Competition for £20m Sustainable Travel Transition Year Fund launched

With the multi-year Local Sustainable Transport Fund coming to an end in March, many have been wondering what the future of smarter choices in England might be, and indeed whether there is a future. The prospect of so many excellent projects coming to an end leads us to reflect on what has been achieved. Steer Davies Gleave is proud to have supported a number of authorities deliver their LSTF projects, including developing eight multi-modal journey planners during the LSTF period, delivering significant travel behaviour change.

Working with York City Council our journey planner research found that over a third of users increased their use of bus services and over 1 in 5 increased their use of active modes. A fifth also indicated that they had reduced their use of a car as well.

For Cambridgeshire County Council we delivered PTP around Huntingdon resulting in a 15% reduction in car mileage on weekdays and a 36% decrease on weekends. Car mileage for journey to work trips (both weekday and weekend) decreased by 31%.

So, it is good news that the £20m Sustainable Travel Transition Year funding competition has been launched. The competition launch came just a few days after the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill received Royal Assent, bringing with it new powers for local government in England and greater autonomy over transport and measures to influence travel behaviour. Transition Year guidance encourages consortium bids; yet another clear indication, if one was needed, that joint working between cities, local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships is set not only to continue but to accelerate through 2016.

Back in 2011, Steer Davies Gleave supported a number of authorities with their successful LSTF bids, including Transport for Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire County Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. We have also been supporting LEPs and local authorities with Growth Deal business cases, providing us with have a strong track record of securing scarce public sector funds for transport projects.

Steer Davies Gleave is acutely aware of the need for schemes to demonstrate value for money and pride ourselves in achieving funding success for our clients. If you would like to know more about how we can support you in securing or implementing Transition Year funding, please get in touch.

Read more about SDG's work with the LSTF:
LSTF legacy in Lincolnshire
Lessons learnt from Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) projects
How the LSTF is providing innovative online tools for changing travel behaviour