belgium, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom |
| Field | Moving: Cycling, Moving: Walking |
| Type | Intervention |
| Impact | Health, Environmental sustainability |
| Status | Completed |
| Target Group | General population |
| Evaluation | Yes |
| Level | Local, Regional |
| INHERIT Perspective | The SWITCH project is included within INHERIT as it has proven to be a very effective initiative which promotes “switching” to more active and sustainable ways of transportation. The piloted interventions in the 5 cities provided very positive results from their citizens’ engagement with alternative modes of transport, which led to fewer car trips and reduced pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. Promoting similar initiatives in other cities can have a major cumulative effect for the promotion of more sustainable transportation modes, and effectively protect the environment and people’s wellbeing and health. |
| Detailed description PDF filename | Download file |
| Relevant links | https://www.switchtravel.eu/about |
| Contact | Wiebke Unbehaun University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Institute for Transport Studies Peter-Jordan-Str. 82, 1190 Wien Tel. +43 1 47654 85614 wiebke.unbehaun@boku.ac.at |
