Making personalised travel planning work.

In early 2006, the UK Department for Transport appointed Integrated Transport Planning Ltd to undertake a research study into the effectiveness of Personalised Travel Planning techniques (also known as Individualised Travel Marketing). Personalised Travel Planning (PTP) is a targeted marketing technique, providing travel advice, information, motivation and incentives based on an understanding of personal activity and travel patterns. PTP provides individuals or households with detailed advice and the necessary information in order to make journeys using more sustainable modes (walk, cycle, public transport, car share) and/or to reduce the number, frequency or length of journeys made. The 6-month study will conclude at the end of June 2007, with the outcomes to include a research study report and best practice guide, seeking to better inform the future growth of PTP in the UK market. Supported by an international expert panel, comprising leading practitioners and academics, the study will comprise both desk based research and on-site case study interviews (covering both UK pilots and worldwide established projects), and will form an important addition to the UK Governments knowledge on smarter choices transport initiatives. It will challenge the headline data reported to date, and seek to better understand the influencing factors of travel behaviour change. The paper would summarise the findings of the study, identifying the key processes in delivering a successful PTP campaign, the influencing factors associated with successful delivery, key risks, political and financial barriers and solutions, and an informed view of the likely future direction of PTP in the UK. It would also seek to examine the detail of the social and behavioural theories which underpin the different approaches to PTP, and the conditions in which these approaches are known to be successful. It will also outline the approaches to evaluating such complex interventions, and the interactions with other transport initiatives within a given geographical area. The paper would also provide the opportunity to launch the published best practice guidance to a wider audience. For the covering abstract see ITRD E137145.