December 2020
This technical report describes the research methodology used to facilitate the Brighton & Hove climate assembly. It contains the materials that assembly members were shown to help them make informed recommendations.
The materials cover:
This report is intended to be read alongside the main report, which discusses the assembly findings in depth.
Brighton & Hove City Council declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in December 2018 and has committed to becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030.
To help shape how Brighton & Hove City Council combat climate change over the next decade, Ipsos MORI was commissioned to run a citizens’ assembly.
A citizens’ assembly is a body of selected citizens who meet to learn about, discuss, and make recommendations on a particular issue through a process of structured deliberation.
The assembly focused on transport strategy and how this can help the city towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Carbon dioxide emissions from transport account for one third of the total emissions from Brighton & Hove, and they are reducing more slowly than emissions from housing and industry. The city council therefore chose transport as its focus for this assembly.
The assembly took place across 5 sessions in September, October, and November. It was held online, as the COVID-19 pandemic meant that face-to-face meetings of large groups were unsafe. Given that Brighton & Hove City Council had declared this topic an emergency, postponing the assembly to a time when the pandemic had subsided was not an option.
The assembly considered the key question, “How can we step up actions to reduce transport related carbon emissions in the city?”
Materials were developed in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council with oversight and input from the advisory board.
The advisory board provided check and challenge throughout the process, suggested expert speakers, and contributed to planning and the development of materials, particularly stimulus materials used in the discussions with assembly members.
The board brought together diverse views and perspectives from academics, specialists, activists, local councillors, and council officers.
They met 5 times between July and December 2020, with ongoing communication between meetings throughout the process.
Recruitment was conducted by the Sortition Foundation, which specialises in bringing together randomly selected, representative groups of people.
In line with best practice, assembly members were recruited through a stratified random process, creating a group of 50 people reflecting the demographics of the city’s population.
A range of selection criteria were applied:
Anyone aged 16 and over who was permanently resident in the UK, and who lived at an address that received the invitation could apply, though only one person per household could be selected.
The postcode address file was used as a basis for mailing out 10,000 invitation letters across the city. From the 702 applications received, a randomised process selected people who fitted the demographic quotas. At the end of this chapter is a table that shows the target quotas and demographics of those recruited.
Note that we over-sampled from BAME communities, almost doubling the 11% population figures to 20%, to ensure better representation of the diversity inherent within this broad statistical category.
Some people were not allowed to apply:
In line with good practice in encouraging full participation, assembly members were each paid a £250 honorarium, recognising the time they gave up in order to take part, and ensuring that a diverse range of people – including those on low-incomes or with caring responsibilities – could take part.
The profile of attendees for each session can be found in the appendix, which illustrates the demographic breakdown of the assembly members.
The assembly took place online – the first assembly in the UK to be held entirely online – across 5 sessions between late September and early November:
The first session, on the evening of 22 September, focused on engaging assembly members, making them comfortable with the technology and the group environment, and setting the scene for the rest of the assembly.
Assembly members heard presentations on climate change, public health, and the local context for sustainable transport, and discussed what they thought are the biggest climate change challenges.
The second and third sessions, on the evening of 6 October and the morning of 10 October, made up the learning phase of the assembly. During these sessions, members were presented with more information and had the opportunity to ask questions of expert presenters.
In session 2, on 6 October, assembly members considered:
In session 3, on 10 October, assembly members talked about:
The deliberation and recommendation-forming stage of the assembly, sessions 4 and 5, took place a month later on the evening of Thursday 5, and the morning of Saturday 7 November. This break between sessions 3 and 4 allowed assembly members to reflect on what they had learned, before coming back to deliberate and develop recommendations.
In session 4, on 5 November, assembly members heard presentations on behaviour change and the future of transport. They discussed the interventions they would and would not support being implemented, their conditions for those interventions, and the trade-offs that would need to be considered.
In session 5, on 7 November, the assembly discussed and agreed on headline recommendations and the conditions that need to be applied to any intervention for them to be acceptable to the community of Brighton & Hove.
At the beginning of each session, assembly members gathered in plenary for introductions and expert presentations.
They then moved between the main plenary session and smaller breakout discussion groups of 5 to 6 assembly members a number of times during each session.
During plenary sessions, facilitators were invited to pose questions from their group to the expert presenters.
The assembly members were split into 10 breakout groups of 5 members each. In each of the 10 breakout groups, discussion was facilitated by experienced moderators from Ipsos MORI, who used a detailed discussion guide to structure the conversations and ensure all the topics were covered uniformly.
A professional note-taker was also assigned to each group to transcribe the discussions, and many groups also had an observer (usually either staff and/or councillors from Brighton & Hove City Council, or a member of the advisory board).
While assembly members and facilitators all appeared on screen, so they could see and talk to each other, note-takers and observers were asked not to use their camera, and to remain muted throughout, to ensure they posed as little distraction to assembly members as possible.
Assembly members were assigned to a different breakout group for each of the 5 sessions, to ensure they were exposed to as wide a range of opinions as possible from fellow members, with these groupings arranged to represent people from a range of ages and genders.
Following each of the sessions, a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document was compiled by the Ipsos MORI team. Questions were passed to staff and presenters to answer and then published in the public domain.
These FAQs, along with videos of the expert presentations and summaries of the advisory board meetings, were all published on the assembly website.
Before the penultimate session on 5 November, the Ipsos MORI research team analysed data from the previous sessions and pulled out ten key recommendations.
These were put to the assembly members, who were asked to tweak and prioritise them in order to ensure that their views were reflected accurately.
The research materials used across the assembly sessions – the discussion guides and stimulus materials used by facilitators, as well as all other supporting materials and more methodological details – can be found in the accompanying technical report.
These materials were produced by the Ipsos MORI team, with input from the city council and the advisory board.
When considering these findings, it is important to bear in mind what a qualitative approach provides. It explores the range of attitudes and opinions of participants in detail. It provides an insight into the key reasons underlying participants’ views.
Findings are descriptive and illustrative, not statistically representative. Often individual participants hold somewhat contradictory views – often described as ‘cognitive dissonance’.
Participants are provided with detailed information over the course of the 5 sessions, and thus become more informed than the general public – particularly so given the highly immersive nature of a citizens’ assembly.
It is important to note that the opinions of the assembly members presented here represent their belief in what is true, regardless of what may or may not be happening in Brighton & Hove.
For example, some of the assembly’s recommendations and associated conditions may resemble a service that already exists in the city.
The fact that this is unknown to assembly members is, itself, a key finding from the process which should be reflected in the city council’s response.
The final target profile was agreed between the city council, the advisory board, and Ipsos MORI to reflect of the demographic diversity of Brighton & Hove, while ensuring representation across all key groups.
| Target % | Target number | % recruited | Number recruited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 50 | 25 | 46 | 23 |
| Female | 50 | 25 | 52 | 26 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 100 | 50 | 100 | 50 |
| Target % | Target number | % recruited | Number recruited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 24 | 20 | 10 | 22 | 11 |
| 25 to 44 | 37 | 18 | 38 | 19 |
| 45 to 64 | 28 | 14 | 23 | 12 |
| 65 to 74 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
| 75+ | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 100+ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 100 | 50 | 100 | 50 |
| Target % | Target number | % recruited | Number recruited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area 1 - Woodingdean and Rottingdean Coastal | 10 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| Area 2 - Queens Park, Hanover and Elm Grove, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, East Brighton | 22 | 11 | 24 | 12 |
| Area 3 - Hove Park, Withdean, Patcham, Preston Park, Hollingdean and Stanmer | 24 | 12 | 28 | 14 |
| Area 4 - Central Hove, Goldsmid, Brunswick and Adelaide, Regency, St. Peter’s and North Laine | 24 | 12 | 26 | 13 |
| Area 5 - North Portslade, South Portslade, Hangleton and Knoll, Wish, Westbourne | 20 | 10 | 16 | 8 |
| Total | 100 | 50 | 100 | 50 |
| Target % | Target number | % recruited | Number recruited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional occupation or technician | 27 | 13 | 28 | 14 |
| Operator or elementary occupation | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Service occupation | 15 | 7 | 14 | 7 |
| Skilled trade | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Student | 13 | 6 | 14 | 7 |
| Not in the labour force - retired | 8 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
| Not in the labour force - other | 19 | 9 | 16 | 8 |
| 75+ occupation | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Total | 101 | 50 | 100 | 50 |
| Target % | Target number | % recruited | Number recruited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 68 | 34 | 68 | 34 |
| No | 32 | 16 | 32 | 16 |
| Total | 100 | 50 | 100 | 50 |
| Target % | Target number | % recruited | Number recruited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White British | 71 | 35 | 72 | 36 |
| White Other | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| BAME | 20 | 10 | 20 | 10 |
| Total | 100 | 50 | 100 | 50 |
| Target % | Target number | % recruited | Number recruited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Yes, limited a little | 10 | 5 | 12 | 6 |
| No | 81 | 40 | 80 | 40 |
| Total | 100 | 50 | 100 | 50 |
Assembly members received the following welcome pack before the first meeting.
Thank you for agreeing to become part of Brighton & Hove City Council’s climate assembly.
Brighton & Hove City Council declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in December 2018 and has committed to becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030. The city council wants to work together with residents and businesses to develop recommendations for action to reduce carbon emissions.
The key purpose of this climate assembly is to bring together residents to hear evidence, discuss, and make recommendations to inform development and delivery of a programme of projects, aiming to tackle climate change and transition the city to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Carbon dioxide emissions from transport are around one-third of the total emissions from Brighton & Hove, and they are reducing more slowly than emissions from housing or industry.
Consequently, this climate assembly will focus on transport and the important question ‘How can we step up actions to reduce transport related carbon emissions in the city?
The city council is developing a new Local Transport Plan for the city – to set out our vision and priorities for transport and travel across the city to 2030, and what is required to deliver these.
The climate assembly will explore what sort of policy interventions the city council might include in the new Local Transport Plan and will inform its development.
“Thank you so much for taking part in the first Climate Assembly in Brighton & Hove.
The decisions we make about how we tackle climate crisis will have an impact on all of our lives. Whether it’s our lives, our health, city or wildlife – they will all be affected. So it’s important we hear what matters to you.
While there are so many topics to cover, the assembly you are part of will bring together a wide range of people to discuss an important issue in our city: transport and pollution.
We know that the way we travel around our city is important – and we are very grateful for the time you will spend examining this in the next few weeks.
As a participant, your feedback is crucial and will help to shape decisions made in our city. At the end of this process, a report on the findings of the assembly will be produced. That report will offer recommendations for action by the council.
Once again, thank you for your participation as we face down the challenge of climate crisis. We all must play our part, and we look forward to the findings of this important assembly – one that will make a difference now and for generations to come.”
A citizens’ assembly brings together a randomly selected group of people who broadly represent the entire community.
The people who attend will listen to evidence from a range of experts, learn about key issues, discuss them with one another, and then make collective recommendations about what should happen and how things should change.
Due to the uncertainty of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to run the citizens’ assembly virtually using the online platform Zoom, rather than face-to-face.
We did not want to take any unnecessary risks and felt that it was better to seize the moment rather than wait until we can safely meet face-to-face.
You will be able to view all supporting materials, such as recordings of presentations, slide packs, and summary documents – all from the comfort of your home.
As a member of the citizens’ assembly you will be meeting over 5 virtual sessions. During these virtual sessions you will learn about some possible interventions to reduce transport-related carbon emissions from experts.
Through discussion and voting exercises, you will be invited to consider the trade-offs and prioritise a range of recommendations for reducing emissions and making transport and travel more sustainable.
At the end of the process, Ipsos MORI will produce a report outlining the final recommendations. The report from the climate assembly will be presented to the city council in early 2021 and will be used to inform how transport can work for everyone in the city and reduce carbon emissions.
Climate change, sometimes called global warming, is caused by human activity rather than changes in climate that are part of Earth's natural cycle.
Scientific evidence shows that the planet is warming, and that human activity is the main contributor to this warming. The UK is already affected by rising temperatures.
17 of the 18 warmest years on record have occurred in the 21st century and each of the last 3 decades have been hotter than the previous one.
The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather describes the conditions of the atmosphere day by day, while climate is how the atmosphere “behaves” over relatively long periods of time.
When we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term average of daily weather.
Global warming is causing the Earth’s average surface temperature to increase. This is not only making heatwaves and droughts more likely, but also causing changes to natural climate systems.
These changes are making extreme weather events more likely and more severe. For example, storms are becoming more intense, moving slower and taking longer to die down.
Because of the UK and Ireland’s maritime location, we are likely to get more rain and wind as a result of climate change.
The Earth’s atmosphere naturally traps the sun’s warmth and prevents it all escaping into space. This is known as the greenhouse effect and is necessary for life to exist on Earth.
But humans have added extra greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. These gases come from burning fossil fuels for things like electricity and heat, and fuel for vehicles and planes.
All this extra carbon needs to go somewhere. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, land plants and the ocean have taken up about 55% of the extra carbon people have put into the atmosphere, while about 45% has stayed in the atmosphere.
Plants need carbon dioxide to live. Plants and forests remove and store away huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.
But the problem is, there’s only so much carbon dioxide they can absorb, and this amount is getting less as more and more forests are cut down across the world, largely to produce our food.
Carbon dioxide lasts for many thousands of years in the atmosphere, so the concentration of CO2 keeps rising; in 2020 it is 412 parts per million.
To stop the climate getting even warmer, greenhouse gas emissions from human activity must be cut.
In 2015, almost every country in the world signed a document promising to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, known as the Paris Agreement.
The aim is to limit the average global temperature to 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures. If possible, countries pledged to aim for a 1.5°C limit.
In December 2018, Brighton & Hove City Council declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and committed to become a carbon neutral city by 2030.
This is a very ambitious target and will need everyone’s participation. Some of the change in climate is not in our control, but we must be proactive to change what we can control and play our part in national and international efforts to meet the 1.5°C target.
To achieve the carbon neutral 2030 target, carbon dioxide emissions from the city of Brighton & Hove would ideally be cut to zero by 2030.
However hard we all try; some types of emissions will be very difficult to eliminate. So, we will have to ‘neutralise’ or ‘offset’ remaining emissions, through actions which remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
These could be projects like planting trees, enhancing natural habitats, or accelerating renewable energy. Brighton & Hove City Council is working on a carbon offsetting plan.
We will need to make sure that, wherever possible, the investment benefits the residents and economy of our city.
The Coronavirus lockdown meant most people stayed at home, while shops and workplaces were closed. As a result, patterns of energy use changed (“every day is like the weekend”, said the gas and electric suppliers) and in particular there were fewer cars on the roads and plane flights were cut by 80%.
Estimates vary but we may see a 5% to 10% cut in carbon emissions in 2020. However, as lockdown eases, there are fears that carbon emissions could rebound even higher than usual, as fewer people travel by public transport and individual car use increases.
This is true. But the rapid warming we’re seeing now can’t be explained by natural cycling. The kind of changes that would normally happen over hundreds of thousands of years are happening in decades.
Last year, the world’s leading climate scientists warned we only have 12 years to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5C and avoid climate breakdown. We’ve already seen devastating effects of climate change on food supplies and this will only get worse.
Industry is developing new techniques for storing electricity and managing demand at peak times meaning that even if the sun isn’t shining or it’s not blowing a gale, it’s still possible to rely on renewable energy sources.
There are several examples of species that have begun to adapt to climate change, but it’s a different story for many. Given the speed of climate change, it’s becoming impossible for many species to adapt quickly enough to keep up with their changing environment.
Despite being one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, China is currently one of the largest investors in renewables. The increase in investment has been in response to the rapid growth of green business and the need to clean up air pollution in its major cities. Climate change is a global issue and we all have a responsibility to step up to the climate crisis.
Find out more about climate change myths from WWF.
Global sea level has risen by around 20cm over the past century, likely faster than at any point in the last 2,000 years. Further rise this century is inevitable – how much depends on the amount of human greenhouse gas emissions.
Higher sea levels and large storm waves are putting a strain on coastal defences. In December 2019 part of the Albion groyne collapsed into the sea because of strong wind and rain, and at Seaford, the chalk cliff face has suffered several dramatic rock falls.
Climate change is expected to cause warmer, wetter winters, with more intense, heavy rainfall events, and greater risk of flash flooding. In North America and Europe, where long-term rainfall measurements exist, this change has already been observed.
Brighton & Hove can suffer particularly from muddy flooding, dumping eroded soil from the South Downs onto roads and drainage systems in the city. Mature trees can fall after heavy rain which loosens the roots and makes it easier for strong winds to blow them down.
By 2050 dry summers could result in up to 80% less water in some of the UK’s rivers and reservoirs, especially in the South East which already suffers from water stress.
Longer periods of drought could affect the quality and amount of groundwater supplies available to the city. 100% of Brighton & Hove residents’ drinking water comes from the Brighton Chalk Block aquifers, so it is vital we protect and improve the groundwater in this valuable natural resource.
The UK water sector is aiming for net zero emissions by 2030.
Climate change could be the greatest threat to health in the 21st century, with a range of conditions related to heat, extreme weather and air pollution predicted to rise. These stresses will amplify existing health problems.
Vulnerable people, including the elderly and children, will be at risk of increased heat exposure during heatwaves, especially in South East England.
A recent study in Brighton & Hove identified air pollution from transport as a contributory cause of more than 175 deaths a year in the city.
With rising temperatures, milder winters, and drier summers, we are seeing changes in the annual timing of flowering and the migration of birds and butterflies.
Different patterns of availability of food and water affects species’ ranges and breeding success. Pollinators like bees are particularly affected. Pollination, fertile soils and clean water all depend on healthy ecosystems.
A recent report on the state of nature in the UK found 41% of the country’s wildlife species had declined over the last 50 years, with 13% threatened with extinction. If climate change can be limited to a temperature rise of 1.5°C, the losses will be far lower.
The people and communities who are already affected by health issues, low income, air pollution and poor housing are likely to be worst affected by unchecked climate change.
A fair and inclusive city means creating resilient communities that can face these challenges. Young people in the city realise we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to halt the effects of climate change.
For all these reasons, Brighton & Hove City Council has declared a climate emergency and is committed to reducing carbon emissions. The citizens’ assembly will aid the council in deciding how to meet their net zero by 2030 target.
Participants will be paid £250 each; £50 after our first session in September, £100 after the 2 October sessions and £100 after the 2 November sessions.
The events will take place virtually using an online platform called Zoom. You will need access to stable broadband and a device (laptop/computer, tablet) with a camera.
If you have not already been in touch to ask for support with access and feel you would benefit from this, please get in touch.
[contact details for the project team have been removed]
You can access the privacy policy at any time by emailing the Ipsos MORI team.
Importantly, you need to know that:
We will get to discussing transport very quickly in the assembly, so please watch the following 2 videos about Climate Change. It’ll take 15 minutes.
Please read if you have time, but don’t worry if you can’t.
This discussion guide was used by Ipsos MORI facilitators to guide assembly members’ conversations in breakout groups.
Chair to introduce self, Ipsos MORI, and facilitators.
Thank participants for taking part in the Citizens’ Assembly.
Explain what a citizens’ assembly is.
Explain that each person present has something to bring to the assembly – we are keen to hear opinions from all and to that effect, will break up the Assembly into small groups, enabling all to express themselves.
Explain that the topic of the assembly and the key question: “How can we step up actions to reduce transport related carbon emissions in the city? What changes are we prepared to make as a city? What trade-offs are we prepared to make?”
Key objectives:
Reiterate we are not discussing whether climate change is happening; make reference to debunking the myths material.
Explain that all assembly members are citizens of Brighton & Hove, and collectively all assembly members (AMs) represent the profile of Brighton & Hove residents.
Explain to structure of the assembly – number of sessions, dates and times, what will happen in each session.
Role of Ipsos MORI – independent research organisation, here to facilitate.
Everything you say is confidential – Market Research Society rules.
Explain tone and nature of discussion:
Moderators introduce selves with AMs at their table.
Moderators to reiterate ground rules and check for objections/consent on the use of their data sent by email.
Ice breaker discussion.
Two presentations, 5 minutes each:
Moderators to establish which key question the group wants to ask about the preceding presentations.
Plenary 2: table feedback - 7.20pm to 7.30pm (10 minutes)
Facilitators to give their table’s key question – 30 seconds each.
2 to 3 minutes for each expert to address a question or 2.
Chair to introduce the break and timings.
Facilitators and chair to meet in separate breakout room to check in.
Two presentations, 5 minutes each
Moderators to establish which key question the group wants to ask about the preceding presentations.
Facilitators to give their table’s key question – 30 seconds each.
2 to 3 minutes for each expert to address a question or 2.
Chair to thank everyone for their contributions, remind AMs of next session (date and time), and outline what will happen next time.
Note to assembly that questions generated will be amalgamated and posed back to experts – we’ll share an FAQ document addressing key questions before the next session.
Mention that materials from today will be available online for those that wish to revisit anything.
These questions were taken from the transcripts of breakout groups, and from questions posed to expert speakers during session 1 and provided to expert speakers who responded.
They were compiled in the following document and provided to assembly members before session 2.
Firstly, I believe we should act now, in order to prevent this occurring through a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. But as we know sadly damage has already been done and sea levels will rise. To respond to this, we need to increase the awareness of this imminent issue, especially with our local council.
With everyday passing there will be numerous advances in science working towards facilitating a net zero emissions society.
An example of this have been our blue Brighton buses which are electrical, on this note I believe we should push for the entire fleet of buses to become fully electrical instead of only a select few.
In addition we can use apps such as Uber Pool and Turo to access car sharing which is more environmentally friendly than driving alone.
Ideally, we would be able to walk and cycle everywhere, but obviously this isn’t always possible so car sharing and public transport are the next best options.
It is crucial to get the youth involved as it is their future we are contributing to. When engaging the youth, it should be a medium they are familiar with such as social media. So, reposting and sharing helpful information is a brilliant way to grow awareness.
Also, whenever they are, try and make time to join the youth led climate change marches, this is a great way to show that you are supporting them and acknowledge the cause they are fighting for.
Admittedly this can be difficult to do but, just because it is difficult doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
I think it is necessary to reinforce the idea of creating a more environmentally friendly society as a whole and informing others that they make up a part of this society.
When everyone is making these changes then as a society it adds up and that ultimately leads to real important changes.
Firstly, it is necessary to say that nowhere in the world has ever made the changes required to the transport system at the scale and speed we now need it to happen.
I cannot point you to whole countries that have managed to reduce their car use by the amounts required because nowhere has restrained car use outside of towns and cities which is where so much car use takes place everywhere.
However, there are some very good examples of local success.
Switzerland and Germany are great examples of where public transport is planned and integrated. There are minimum service levels so that every village/town/city of a certain population has a minimum number of bus services per day or hour with guaranteed connectivity to the nearest city centre or transport hub, where buses and trains are timetabled to connect.
The fares structure is also set out so:
There are lots of examples on the continent such as Copenhagen, Groningen, and Freiberg where they have really stuck to a ‘transport hierarchy’ putting walking and cycling first, then public transport, and then the car.
To really reduce car ownership and use, this must be done consistently over wide areas, including in residential areas so that the car is the last resort for people.
But you really must be consistent and comprehensive – the whole city becomes ‘known’ for not making the car welcome in shopping areas and residential areas by changing the road layouts, taking space away from cars and making parking expensive.
Paris has something called the '15 minute city' or a ‘hyper local model’ where there is dedicated planning of every neighbourhood so that people can live and work locally, and every street has a cycle lane, with a huge amount of parking removed.
This is about thinking about what facilities and services are needed to be put/put back in places so that there are always local shops, parks, remote working hubs.
SUVs are taller, heavier cars with four-wheel drive that sit high on the road. Heavier cars are generally less fuel efficient and produce more carbon and air pollutants than a regular car.
Growth in sales of these vehicles is one of the main reasons that average new car carbon emissions have grown in the last few years. One in four of every car sold is now an SUV, whereas they were only about 10% of sales 10 years ago.
This means that despite some innovation in car engine technology and an increase in sales of hybrids and electric vehicles, carbon emissions from cars on the road are around the same level as 10 years ago.
I have been involved in some work which has estimated the total lifecycle emissions from different types of car sold in the UK, taking account of the emissions from producing the electric batteries for electric vehicles as well and here is a comparison:
SUVs are often ‘picked on’ because they do represent the fashion towards larger cars. However, any policy needs to be based on the CO2/km figures, not picking specifically on certain types of makes and model of cars.
The main way is to discourage these cars from entering – by having different parking charges according to the CO2/km of a vehicle or charging vehicles to come into certain areas.
The technology for this is becoming more and more straightforward – the vehicle registration plate of a vehicle can be picked up from cameras and this links straight to the make and model of a car and to the keeper’s address details, just like the congestion charge in London.
At the moment, each local authority in England does not have specific carbon reduction targets set down by the government. It is just the case that Net Zero means that everyone has to get to zero.
However, some places may have greater capacity to change aspects of their transport system, whereas others need to work harder on the agricultural sector or planting more trees.
So, it is not very useful to compare. Each place has to make very ambitious and quick cuts in all the areas they have control over.
As a country, we have a total amount of carbon emissions (the carbon budget) that we are allowed to ‘spend’ based on a fair allocation of the total amount that we know must not be exceeded globally if we want to avoid really harmful warming.
The ‘balancing’ means that any carbon that we emit over and above the total amount we have to try and literally remove from the atmosphere.
The main ways that this can be done is to plant trees. However, we do not have enough land or time to plant as much as we are likely to need to cope with the ‘overspend’ from aviation and some other things that are really difficult to get to zero.
So, other technologies are being tried which suck the carbon from the atmosphere and store it somewhere, usually underground. This is called carbon capture and storage. But so far, nowhere has managed to develop this technology ‘at scale’.
When we collect data on transport and when policy is made, it usually splits travel into ‘personal’ and ‘freight’.
Leaving air and shipping out of it for now, 60% of carbon is from personal travel done in cars and on public transport (with about a third of this done for getting to work + business travel), and about 35% in vans, lorries, and freight on the railways.
This 35% for ‘freight’ includes all kinds of shopping deliveries. So, it is true that we could reduce ‘personal’ travel by getting people to shop online but end up just moving the emissions around by creating lots of van movements.
However, over the longer term, as online shopping grows, the systems of supplying the parcels will get more and more efficient (plus vans are quite easy to move to electric) and this will be much more efficient than all the individual car trips involved in buying these goods.
It is better to shop online. The point about online shopping is that it will get more and more efficient as more people do it because the supermarkets will grow their network of warehouses, they will be able to combine more deliveries in local areas, buy newer electric vans.
We need to encourage this activity now, even if some individual journeys might have been better done by an individual car, in order for it to get more and more efficient as it grows.
For those that used to travel many times a week by car to work and they now work at home, this can have a big positive impact for both the individual (who can often use the commute time saved to do something healthier) and for congestion, air quality, and so on.
It can also mean that the roads are quieter so that some people are encouraged to walk, or cycle more than they would have done.
What the data is showing is that traffic by car, bus and train are all still down compared to their pre-Covid levels during the morning commute. But walking is up, and cycling is the same as before – in other words cycling has effectively bucked the trend.
However, car traffic across the day (lots of people zipping about for non-work reasons) is actually higher in some cases and van traffic may also be pretty much back to normal.
We must remember that the proportion of jobs (pre-Covid) that could be done from home is about 30%.
The danger is that in some places, more working from home is enough to make some public transport routes even less profitable than they were before, which could jeopardise non-car accessibility for the people who still rely on it.
So, on balance, working from home can be a good thing, but we need to be sure to support public transport if necessary.
This is a mixed picture so far. We have collected a lot of data from across England and Scotland and we are seeing differences in different places.
In many parts of the country, the proportion of people that are going to get a driving licence and a car already has them.
However, the centre of big towns and cities tend to be places where there is a lot of people with driving licences, but who never bothered to get a car.
They rely on walking, cycling, and public transport for their daily lives (and increasingly Uber, and so on) and use the train and plane for longer distance business and leisure trips.
However, it is these people who may be thinking of getting a car because they are kind of feeling ‘trapped’ in their neighbourhoods now without them.
We have to wait and see, but it could be that these tend to be the more wealthy urban people who used to fly a lot (because we see this pattern in the flying statistics – wealthy urbanites, often without cars, are the most frequent flyers) and so a lot of them may well be swapping high carbon flying for some carbon emissions from cars (which will actually mean they emit less carbon overall).
I agree. So far, we have had huge technological progress, but it has not cleared up some pressing issues.
Clearing up the roads in terms of air quality is unfortunately going to take time. Even if 100% of people who bought a new car from tomorrow bought an electric one, it would take 15 years before all the cars driving around on the road were electric because this is how long it takes to ‘swap out’ all the old cars.
And lorries and buses can have an even longer lifespan. So, there is a lot that electrification can do (although remember they still emit particulate emissions from their tyres and brakes), but it will take a long time.
This means that we have to reduce the amount of traffic and eliminate from certain places like retail streets and outside of schools.
Traffic Regulation Orders can be changed and would be subject to the legal process associated with doing so, which includes consultation.
Changes can occur in many different ways:
The bike lane that has been installed along the A259 is part of the council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and is part of its recovery programme.
It is a temporary facility to provide better infrastructure to encourage and enable safe and active travel.
The council is very keen to increase the uptake of electric vehicles in the city to help reduce the impact of vehicle emissions locally.
It is helping to do this by bidding for and investing funding in charging points across the city to support their use by residents and visitors, and over 200 lamppost chargers have now been installed.
In 2017 there were 200 electric vehicles in the city, by Quarter 2 2020 this had increased to 625 vehicles.
A key consideration will be the capacity of the power grid to support this increased energy consumption.
Bus services were deregulated by the government in 1985 allowing competition amongst local services.
Nearly all of the city’s services are now run commercially, and less than 2% of the city’s bus routes need to be supported by council subsidies because they are considered to be socially necessary.
Bus passenger journey numbers are now about 50 million per year, more than double the number in the mid-1990s.
The city’s transport network experiences varying daily, weekly, and seasonal demands for movement which exist of local and longer distance trips.
People will make their personal/family choices for different reasons – convenience, cost, accessibility, and so on.
The difficulty with managing visitor demand is that it will vary from day to day and season to season, and is not a regular trip like a journey to school or work.
We do not have the benefit of detailed data showing people’s choices for visits, other than through the two-yearly city’s visitor survey, but we are aware that the city’s transport system can become congested on certain days or times of the year.
The main alternatives to car trips over long distances to reach the city directly are train and coach. There is a small, informal park and ride site at Withdean Stadium.
The VisitBrighton website has travel information on how to get here.
The council is currently exploring the feasibility of introducing a ‘car-free’ city centre by 2023.
See response to the question above about interest in more electric cars.
There are a number of ways that areas with restricted access for vehicles can be managed, and this is being explored as part of the feasibility work for introducing a ‘car-free’ city centre by 2023.
A key consideration is the need for exemptions for essential users like residents, disabled people, businesses.
Measures can include physical barriers such as closures, or timed access periods using cameras or people to enforce, or by adopting a charging mechanism.
Changing road layouts can have a number of different effects on local areas depending on the circumstances. For example, reallocating road space can have an effect on parking and servicing provision but can increase passing trade too.
Increasing active travel can also have health benefits for employees and therefore productivity.
The council will engage and consult people on changes to seek their views and will often seek to identify the difference between the views of a business and an individual.
Some national research has shown the benefits and connections between cycling and the economy.
Brighton & Hove City Council’s target is to be carbon neutral by 2030. This is well ahead of the UK target, which is to be carbon neutral by 2050.
BHCC’s 2030 target is in line with the Paris Agreement, to keep global warming less than 2 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.
To match this ambition, we need to take action to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases as soon as possible.
Brighton & Hove City Council’s target to become a carbon neutral city by 2030 acknowledges that it will not be possible to cut carbon emissions to zero within the decade. For example, gas boilers have an average life of 15 years, so boilers being installed in 2020 will still be in use in 2035.
While the council, businesses and residents, need to do everything possible to cut emissions ourselves first, the council still needs to look at ways to ‘offset’ or ‘neutralise’ the carbon emissions that remain by 2030.
This is also known as “carbon offsetting”. One of the best ways to offset carbon is to plant trees, which capture carbon from the air and store it in their wood and roots. But the potential in Brighton & Hove to plant trees on a large scale across the city is limited.
At present, the council is investigating ways of keeping any investment in carbon offsetting local, so that even more carbon cutting action can take place in the city, while also benefiting residents and our local economy.
Reducing the need to travel will only be directly applicable to certain types of journey – work, shopping and so on. Visiting the city is a physical experience and therefore travel is part of that.
However, if we can make local journeys more easy by sustainable and active forms of transport, and therefore reduce shorter distance vehicle trips this can free up space for those journeys that are better suited to vehicles, and help create a less congested environment that people can enjoy.
Over a long period of time, the council has undertaken work with residents in parts of the city about personalised travel planning and their transport choices, and how they could change to more sustainable and active travel.
The focus of this work has more recently moved to need rather than choice, to support people to access facilities and services that will help them.
However, we do not have detailed information on people’s choices but they will vary for many different reasons. The primary reasons for car use will be convenience and ‘cost’.
There are national sources of data about how Covid-19 has changed travel has:
However, government instruction had clearly resulted in visible changes in the amount and type of travel in the city although some of these restrictions have been lifted, we only have anecdotal local information about this locally as no official surveys have been undertaken.
Brighton & Hove City Council’s emissions of greenhouse gases are based on the Scatter emissions tool.
This covers emissions from fuel combustion and use of grid-supplied energy for all transportation activities within the city boundary.
This includes part of the A27 and rail travel within the city boundaries, but it does not cover commuter journeys outside the city.
It also includes a figure for emissions from air travel, which is based on the city’s population.
Evidence from Southern Rail is that between 80% and 90% of journeys from Brighton to London are made by train.
In our area, trains run on electricity and so are one of the lowest-carbon forms of transport, except for cycling and walking.
There is even a project with Network Rail and community energy companies to power trains with electricity from solar panels.
Vehicle use has increased, and the government did advise/accept that there would be some greater dependency on car use for some journeys after the lockdown was lifted because of its original position on recommending that people should avoid using public transport, which has now changed.
Bus companies have been increasing their services and capacity and are providing positive information for bus passengers.
The city relies heavily on bus use to move around, and the council wants to help to ensure that this returns to pre-Covid levels as soon as possible.
Increased traffic levels can also affect people’s choices to use active travel because of safety.
This is what we need the citizens' assembly to help advise on.
2011 Census data show that approximately 60% of residents have access to one or more vehicles.
However, it is important to recognise that car ownership does not necessarily result in regular car use, and that the availability of that car will also have an effect on the travel choices of other household members.
A carbon budget describes the total amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted, while still giving a reasonable chance of restricting global warming below 2 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.
If carbon emissions continue at the same rate as now, then the total carbon budget will be used up within less than a decade. However, if carbon emissions are reduced, then we have longer to take action.
The Tyndall Centre has calculated carbon budgets for each local authority area in the UK.
The Tyndall Centre calculates that the city of Brighton & Hove has a budget of 5.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (from all sources) for the period 2020 – 2100.
At current rates of around 850,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted annually, this ‘budget’ would be used up in 7 years.
This discussion guide was used by Ipsos MORI facilitators to guide assembly members’ conversations in breakout groups.
10 new break-out groups to be pre-allocated during intro - up to 5 minutes waiting for participants to join/settle.
Chair to introduce self, Ipsos MORI, facilitators, note-takers and observers.
Chair to welcome participants back and cover:
Two 5-minute expert presentations:
Break-out 1: public transport - discussion - 6.30pm to 7.10pm (40 minutes)
As you will have read in the information pack sent to you, the council are exploring a few options.
Nothing is in place yet and they’re open to your ideas too. Let’s talk about each of them in turn and we can reflect on any questions we want to ask the speakers at the end.
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'mobility hubs'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'mobility hubs'
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'making buses faster and more reliable'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'making buses faster and more reliable'
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'more affordable bus travel'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'more affordable bus travel'
Plenary 3: Q&A
Facilitators to give their table'e key question/s - 30 seconds each
2 to 3 minutes for each expert to address a question or 2.
Note: 5 minutes leeway here for participants to come back late from their break.
Two x 5-minute expert presentations:
As before, let’s talk about each of the possible interventions the council have been thinking about in turn and we can reflect on any questions we want to ask the speakers at the end.
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'car-free or low traffic city centre'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'car-free or low traffic city centre'
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'road user charging'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'road user charging'
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'parking availability and cost'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'parking availability and cost'
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'electric cars'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'electric cars'
Facilitators to give their table's key question/s - 30 seconds each
2 to 3 minutes for each expert to address a question or 2.
Chair to thank everyone for their contributions, remind assembly members of next session (date and time), and outline what will happen next time.
Note to assembly that questions generated will be amalgamated and posed back to experts – we’ll share an FAQ document addressing key questions before we reach stage 3 in November.
Remind participants that materials from today will be available online soon for those that wish to revisit anything.
Ask participants to keep going back to FAQ documents and the information pack sent out. This is very much the learning phase so they should be reflecting on everything they’ve heard and starting to form an idea of what they may recommend.
The following advance reading was provided to assembly members before session 2 took place.
Brighton & Hove is home to 290,000 people, and this number is set to increase by 23,300 (8%) by 2030.
Source: Brighton & Hove Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019 to 2030.
Brighton & Hove hosts over 11 million visitors (including 9.5 million day-trippers) every year, which supports 21,000 tourism related jobs.
Source: Brighton & Hove Visitor Economy Strategy 2018 to 2023.
Around 1 in 4 residents in Brighton & Hove do not reach the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week.
Source: Brighton & Hove Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019 to 2030.
Air quality is below legal levels in some parts of the city; air quality management areas are in place in parts of the city where the council regularly review and assess levels of nitrogen dioxide – the boundaries of these levels are currently under review by the council.
Pollution causes over 170 early deaths each year in Brighton & Hove, and is linked to heart disease, respiratory diseases and some cancers.
Source: Brighton & Hove City Council leaflet, “Travel actively for air quality”
The city has the highest level of bus use in the UK outside of London, but bus journey times are increasing due to congestion, resulting in more uncertainty in journey times and increasing bus operating costs. This has an impact on fares and potentially the attractiveness of bus travel.
Source: Brighton & Hove Bus Network Review 2018.
Almost 40% of households in Brighton & Hove have no car. Just over 40% have one car per household and approximately 20% have 2 or more cars.
Source: 2011 Census briefing - transport.
There are around 625km of roads in city, of which there are around 40km of designated (permeant) cycle routes.
Although the most popular means of travelling to work is by car, comparatively few Brighton & Hove residents drive to work; 37% compared to 61% in the South East. Compared to 2001, 6% fewer residents drive to work.
Many residents choose an active means of getting to work. Around 1 in 4 (25%) of residents – almost double the national and regional averages – walk or cycle to work in Brighton and Hove (around 21% travelling on foot, around 5% cycling).
Buses are a popular way of getting to work with 14% using this mode of transport, compared to 5% in the South East and 8% in England.
Source: 2011 Census briefing - transport.
51% of children walk or cycle to school.
Around 1 in 3 children are currently driven to their primary school in the city.
Source: Brighton & Hove City Council leaflet, “Travel actively for air quality”
Low emission vehicles receive a 50% discount on parking permits.
The council has a surcharge in place for high emission vehicles to encourage a shift in vehicle type toward low emission vehicles.
200 new lamp post charging points for electric cars have been set up on streets across the city, as well as new rapid-charging hubs for taxis; funding has recently been received for more fast chargers to be installed.
In August 2020 the lamp post charging network was used 650 times by 126 unique users. It delivered 3,463 kWh of electricity (roughly 12,120 miles worth) which is the equivalent of 2,925kg kg of CO2 emissions savings.
An Ultra-Low Emission Zone is in place for buses within the area of Castle Square, North Street and Western Road (to Palmeira Square) – to the majority of buses already meet low emissions standards required by October 2024.
The council is supporting local businesses and organisations to use and switch to electric cargo (eCargo) bikes for deliveries of goods and services.
Introduction of 30 new double decker extended range hybrid electric buses, which will be set to run in zero-emissions mode every time they enter the city’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone. These buses will service up to 24 route 5 buses an hour running through the ULEZ, which equates to 133,104 emissions-free miles driven in the ULEZ a year. (Source: The Living Coast - ultra low emissions for Brighton & Hove)
The Big Lemon launched the UK’s first solar-powered bus in 2018, and currently has seven electric vehicles that are powered by solar panels on the roof of the bus depot at Black Rock.
Brighton & Hove’s City Plan (the council’s development plan for the city through to 2030) limits parking, and encourages the development of car-free and low car developments where people can travel by public transport, by bicycle, or on foot.
The council is encouraging people to reduce their use of cars by traveling on public transport – in particular, to use the city’s network of hybrid electric buses, which run in zero-emission mode within the city’s Ultra Low Emission Zone.
Improved bus lane CCTV enforcement helps keep bus lanes clear and buses moving and ensures that bus lanes are freed up for their intended use.
The council supports workplaces to promote sustainable travel to their employees, which helps to reduce the number of cars used for commuting by encouraging alternatives such as walking or cycling.
Brighton & Hove buses offer a helping hand scheme which enables bus users to discreetly and directly advise of any assistance they may require. The card can be particularly helpful for customers with non-visible disabilities.
Brighton & Hove buses are adopting the national ‘It’s everyone’s journey’ initiative’ which offers enhanced accessibility features on buses, specifically the audio-visual information, to make journeys better for disabled people; passengers and transport companies.
Lewes Road, which was amongst the worst areas for air quality in the city, has been turned into a sustainable transport corridor with bus, cycle and pedestrian improvements.
The council completed the Brighton Station Gateway scheme in 2015, to improve access and integration at the station forecourt.
Parts of central Brighton, and George Street in Hove, are pedestrianised.
The Valley Gardens area is being improved, providing more attractive public spaces and safer walking and cycling links.
The council has restricted motorised traffic outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times, via the School Streets initiative.
The Open Spaces Strategy is helping to shape the future of parks, and the council is developing a Trees Strategy to support this.
The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan will prioritise improvements to walking and cycling routes in the city, to encourage active travel.
The council runs or supports events promoting active travel including:
The Covid-19 Urgent Response Transport Action Plan outlines changes that support the city to recover in the short, medium, and long-term.
The council is regularly updating this action plan (last updated in September 2020) and the key principles are:
The ongoing action plan is supported by an Interim Covid-19 Response Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan which has led to the delivery of a number of temporary measures, including new cycle lanes on strategic routes and widening of pavements in busy locations.
The 3 key topics the council want your input on are:
There are other issues relating to transport, but these require the most change and will have the most impact on Brighton & Hove residents, which is why they’ve been chosen as the focus for discussion and recommendations.
Please read the following, in full, to support the learning phase of the assembly. If you would prefer to talk through it with one of the team, get in touch.
Increasing uptake of public transport could support the reduction in car use which is required to achieve net zero by 2030. While it is hoped that confidence using the public transport network will return, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented issues around uptake of public transport, and concerns that an increased number of people will make journeys by private vehicle instead.
Public transport can be an attractive alternative to private car use, particularly where cycling or walking is not possible. A number of measures can be considered for improving accessibility, reliability, and affordability of journeys, particularly by bus.
Local buses form the backbone of the transport network in the city; bus passenger journey numbers are now about 50 million per year, more than double the number in the mid-1990s.
Brighton & Hove is one of the few areas of the UK to see continued growth in local bus usage – the city has the highest level of bus use in the UK outside of London.
A full double-decker bus can take up to 75 cars off the road. Many of the city’s buses are now extended range electric buses, hybrid electric buses or solar powered electric buses (Big Lemon Buses). (Source: Brighton & Hove City Council leaflet, “Travel actively for air quality”)
The electricity used to power these buses is generated by the solar panels on the roof of the bus depot.
The city has a total of eight railway stations which are well used. Brighton station is one of the top 10 busiest stations outside of London in terms of passengers. (Source: Office of Rail and Road, Station usage 2018 to 2019 factsheet)
Measures should be supported by further increasing step free access across the public transport network (including bus stop access and interchange locations) to deliver improved accessibility across the public transport network.
Many of the journeys we make require the use of different forms of travel, particularly public transport.
The convenience of switching between for example train and bicycle, or bus and car share vehicles, is a key factor in deciding whether to travel by private car or not.
At present, many visitors travelling to Brighton & Hove do not have an attractive or realistic alternative to driving to the city from where they start their journey.
Currently around 41% of visitors arrive to the city by private car but only around 6% use their car once in the city. (Source: VisitBrighton, Brighton & Hove Visitor Survey 2018)
In order to successfully achieve a low traffic city we must look to provide alternative routes into the city. And to reduce the incoming traffic overall, other measures need to be considered.
One option is mobility hubs (either on the edge of or within urban areas). These are locations providing facilities where people can easily interchange between different modes of transport.
For example, providing a range of onward travel options at railway stations, including bus and taxi as well as bike and e-bike hire provision.
Also, smaller hubs could be provided in local neighbourhoods where there is an opportunity to link car club vehicles, shared bikes or e-bikes, and local bus links, and provide a collection point for small deliveries.
For as long as car parking remains available in the city, driving into and parking in the city will continue to be a convenient option for people wanting to come to Brighton & Hove.
Car parks (offering free or low-cost parking) are generally located on the outskirts of the city, from where a dedicated express and frequent bus service (or a rail service) operates to and from the city centre (often termed park and ride).
In addition to bus services, they can also provide shared e-bikes and electric vehicle charging points.
Park and ride could benefit the city centre if it was implemented alongside the removal of city centre car parking.
For people to consider using a park and ride scheme, the option of parking within a city centre would need to be adjusted.
However, park and ride can have a big impact on the landscape in which it is situated – for example in the context of Brighton & Hove, park and ride may impact the South Downs National Park.
While zero emission buses would help reduce carbon emissions, the overall impact of park and ride schemes on carbon emissions is minimal.
Some research has indicated that only a portion of park and ride users’ car trips are shortened and that it causes an overall increase in car use, combined with reductions in public transport use and less active travel. (Source: UWE Bristol - the effectiveness of park-and-ride)
Lastly, although park and ride could help reduce the number of people parking in the city centre, feasibility studies have indicated that there are currently no suitable sites available for this to be a viable solution in Brighton & Hove.
The bus is particularly important in the city since average household car ownership levels are the lowest in the UK outside of London; just over one-third of households do not have access to a car, although this is much lower in suburban areas and much higher in more central neighbourhoods. (Source: ONS 2011 Census data, Table QS416EW)
In single car households, if the car is used by one person, for example to get to work, the rest of the family is then reliant on buses or walking and cycling to get around.
To be an attractive (particularly to those with access to a private car) travel option, bus journey times need to be competitive compared to other modes of travel.
However, bus journey times are increasing due to congestion, resulting in reduced certainty about journey time and increasing bus operating costs, which impact on fare levels.
Average bus speeds on the majority of bus routes in the city are less than 10mph during rush hour. (Source: Brighton & Hove Bus Network Review 2018)
The vast majority of local bus routes travel via the city centre meaning that many cross-city journeys are slow and inconvenient (often requiring a change of bus) compared to a journey by car.
The city already has a number of bus priority measures in place including:
Also, the introduction of contactless payments and more buses with centre doors (for exiting) helps to keep services moving more quickly.
A package of additional priority measures could help to increase the reliability of local bus services.
These may include:
To switch more journeys to public transport, journey costs need to be competitive relative to the car, for which the overall cost of making an individual journey is not always apparent.
Cheaper bus fares are commonly suggested in transport and travel surveys in the city as something that would encourage more sustainable travel.
Unlike using a car, the cost of bus travel is very much dependent on the size of the group or family travelling.
The cost of bus travel in Brighton & Hove is higher than in London, however in London the services are heavily subsidised by Transport for London.
Current fares in Brighton & Hove are generally comparable, or lower than, other similar sized cities across the country, with a good service and frequency offered. Over 85% of bus passengers have a frequency of every 10 minutes or better. (Source: Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Ltd)
The council has developed a strong partnership with local bus companies, however does not have direct influence over fare levels.
The majority of bus services in the city are provided commercially (in other words, at no cost to the council) and the fares are set by the companies.
Some people (including persons aged 60+) already benefit from free travel, and discounts are in place for others including young people and students. Also, the cost of bus travel can be reduced through the range of tickets, passes and deals on offer.
If lowering fares increases demand, there will be a need to increase capacity within the bus network.
The Municipality of Bremen has created a network of mobility hubs or “mobilpunkt” in the public realm, starting in the city centre and along transport corridors as early as 2003, and expanding into residential and more suburban neighbourhoods over the past few years.
These offer on-street interchange between car sharing, public transport and cycling; in essence comprising space for car sharing services situated next to bus/tram stops, with cycle parking and/or cycle hire provided.
The network currently consists of more than 40 “mobilpunkt” – 10 of which are larger, centralised hubs while the remainder are smaller in scale and serve as micro-hubs in neighbourhoods where daily trips start.
This network will be continuously expanded by 8 to 10 new hubs each year to ensure equality of coverage throughout the city.
Locations link the extensive tram system and local buses to shared mobility services and cycling infrastructure with space for car club services at the core of the mobility hub. Other cities in Germany have since copied the model to implement their own systems.
In recent research, it was proven that, in Bremen, each station-based club car vehicle removes 16 vehicles from the roads. The hubs have become an impetus for reclaiming public street space and positive community engagement while reducing the dominance of the private car.
Last mile delivery will be tested in Bremen this year alongside car clubs with electric vehicles and public cycle pumps. (Source: Share NORTH Newsroom article)
In many areas of the city, high levels of car use – even for journeys of less than two miles – are contributing to problems including slow and unreliable journeys (by bus and car), local air pollution, and poor health and well-being.
Attractive and easy alternatives to making a journey by car from many suburban areas of the city are currently much lower than in more central areas.
Reducing car use within the city is key to limiting carbon emissions and achieving the agreed goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. Electric vehicles will not spread fast enough to reduce emissions at the rate that is needed; car use needs to be reduced. Reducing car use could be achieved using a range of measures, such as restricting, prohibiting or charging for car use on the city’s roads.
Different measures could be based on things such as vehicle type, fuel type, time of day, day of the week or specific geographic location. These kinds of measures would need to be supported by others to help people identify and access more sustainable travel options.
Information would need to be provided, including improved online journey information and payments systems to support residents and visitors to continue to travel easily into and across the city.
Encouraging and enabling people to shift to low or zero emissions vehicles can also play a role in reducing the overall carbon emissions of transport in the long-term.
These, alongside other proposals to restrict vehicle access, would need to be developed with consideration for, and in consultation with, residents, businesses and visitors, including those with disabilities.
Successfully reducing traffic within the city centre will require a range of complimentary interventions. For example, care-free and low traffic schemes are often supported by complementary measures such as clean air or low emission zones (where charges or restrictions are imposed on the most polluting vehicles in areas with poor air quality), and road user charging.
The most effective way to reduce traffic levels in an area is to ban or restrict vehicles in the area/s concerned. Supporting measures would need to be place in order for these interventions to be viable.
Common examples of supporting measures include:
The restriction of vehicles is normally achieved by identifying certain areas of a city centre which would remain closed to certain vehicles, either entirely or at certain times and days of the week.
Some streets would be closed to all vehicles during these times while through traffic would be permitted on principal routes.
Complementary measures would be introduced to:
They are normally enforced either through technological methods and penalties such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) or fixed penalty notices issued by parking control officers.
In Brighton & Hove, it could be centred, for example, around The Lanes and North Laine areas. Exemptions could be provided for some vehicles including buses, deliveries, taxis and essential car trips such as those by disabled drivers.
The car-free or low traffic city centre could be supported by an extension of the existing Ultra Low Emission Zone on Western Road and North Street to a wider area and to cover other vehicle types.
Vehicles passing through the zone have to meet minimum emission standards, which currently only applies to buses. The regulations of the zone could also be amended to lower the level of permitted emissions, providing cleaner air, lower carbon emissions and, ultimately, fewer vehicles.
Measures would need to be taken to ensure that traffic doesn’t simply divert to roads outside of the zone and create traffic congestion and related problems in neighbouring areas.
Road user charging
Many cities across the world, including London and Oslo have introduced a charge on vehicles using the highway network; they are under consideration in other UK cities including Cambridge and Oxford.
Charges could apply to enter an area (for example the city centre) or use a particular road and could be based on distanced travelled. They can vary depending on time, day or location, and may only charge drivers for using roads when congestion is bad, such as the London Congestion Charge.
They could be introduced as a national scheme for all private vehicle travel and could be combined with a clean air or low emission zone, in which a charge only applies to the most polluting vehicles, the level of which would reduce over time as people switch to cleaner, newer vehicles.
This could be done by restricting the number of public parking spaces both on-street and in off-street car parks, and adopting parking charges that reduce the attractiveness of driving in certain areas during set times of the day/week.
There are several different measures which could be adopted to help manage demand for parking, including:
A workplace parking levy is in place in Nottingham, it places a charge on larger businesses for each parking space that they own and use for their employees, business vehicles or visitors.
The revenue collected is then used to fund public and other sustainable transport network improvements and provide initiatives and facilities at workplaces which encourage individuals to get to their place of work by alternatives to the car.
Again, an area-wide approach would need to be taken to ensure that driving or parking restrictions in one area do not just increase congestion by displacing traffic and parking into neighbouring areas.
While a switch to electric cars will not in itself reduce car use and related congestion in the city, improve road safety and physical health, or create better places, it will help to reduce the carbon impact of journeys that need to be made by cars.
There are currently over 600 electric vehicles in the city (a more than three-fold increase on 2017 levels).
Enabling more lower emissions vehicles will require additional public charging points to be installed across the city; the lack of these is often viewed as a barrier to switching to a plug-in electric or hybrid vehicle.
Over 200 new charging points were recently installed on streets across the city, as well as new rapid-charging hubs for taxis.
A switch to more electric cars (and other vehicles) can also be encouraged through measures including incentivisation (for example, grants for home charging), provision of more electric vehicles in shared car clubs, as well as regulation to discourage continued use of carbon emitting vehicles. However, it is unlikely that the council can do much to stimulate demand ahead of the market.
The market for zero emissions vehicles is still relatively immature. As such, to ensure maximum uptake, delivery of infrastructure must be accompanied by measures to enable its use including charging facilities and electricity networks with sufficient capacity to support the needs of the city.
York has a population of 210,000 and is visited by more than 7 million people each year. The City of York Council plans to introduce the UK’s first car free city centre by 2023.
The scheme will prohibit all ‘non-essential’ private car journeys within the area bounded by the historic city walls to help tackle high levels of air pollution. The council has already successfully implemented a bus-based Clean Air Zone in January 2020, which covers the same area. York’s long-term ambition is to become carbon neutral by 2030.
Much of the area within the city walls has been pedestrianised as part of the 30-year-old ‘Footstreets’ initiative. Many streets are pedestrianised between 10.30am and 5pm, and some 24 hours. Deliveries/collection and loading are permitted during certain times.
Through the setting up of the Clean Air Zone, money has been provided (with government support) to help bus companies switch to the least polluting vehicle types. This scheme is focused on the services that frequently pass through the city centre; the only buses that are exempt are those entering the zone fewer than 5 times a day.
The car free city centre scheme will stop non-essential car journeys in the city centre, which will help to improve air quality and reduce congestion to improve bus services. The scheme is still being developed and consultation is ongoing with businesses and business groups, and disability groups to ensure essential access is maintained. The council is hoping to introduce an automated shuttle service to the city centre for Blue Badge holders.
To support the current and proposed restrictions on car use in the city centre, York has a well-established park and ride system in place, offering over 5,000 free car parking spaces at 6 sites in the city, with frequent, dedicated buses linking these with the city centre.
The government has recently launched a new bold vision for cycling and walking called ‘Gear Change’. The ambition is for walking and cycling to make up half of all journeys in towns and cities by 2030.
Increasing cycling and walking can help tackle some of the most challenging issues we face as a society.
Not only will switching from motorised modes of travel help us reduce carbon emissions, it will also:
Active travel is often quicker than we think: many drivers overestimate how long it will take them to walk or cycle and underestimate how long it will take them to drive.
Most people can walk a mile or cycle 3 miles in just 20 minutes. Also, it can be undertaken as part of a wider journey, for example to the bus stop or rail station. In fact, almost all journeys (even those by car) involve some walking.
Healthy life expectancy (a measure of how many years of life are lived in good health) has fallen in the city in recent years. Around 1 in 5 residents are physically inactive (source: Brighton & Hove Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019 to 2030), meaning that they do less than 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week; the NHS recommends at least 150 minutes a week.
Residents make many short journeys on a daily basis in the city, including popping to the local shops or the journey to school. Around one half of commuter journeys by residents of the city are less than 3 miles (source: ONS 2011 Census data, Table QS702EW). There is therefore significant potential to increase levels of cycling and walking in the city.
At around 20%, nearly twice as many people walk to work in Brighton & Hove than in the rest of the UK, and the highest proportion in the South East region (source: ONS 2011 Census data, Table QS701EW). This suggests that the majority of the 23% of residents with a commute of up to 2km, do walk to their place of work.
Traffic levels and speeds, and associated air quality and safety issues, are regularly given as reasons for not walking or cycling. In 2020, 66% of people over 18 felt it is too dangerous to cycle on roads (NTAS) (source: Department for Transport, walking and cycling statistics 2019)
The promotion of active travel could be facilitated by policies which reallocate road space to walking and cycling and generally seek to improve journey quality.
Measures should attract more people to travel this way and send a message to all road users that active travel is an important part of the city’s transport offer.
Improvements to active travel options should be accompanied by strong active travel and public health behavioural change programmes to ensure that residents are encouraged and are able to switch from vehicle journeys.
Low traffic (or ‘liveable’) neighbourhoods are about creating more attractive, safe and healthy places for people, not cars. They are a scheme where measures are put in place to limit motor vehicles directly accessing certain areas.
Traffic-calming measures like speed bumps and road narrowing can reduce speeds. This is of some benefit, but they won’t necessarily cut traffic volume or always discourage drivers from using a street as a shortcut.
Defining areas within the city which have through-traffic restricted will reduce ‘rat running’ and make journeys quicker and safer for people walking and cycling.
A collection of measures can be put in place to stop through traffic across a defined area, creating a ‘low-traffic neighbourhood’.
There are a few ways to achieve this, including alternating one-way streets, but usually they involve either temporary or permanent ‘modal filters’ such as bollards or planters being installed at key entry points to streets. These allow people walking and cycling through, but not cars.
The closures are strategic, so that across a whole cell of residential streets, there is no direct through route for traffic – but every resident can still drive to and from their own street. Traffic travelling through the area is kept on main roads instead.
Consideration would need to be given to retaining access for buses, taxis and disabled users, along with emergency and service vehicles.
Low-traffic neighbourhoods can include ‘School Streets’ which temporarily restrict motor vehicle access to streets near school entrances during school opening and closing times. Around 1 in 3 children are currently driven to their primary school in the city.
The aims of School Streets are to:
A number of Covid-19 emergency School Streets have been introduced at 14 primary schools across the city in support of the above and to assist with physical distancing requirements by reducing the street space which motor vehicles occupy and allowing families and carers to use it instead.
As with low-traffic neighbourhoods, exemptions will apply to residents of the street in question, Blue Badge holders, business owners with premises in the street, emergency services and deliveries.
Low-traffic neighbourhoods (including School Streets) would be developed closely with residents and businesses in the defined area, including disability groups, and would have to be carefully designed to ensure that traffic isn’t simply displaced elsewhere.
The city currently has around 40km of designated (permanent) cycle routes, though some are of variable quality. Just under 5% of the city’s residents cycle to work (source: 2011 Census briefing on transport).
Although this has increased significantly during the past decade, this is much lower than in other cities including Cambridge and York.
Up to around 1,500 trips are made every day using BTN BikeShare, Brighton & Hove’s bike share scheme.
During recent months, the council has installed a number of temporary cycle lanes on strategic routes across the city in response to Covid-19 including the A259 seafront road and A270 Old Shoreham Road.
These were introduced following a strong instruction from the Department for Transport to quickly implement ambitious schemes which provide a significant reallocation of road space to pedestrians and cyclists.
These temporary measures are required in order to provide space for active travel in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and will be kept under review.
The council is currently developing a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for the city in order to plan more strategically for the walking and cycling network which, similarly to the Local Transport Plan currently being developed, the assembly recommendations and discussions will inform.
The plan will lead to a 10-year prioritised programme of improvements to key walking zones and routes and high quality, separated, cycle networks connecting key locations within the city.
To support this, provision of cycle parking would be provided at appropriate locations throughout the network.
The assembly will play an important role in understanding what is important to residents when developing this programme and what the barriers to residents using an improved cycle network would be so that it can be designed to mitigate those.
The government has recently produced new design guidance setting out higher standards for councils in delivering cycling schemes, including the need for wider lanes/tracks and better separated from other vehicles and pedestrians – for example, proper physical separation from pedestrians and vehicles, rather than just painted cycle lanes.
It will be important to ensure that expansion of cycling networks does not come at the cost of reducing width and accessibility of pavements, which would disproportionately impact certain groups (for example, wheelchair users, visually impaired, and parents with pushchairs).
Additionally, getting cycle paths off pavements such as on the seafront and alongside the A23 would benefit people walking.
Myth-busting around cycling:
Providing improved travel options and infrastructure to residents should be supported by information and promotion to enable people to be aware of the full range of travel options, the relative benefits of these, and how to use those that they may not be familiar with, like car clubs and cycling.
The council has delivered active travel and behavioural change programmes with local communities for a number of years.
The council works with employers, schools and individuals (including jobseekers) to support information provision on alternative modes to the car and help them to develop ways to minimise car use, which often include providing improved facilities like secure cycle parking, changing rooms and showers.
This is often referred to as ‘travel planning’ and can be very effective since many schoolchildren and employees make the same journey on a daily basis, and therefore can easily form a habit.
Meanwhile, workplaces and schools are able to identify common tailored solutions that work for many, according to where they travel from, as well as make organisational changed needed to support active travel, for example putting in place a Cycle to Work Scheme.
Currently around 51% of children and 26% of adults walk or cycle to school or work in Brighton & Hove.
Copenhagen’s high streets serve as the main bus and cycle routes in the city, while functioning as the city’s shopping and pedestrian streets, and important meeting places. The coexistence of each function contributes to the character of Copenhagen’s high streets.
The reconstruction of Nørrebrogade street in central Copenhagen increased the number of people cycling by 11% to 20% per cent, and has resulted in 45% fewer collisions, 10% shorter journey time for buses, 45% less car traffic, lower noise at street level and more people spending time in the street (source: City of Copenhagen, Action Plan for Green Mobility (2013)).
Work has now started on Amagerbrogade street, the reconstruction of which will make the commercial environment more attractive, provide better facilities for people to stay in the street and ensure better conditions for walking and cycling.
High priority will also be given unrestricted movement for buses and the comfort of bus passengers.
There will still be car traffic on the new Amagerbrogade but the amount and speed of passing car traffic will be reduced, and the lanes will be narrowed, without affecting goods delivery to shops and with a minimum of inconvenience for the adjoining residential streets.
Government policy document “Gear Change, a bold vision for cycling and walking”. Key take-away - the government’s aim is for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked.
Transport for Quality of Life/Friends of the Earth insight paper “more than electric cars”. Key take-away - even if the switch to electric cars were rapid, traffic levels need to be reduced by at least 20%, possibly up to 60%.
Research by Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) and Jillian Anable “e- bike carbon savings – how much and where?” Key take away - If the car journeys that could be replaced by e-bike were, Co2 emissions from cars could be halved. In Brighton, participants of an e-bike trial replaced approximately 20% of their private car travel with e-bike.
Research by Sustrans and ARUP “Cycling for everyone: a guide for inclusive cycling in cities and towns” Key takeaway - there are many ways to enable sometimes excluded groups to cycle.
Research on park and ride from the University of the West of England “the effectiveness of Park & Ride as a policy measure for more sustainable mobility”. Key take away - the key travel behavioural findings are that only a portion of park and ride users’ car trips are shortened. Hence, overall increases in car use occur, combined with overall reductions in public transport use, and in some cases less active travel.
Research on parking controls by Dr Steve Melia “what happens to travel behaviour when parking is removed”. Key take away - parking controls can have a stronger impact on car use than better public transport.
This discussion guide was used by Ipsos MORI facilitators to guide assembly members’ conversations in breakout groups.
10 new break-out groups to be pre-allocated during intro - up to 5 minutes waiting for participants to join/settle.
Chair to introduce self, Ipsos MORI, facilitators, note-takers and observers.
Chair to welcome participants back and cover:
Agenda, housekeeping and ground rules.
Two x 5-minute expert presentations:
As you will have read in the information pack sent to you, the council are exploring a few options. Nothing is in place yet and they’re open to your ideas too.
Let’s talk about each of them in turn and we can reflect on any questions we want to ask the speakers at the end.
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'low traffic neighbourhoods'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'low traffic neighbourhoods'
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'strategic cycling networks'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'strategic cycling networks'
Display on screen and read out the summary of 'active travel behaviour change campaign'
Display on screen and read out the benefits and drawbacks of 'active travel behaviour change campaign'
Facilitators to give their table's key question/s - 30 seconds each.
2 to 3 minutes for each expert to address a question or 2.
Two 5-minute expert presentations:
As a final stage of the learning and consideration process, we’re going to explore issues we might not have thought about through scenarios.
These are designed to help you consider what implementing some of the potential interventions we’ve discussed could mean for disabled and migrant citizens.
Display on screen and read out case study 1.
Alex is physically disabled and can only walk very short distances on good days, usually relying on her wheelchair to get around. She has always used her car to travel to the city.
Low traffic measures have been put in place in her local area and the city centre. She is no longer able to park near to the shops or have her friend pick her up from home.
Alex is encouraged to get on public transport, either travelling to the park and ride and getting on the bus or by catching the bus from nearer to home and making one or two changes.
Alex tries this, but finds she is often left waiting for buses she can’t get on due to limited space for wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs. She finds it stressful and struggles to stand up for herself.
Her friend encourages Alex to call the council and let them know, which she does. The council have heard the same from others and start a pre-booking scheme that means Alex can guarantee a space on a bus at a certain time.
Alex prefers this to waiting around and feeling anxious, but also feels she’s lost the ability to spontaneously meet up with friends or go out to the shops when she realises she needs something.
Display on screen and read out case study 2.
Molly is deaf and has a mild visual impairment in her peripheral vision. She lives near the seafront and really supports the recent messaging about getting more active.
She has always enjoyed a stroll by the beach but since hearing more about the benefits of physical activity has taken to doing this every day.
Cycling is being actively encouraged too, and Molly usually has to share space with cyclists. She often has difficulty in navigating which part of the street is supposed to be for pedestrians and which bit is for cyclists, especially because cyclists enjoy being nearer to the seafront and sometimes cycle in the pedestrian area of the pavement.
Molly has a particularly stressful incident where, as she’s strolling along the seafront part of the pavement, a cyclist loses their balance and falls into her.
They had clearly been shouting at her and were very embarrassed and frustrated she hadn’t heard. Molly isn’t injured, but this has put her off going to take her walks and she chooses not to most days.
Display on screen and read out case study 3.
Mo has been living in Brighton for about 3 years. He moved here as a migrant, which his family supported by lending him all the collective money they had.
When he arrived, he took a job as a delivery driver and stayed in a small flat share with other migrants who he knew from his childhood. During this time he got to know the rest of the migrant community they spend time with.
Like many of his peers, Mo has now become an Uber driver. His friends told him he should be able to move up to be a taxi driver and own his own taxi soon enough. This is the trajectory into society for lots of people in their community.
Since the residents of Brighton & Hove have been encouraged to reduce car use, Mo has found he has much less work.
He can no longer sit in a taxi rank in the city centre as it has become car-free. He can sit at the park and ride, but finds people often get the bus or drive their own cars.
His income has reduced significantly, and he is starting to feel sick with worry. Having given him everything they had so he could get here, his family are dependent on him sending money home.
Facilitators to give their table's key question/s - 30 seconds each.
2 to 3 minutes for each expert to address a question or 2.
Plenary 6: next steps and close - 12.55pm to 1pm (5 minutes)
Chair to thank everyone for their contributions, remind assembly members of next session (date and time), and outline what will happen next time.
Note to assembly that questions generated will be amalgamated and posed back to experts – we’ll share an FAQ document addressing key questions before we reach stage 3 in November.
Remind participants that materials from today will be available online soon for those that wish to revisit anything.
Ask participants to keep going back to FAQ documents and the information pack sent out. This is very much the learning phase so they should be reflecting on everything they’ve heard and starting to form an idea of what they may recommend.
These slides were used to stimulate assembly members’ thoughts during breakout groups in session 3.
These questions were taken from the transcripts of breakout groups, and from questions posed to expert speakers during session one and provided to expert speakers who responded.
They were compiled in the following document and provided to assembly members before session 4.
£21.60 for a 7-day adult citySAVER on mobile app or key card online. On average these tickets are used 12.7 times a week, making an average cost of £1.70 per journey. This is around the same price as London, where buses are heavily subsidised.
Young people aged 18 and under get a 50% discount and travel for just £1 per journey off peak or 50p with an adult. Student discounts are typically around a third lower than the adult prices.
We recognise that if buses are to remain a key part of the battle against climate change, they have to be priced as attractively as possible.
That is what we currently set out to achieve, without the benefit of fares subsidies as in London.
(Not entirely clear if I’m correctly interpreting the intention of the question, as this may alternatively be about the way the extended range electric hybrids work.)
The emissions are not directly offset, but the ambition and target to reduce our emissions is set within the Go Ahead Group (who own Brighton & Hove Buses) environmental corporate strategy, and we are exceeding our predicted goals.
We are also measured against this through our ISO500001 attainment. We are ahead of our targets due to the many proactive control measures we have in place to monitor and manage the efficiency of the energy that's produced through the reduced usage of fuel.
The biggest single thing would be if buses could flow more smoothly through the city. Over the past 10 years, bus journey times have increased by up to 30% due to increased congestion and changes making progress for buses more difficult.
This means 30% more buses and drivers are needed just to run the same level of service, forcing up the cost of operation and therefore affecting ticket prices.
Improving the flow of buses would have the opposite and very positive effect, as well as making buses more attractive to use with shorter journey times, thereby also enabling further improvements.
Most importantly this would reduce greenhouse gas emissions both from buses and car users.
It is funded locally through a national scheme, but the government provide some funding for it.
Legally, the amount paid ensures that bus operators do not benefit financially from the scheme. It covers the revenue lost through providing the free travel reduced by the extra trips generated because it is free.
Typically, this means that about 50p in the £1 of the equivalent adult fare is returned to the operator for each concessionary journey.
This free travel is an essential social and environmental tool, it enables many active carers to support friends, relatives and to volunteer for a range of valuable duties, saving the state millions.
They are owned and maintained by the council as the highway operator.
Unfortunately, we don't have the data that enables us to split this information out, but pre-Covid around 50 million journeys were made a year in the city - 172 per person.
This is the highest of anywhere in the UK outside London and has more than doubled in recent decades.
Clearly this combines some of the many tourist trips to our city but to make further inroads on carbon emissions we need to encourage (using both carrot and stick) more visitors to the city out of cars and into cycles, buses and trains.
Electric buses, like electric cars, have a limited range which is also worsened by the fact that the city has often full double deck buses (see heaviest used buses point above), heavy congestion and steep hills, meaning that most would run out of charge by lunchtime on our services.
This means having to have so many extra buses to allow them to keep recharging during the day, making the services simply unviable with those hugely increased costs of the extra buses, extra drivers and extra maintenance. Each one is also around double the price.
In addition, our buildings and premises do not have adequate electricity supply to charge vehicles. Our small Waterloo depot in London needed a new electricity substation of its own just for 34 buses.
We don’t have any garages as small as that, so the requirements are multiplied and, at present, there is no public funding available for such energy infrastructure.
We are working with suppliers and stakeholders on plans for future zero emissions through hydrogen fuel cell buses and the funding currently available to assist there.
These buses have a better range and can cope with the demands on buses in Brighton & Hove.
Delivering a zero-emission bus fleet using hydrogen technology could be delivered at a small fraction of the cost of a tram system and would deliver more flexibility to a much larger number of users.
The issue with trams is not just the desire to be carbon free (which they wouldn't be because trams run using electric power delivered through overhead electric cables), it also means that we would need to put back lots of unsightly infrastructure such as rails in the roads and metal towers with trailing cables all over the city to power the trams.
There is also currently a huge shortage of available electricity in local power grids so they would require millions of pounds worth of upgrades to the grid to power them.
This again would not work with the current locations the city has or the local road infrastructure.
This would not only be costly and not carbon free but also leave us unable to flex to meet future customer needs with changes to routes that can easily be much more easily and cost effectively done with buses.
Our preferred solution of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles would deliver zero emission movement, with hydrogen generated by clean green renewable energy.
If the city is prepared to relook at the allocation of road space to provide improved bus and active travel priority, we could speed up bus journey times significantly.
The walking and cycling that can take place alongside new active travel greenways while retaining the flexibility to continue to change and meet differing future needs.
24 new Extended Range Electric Buses which run in zero emission mode through the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in the city centre will be introduced in November on route 1.
These have been fully funded by Brighton & Hove Buses. See above for our ambitions for hydrogen buses to deliver zero emissions in Brighton.
The money comes from customers’ fares and sometimes there is public funding support to help.
The government has been talking about a significant new investment in zero emissions buses.
We would hope to take advantage of such an opportunity to reduce the impact on finances and therefore the demand on customers’ fares.
Fares go up in most years to reflect rising costs, sometimes reflecting high fuel costs in some years but more usually, the largest part of our costs which are the total salaries paid to our employees.
It is only right that we offer competitive earning opportunities and good terms and conditions of employment as a fair and responsible employer.
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus is based and managed locally in Conway Street, Hove and owned by The Go-Ahead Group, a UK PLC.
The Big Lemon is a Community Interest Company based in Brighton.
Compass Travel is a limited company based in Worthing.
Stagecoach South is based in Chichester and is owned by Stagecoach, a UK PLC.
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus has local directors who live and work in the region and in many cases, along with the vast majority of the management team, long associations with the company and the area. The managing director began his 40-year career with the company here in Brighton.
The fuel cell buses are made in much the same way as other buses though with far fewer mechanical moving parts, just as you would expect from an electric vehicle.
The fuel cell element is bought in as a unit from specialist suppliers and fitted as part of this production process, much like batteries in electric buses.
The hydrogen is produced when a charge is introduced to water, so the raw ingredients for the fuel cells are much less demanding on the environment than batteries for electric buses in terms of heavy metal mining, for example.
When you look at our current fleet, the true hybrids are the 13 x Volvo B5H (were on service 7, now on service 2) and the new 54 x ADL E400ER vehicles (extended range electric buses on service 5 and about to operate service 1).
All the Wrightbus Streetdeckers (services 7, 12, 49) are micro hybrids which is slightly different, where the energy savings are made by intelligent electrical components that run when needed, like alternators and compressors along with the obvious start-stop technology.
These systems do reduce the amount of energy required and reduce the amount of fuel used, and therefore reduce carbon impacts and help with air quality improvements.
New technology such as all new buses including the 54 new Extended Range Electric Buses, new ticketing technology, free Wi-Fi on all buses and USB charging points have been fully financed by Brighton & Hove Bus company through fare revenue without third party funding.
However, retrofitting exhaust treatments to older buses to improve air quality has attracted some government funding.
Such schemes also work though the councils so we work closely together to try to attract funding for advances in air quality and other tech.
Sharing tech is also an important theme here in Brighton. We opened up our ticketing system so that people all over the city, regardless of which operator they use, could benefit from joining the same discounted ticketing deals offered by us.
Through the council, the Department for Transport contributed £85,000 to help the city achieve this multi-operator ticketing scheme that many areas talk about spending millions on to achieve.
We’ve done it on shoestring, and it’s been in place for several years now to everyone’s benefit.
Plusbus integrates bus and rail travel into a rail ticket or smartcard in the city as part of a national scheme.
In addition to this, the Southern keyGo smartcard can be used for Pay As You Go travel on buses in the city as well as throughout the GTR network, and through rail tickets to and from London can be bought on Brighton & Hove Buses.
We have also investigated other forms of joined up payment systems – or ‘Mobility as a Service’ solutions as the jargon refers to them.
We believe joining up transport options effectively and easily for the customer is an important part of the fight against climate change by making it easier for people to travel without using a car.
Some routes are more viable than others, but we believe in the importance of operating a comprehensive network across the city as best we can, resulting in one of the least reliant on public subsidy but most comprehensive bus networks in the country.
On existing routes, 85% of our customers have a frequency of every 10 minutes during the daytime or better.
Additional buses would be deployed in the areas of most demand, to give the greatest benefit, in some cases offering new faster journeys, in other cases, some new links might be created, but in many cases, improving frequency would point to the highest chances of success based on everything we have learned so far.
This is all in a pre or post-Covid scenario of course; in the shorter term the recovery of the network remains a little more uncertain and will need to build back on strengths to get to a new solid and sustainable network.
The vast majority of the cost of operating the city's transport network is paid for by users so the level of fares and level of service depends on the use that is made of it.
If more people use the service, then it can become more efficient, helping pressure on fares, as well as more frequent, further encouraging growth.
This has been the story of success in the city's bus network in recent decades.
The Quattro citySAVER ticket on our mobile app already allows 4 people to travel around the city for an hour for just £6.
While we are open to trying new things, on demand buses struggle to be viable financially as their cost outweighs their income so they need to be subsidised.
Our sister company in Oxford tried operating this kind of service as the largest ever in the UK but it was withdrawn due to the high cost of operation not being possible to meet from revenues, even after some business sponsorship revenues.
It’s very costly to operate like a taxi but use buses that cost a lot more money and employing people paid decent rates whether they have any passengers or not.
The biggest concern with this is safety, ordinarily the average speed of a vehicle running airside or in the vicinity of an airport is very low and the number of passengers inside is quite high, limiting the amount of movement within the vehicle should the vehicle brake sharply.
Also those vehicles type operate mainly on private land where the movement of other vehicles is strictly controlled and so emergency braking is very rare. On the public highway, it’s very different of course.
Some people are happy to stand for short distances, but there are also many passengers who prefer to sit and so the balance of space on our buses is allocated more towards sitting with some available and flexible space for standing.
This could be possible, but only with the collaboration of manufacturers and the DfT policy makers, as PSV interior bus design is heavily regulated especially with regards to wheelchair spacing.
All our new double deck buses are designed with accessibility in mind and now include separate wheelchair and buggy spaces, dementia friendly floors as well as widened spacing for easier access for all including passengers with walkers, wheelchair users and double buggies.
There is no reason why any new articulated bus design shouldn't take accessible travel for all into account as we should always be mindful that the bus is for everyone and any new design should always reflect this.
Ideally accessible access should be near the front of the bus where there is access to the driver, if required, as well as being less distance for someone to walk with a mobility related impairment. There are many factors that would therefore need to be considered first.
If this was to be added to a vehicle as it is in the USA, it would not be certified in this country, as there is no legislation to encourage it.
This is mainly down to the crash tests, where a vehicle is designed to have minimal impact should the vehicle strike a pedestrian or other road user.
Also, many of our services operate in dense urban areas to timetables that would be undermined if there were repeated delays from putting bikes on and off from some sort of frame.
For some rural tourist services, the interior of buses has been modified to accommodate one or two bikes, but there is a real difficulty in re-allocating the scarce space within a bus for further uses such as this.
Good question! I would suggest it could start with looking at how we make the city less dependent on car use before imposing big restrictions on cars.
Public transport improvements, new cycle lanes and better facilities for pedestrians need to be in place to discourage those who don’t need to use cars to change their habits.
Possibly, but disabilities come in so many different forms, some hidden.
Many disabled people can and do use public transport which has become a lot more accessible over the past 20 years as DDA and Equalities legislation has taken effect.
All buses have step free entrances with ramps to enable wheelchair access. Low floors also help passengers with buggies or heavy shopping and older people.
Most local buses also have audible and visual next stop announcements.
I go back to my earlier points about making the city less car dependent and encouraging use of other modes.
Some disabled people will need to use cars, so there will always need to be special arrangements with more spacious parking bays.
To the council who can only use it for transport, for example free bus passes and infrastructure improvements.
We are! Tap in and tap out has been available on Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus services for the past year and all local bus companies now accept contactless payments for other tickets.
That’s difficult to say offhand, it depends on how it is done and how big the area covered is.
Both.
It’s a possibility, my guess it that congestion charging schemes and Ultra Low Emission zones will become more common over the next few years.
In London the congestion charge has discouraged private cars, but there are now lots more white vans, delivery vehicles and Ubers, so overall traffic levels have increased again.
I would like to see good park and ride schemes in Brighton & Hove to discourage people from driving into the city centre.
A park and ride site could also be used for HGVs to switch to smaller vehicles or electric powered delivery bikes for the final few miles through the urban area.
Big park and ride location close to the A23/A27 junction would help considerably.
This could be a car to bus and car to bike facility with dedicated bus and cycle lanes for the entire length to the seafront in both directions.
We could also try to encourage people to transfer from car to train or bus further out and try to reduce the number of rail lines being closed at weekends for engineering works, to encourage train use.
50 million relates to the number of annual bus journeys in the city.
The number of car journeys would be far, far higher, reflecting the diversity of the sorts of journeys made around and across the city.
Probably.
At a guess, based on a photo, there are around 50 solar panels on the depot roof.
According to The Big Lemon, they generate enough electricity to run their electric buses on most days.
In the summer the panels sometimes generate excess power which is sent to the National Grid while in the winter they may need to use more national grid power – they tell me it balances out.
I love trams and it would be great to see them here, although building a tram system would be very expensive and extremely disruptive.
I’d put them along the busiest bus corridors like Lewes Road and Western Road into Hove & Portslade and to the Marina. That’s basically bus routes 1, 7 and 25.
People often suggest trams should use the seafront, but I don’t think that would work successfully because most places people want to go are away from the seafront, for example:
Brighton & Hove Bus Saver tickets are available on all local buses except Stagecoach so that almost works as a travelcard.
I’ve been trying to encourage bus companies to provide one ticket for every bus for several years and we are nearly there.
The future probably lies with contactless and mobile phone apps rather than a smart card style travelcard. Ideally any new ticket should include local train travel too.
Brighton & Hove Buses has an agreement with the East Sussex Credit Union to provide loans for annual season tickets at a 20% discount.
People with certain disabilities are eligible for a free disabled person bus pass, check with the council.
Smaller buses don’t result in significant savings because around 50% of the cost of providing a bus service is drivers wages.
So, unless wages are reduced (which would be unpopular and make recruitment difficult) the scope is limited.
Also, double-deckers tend to be needed in Brighton & Hove because bus use is so high.
Minibuses often mean you have to provide lots more vehicles to achieve the capacity provided by one double decker, especially at school and commuter periods.
There’s no point in having 2 fleets of buses for use at different times of day as that would increase costs. However, I think there is scope for small communal buses in some rural areas.
The strategy is that people will see that travelling by alternative modes will be much quicker and cheaper than the private car and make a switch.
We can’t change every journey, but changing the majority of them will bring huge benefits.
We always consult fully with our emergency services partners and would put in place measures to ensure that any routes they were concerned about were amended as necessary.
We always seek to protect overall levels of parking for blue badge holders in easily accessible locations.
We have recently developed our Parking Supplementary Planning Document which will adopted in 2021.
Throughout the development of the SPD we consulted with various stakeholders including housing developers themselves to ensure that our low car approach would work in the city.
The key to this approach is ensuring public transport and active modes are a viable alternative to the private car.
We always seek to protect overall levels of parking for blue badge holders in easily accessible locations.
We are not stopping people from driving. We want to make people think about the best mode for the specific journey they are making.
Our roads can’t take everyone making every journey by car so we need to change the way we think and act.
Lots of cities across the world have car-free city centres, and we look to them for ideas and lessons learnt.
Although developed separately, a good example of a strategy similar to the segments concept is Ghent, in Belgium.
All schemes have challenges, but it is how we learn and adapt from them that really matters, what is really important in Birmingham is to ensure that residents and businesses can still make the journeys they require.
Delivery routes would be maintained where required, and although delivery times may be limited, full consultation is taking place with businesses.
We also continue to work with our partners, to look towards alternative ways that deliveries can be made in busy urban centres.
For example, we are about the launch an eCargo bike pilot scheme which will see more deliveries across the city centre made using a carbon-free mode.
The key to this is a strong integrated public transport system, alongside safe and direct active travel routes for shorter journeys.
Our strategy to deliver this is set out in the Birmingham Transport Plan which we consulted on in early 2020 and are planning to adopt in 2021.
We continue to expand the network with extensions to our tram lines, new rail stations in suburban areas and cross city bus route links.
We also published our Cycling and Walking Investment Plan last year, which sets out our ambitious strategy to provide a high-quality active travel network.
Birmingham will implement a government mandated Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in June 2021. This is not a congestion charge but is a tariff for entering the CAZ if your vehicle produces too much pollution.
Vehicles which meet the clean air standards are not charged. Charges collected will be used to run the scheme, mitigate impacts on vulnerable groups, and any surplus will be reinvested into our public and active travel networks, further increasing the green travel options in Birmingham.
I would say, given our experience in Nottingham, it hasn’t been particularly easy - there are lots of challenges (mostly from the taxi trade themselves) but we are making it happen.
The taxi trade is split between private hire and the hackney carriages. The private hire fleet tends to operate more modern vehicles, so my comments here primarily relate to the hackney carriage fleet.
In Nottingham the hackney carriage fleet was quite old - some vehicles were as old as 26 years!
The city council wanted to ensure an attractive, modern welcome to Nottingham, and updating the hackney carriage fleet was key to this as a lot of the taxi trips come from the train station.
To do this, the city council first implemented a new policy setting out our intention to only license the newest vehicles.
Quite a few of the drivers have been resistant to change of any sort, so the policy was seen as an attack on their trade.
A proportion of the drivers have formed a representative group which has tried to resist the changes and a number of them are also engaged in legal action against the council to appeal against the implementation of the policy.
On the other side of the argument another trade body has been formed by drivers who are willing to make the switch to electric vehicles.
The city council has been working closely with this group and we have obtained funding to provide grants and help to ensure that driver find it as easy as possible to make the switch to electric vehicles.
In 2015 Nottingham was named as having some of the worst air quality in the country (particularly in relation to NO2 concentrations).
We worked with DEFRA to form a plan to reduce emissions and we included the transition of hackney carriages to electric as part of our plan.
Proposals for age and specification policies relating to Hackney Carriage and private hire vehicles.
I’m not sure about the particular circumstances in Brighton so I’m unable to comment about whether this would be a viable option for Brighton. However, there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen anywhere in the country.
The Charge Point network is run by Chargemaster and the electricity comes from OVO energy.
The energy provided to the charge points is 100% renewable.
Yes, there are particulate emissions (PM10 and PM 2.5) from the tires and brakes of electric vehicles.
I think the technology behind electric cars is well understood. Future battery electric cars are likely to have longer ranges and may be able to charge quicker than current models. This may result in a reduced need for charge points.
The biggest problem we are finding in Nottingham is the ability of the existing electricity network to deal with the demand for electricity created by electric vehicle charging. This requires us to try and work closely with the power distribution companies.
The costs of making changes to the power distribution networks can often prove to be very high (in the millions); this can prove to be problematic when property developers are looking to develop new areas of the city.
There is also a continued interest in using hydrogen to power vehicles. We’re keeping a watching brief on hydrogen at the moment, but it may only be appropriate for HGVs due to the costs associated with creation, distribution and storage of hydrogen.
This is a good idea. We have a car club in Nottingham which is run by Enterprise. Many of the vehicles available through the car club are either hybrid or fully electric.
We are working with Enterprise to increase the number of electric vehicles available through the car club. This work has been slowed as a result of Covid.
I think it’s just a slow change rather than a difficult one. The switch to electric vehicles requires a long-term behaviour change from consumers of new vehicles.
We are working to convince consumers of the benefits of purchasing new electric vehicles (not just cars but also vans and HGVs) as well as removing some of the barriers to owning EV cars (such as providing adequate charging infrastructure).
This is a huge task, so by its nature will take a long time.
Overall, we know that electric cars are far cheaper to run than internal combustion engine cars.
Drive trains are simpler, which results in less maintenance; also, fuel costs are far cheaper and there’s currently no vehicle excise duty on electric cars (unlike petrol and diesel cars).
I would say that brake and tyre wear do not have an impact on the overall affordability of electric cars.
Electric cars are more expensive to buy than petrol or diesel cars, but with the vastly reduced running costs, this additional purchase cost can be recouped in 2 to 3 years depending on mileage.
We believe that the cost of buying new electric cars will fall, and also there is no second-hand market for EV cars currently, but this will develop given time.
We expect that the development of a second-hand market for EV cars will help to reduce purchase costs and help with the uptake of EV cars.
Yes, the switch to electric cars will not reduce traffic congestion.
We are, however, investing heavily in our public transport network to help it avoid traffic congestion. We’re adding in bus lanes and bus priority systems at traffic lights.
We’re also investing in our tram network and have plans to extend existing lines, as well as add in new lines to the east and west of the city.
Ultimately, we need to ensure that the public transport network in Nottingham is high quality and high frequency as possible to ensure that it remains an attractive option for travel.
We do already work extensively with private companies in order to implement and run charge point infrastructure in Nottingham.
I know that there are privately-run charge point networks elsewhere in the country. Chargemaster runs the Nottingham charge point network on behalf of the city council, and Enterprise runs our car club (they have invested in EV cars).
I think that as the market for electric vehicles grow there will be more opportunities for private companies to invest in electric vehicles and EV infrastructure.
I would imagine that as demand for EV cars increases then companies will produce more cars and more products. The demand for diesel and petrol cars is falling and will continue to fall. The companies will simply switch production away from internal combustion engine cars to the production of EVs.
With regard to the grid, this is a large problem - we are already approaching the maximum capacity for electricity distribution in parts of Nottingham, and it’s likely that substantial investment in the power distribution network will be required if we are to make a wholesale switch to electric vehicles.
I think the price of buying and electric vehicle will continue to fall. The price of owning and running electric cars is already far lower than petrol or diesel cars.
This is likely to make car travel more attractive than it is now. This potentially could result in more congestion.
In Nottingham we have measures to discourage commuting by car (Work Place Parking Levy) and we will continue to invest heavily in encouraging walking, cycling and public transport.
Very little change, there may be a slight reduction as drivers do not feel particularly comfortable in the Pedestrian Priority environment.
Don’t know. Little change in traffic levels, but the aim was to create a more attractive environment that stimulates business and encourages local people to use the city centre, rather than the nearby out-of-town shopping centre Cheshire Oaks (a very large outlet mall), or instead of going to Manchester or Liverpool.
The community of migrant and refugee taxi and Uber drivers is under additional pressures to those of, say, British drivers, because of their responsibilities in many cases for providing financial support to families in their countries of origin which are politically unstable, violent, or at war, or who may be refugees in neighbouring countries.
Making changes to car use in the city will most certainly impact these people’s jobs, mental well-being, and sense of community and belonging in the city.
This depends on what is meant by courier driving, on its relative earning potential, and what possibilities for independence and for choosing their own working hours it holds.
Taxi-driving can be very well paid for those who work long hours - especially important in the case of migrants increasingly settling spouses and children in the UK, and Brighton & Hove.
The income made from driving in their case needs to be sufficient for supporting a family, as well as flexible enough to accommodate school holidays and changes to routines and so on.
This would involve a substantial change from a self-employed to employed status for migrant taxi drivers.
It would also remove many incentives associated with taxi driving. For example, the ambition to work hard enough to buy one’s own taxi and become a driver-owner, and later perhaps move out of taxi-driving and buy a shop or other type of business, as several have done - benefitting the wider community in the city and market for international supermarkets and restaurants.
Therefore taxi-driving is strongly associated with entrepreneurship for migrants, and I do not imagine that bus-driving would have an equivalent appeal. I would expect very little take up in this regard.
Furthermore, as I said in my talk, it would exclude all those Uber drivers and others further down the chain such as food delivery drivers, from opportunities to progress in terms of driving and self-employment in business.
Certainly, possibilities for recognising or converting international qualifications should be made more available.
However, this applies only to a small percentage of refugees. Many of those in the city from Afghanistan, for example, have grown up through four decades of war, or lived as refugees in Pakistan and Iran before coming to the UK, and consequently had their educational opportunities severely curtailed.
While they may speak several languages fluently, written literacy rates in Afghanistan - and in many other countries refugees are fleeing - are very low.
This is a big question!
Climate change is being intrinsically linked to increased displacement across the globe due to increased temperatures and scorching heat that are making many places unliveable, severely impacting livelihoods, causing severe water shortages and increasing violence which, in turn, is propelling increasing numbers of what are being called ‘climate refugees’ and ‘climate migrants’.
To give an example, all along the global aridity line, we can map connections between drought, water scarcity, scorching temperatures, heat stress and military conflict—and plot conflict zones along the line from Syria, Libya, Palestine, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, for example—countries which have high numbers of internally displaced people and which are sending high numbers of refugees.
In these situations of violence and instability, it is always women, minorities and transient groups who are worst affected. Therefore, climate justice and climate change communication will mean elevating those voices.
Climate activism has historically been a middle-class pursuit, and minority activists have been ignored - this is what Naomi Klein calls the ‘violence of othering in a warming world’.
Addressing climate change impacts will require highlighting the voices of the most marginalised (women, poor, climate migrants, displacees, all minority groups) - by elevating voices of analysts, experts, refugee and indigenous rights campaigners, lawyers and activists from or working on behalf of these communities.
We won’t know these impacts until they have been implemented and in place for some time, but I had imagined it was an aim of the assembly to think these through.
To my knowledge, this is not the case in Brighton & Hove.
However, refugees are mostly embedded in refugee and migrant communities of support and in many cases, do call on these for lifts and help with moving around the city and so on.
This reinforces the dependence on car use for these vulnerable communities.
Our first priority in maintaining highway infrastructure is to minimise risks to the safety of people using our highway network or who live and work nearby.
Potholes are an inconvenience and danger to a number of road users, including pedestrians.
The council spends over £3million a year on highway maintenance and receives an additional sum from the government towards preventing and repairing potholes.
We also have an ongoing safety inspections programme which enables urgent repairs, depending on the site assessment of risk.
The government’s new vision for cycling and walking (‘Gear Change’) states that it will establish a national e-bike support programme, which could include loans, subsidies, or other financial incentives, using the learning from other schemes in the UK and abroad for e-bikes, adapted e-bikes and other e-vehicles.
The council will continue to look out for other funding streams to make it easier for residents to purchase e-bikes, as well as increasing access to them through the BTN BikeShare scheme.
The delivery of public realm improvements, which could be through reallocating some road space from vehicles, will provide opportunities for these along with more areas to sit and relax.
The removal of any parking spaces in the city centre would need to be supported by improvements to other travel options, so that an improved city centre environment remains easily accessible to everyone.
Some parking would need to remain for residents and visitors who need to travel by private car, and mobility hubs outside of the city centre could enable a switch from car to public transport for visitors driving to the city.
Everyone will have an opportunity to comment next year on the development of a new transport strategy for the city, which will support the development of an accessible city with a transport network that everyone can use.
Changes to the network will be designed to maintain or improve accessibility for disabled people and those with other protected characteristics.
An Equality Impact Assessment will be required as part of the design of any measures, along with further consultation, including considerations of access and affordability.
Re-introducing trams in the city would be very expensive.
The city has a very comprehensive local bus network which would be difficult to replicate by trams, and has the highest level of bus use in the UK outside of London.
Bus passenger journey numbers are now about 50 million per year, more than double the number in the mid-1990s.
The number of hybrid diesel-electric or solar powered buses in the city is continuing to increase, making them cleaner and quieter.
The council is already supporting local businesses and organisations to use and switch to electric cargo bikes and offers a £125 subsidy to businesses who switch to e-cargo bikes for delivery.
Earlier this year we were awarded approximately £85,000 from the Department for Transport for 12 e-cargo bikes.
Two of these are being used by council departments, 5 will help an existing ‘first and last mile’ zero carbon delivery company expand and the other 5 have been given to local businesses.
We will also promote electric pedicabs, instead of rickshaws, to enable people to travel across the city. Find out more about the eCargo Bike Accelerator Project.
By working with project partners to promote zero emission deliveries using e-cargo bikes, we are aiming to reduce carbon emissions in the city centre which are currently produced by delivery vans.
Additionally, we will investigate the feasibility of consolidation hubs outside of the city centre where deliveries can be transferred from large goods vehicles to enable the last mile delivery to be undertaken using e-cargo bikes or other small electric vehicles.
200 new lamp post charging points for electric cars have been set up on streets across the city, as well as new rapid-charging hubs for taxis.
Funding has recently been received for more fast chargers to be installed.
The council will need to consider exemptions as part of the introduction of any measures that seek to restrict or reduce the number of vehicles on roads in the city. These may include electric vehicles.
The current local transport plan (LTP4) for the city was developed to support sustainable economic growth, reduce carbon emissions, increase safety, and improve equality, accessibility, health and well-being.
The fifth local transport plan will support similar outcomes and therefore continue to require an integrated package of measures for all forms of travel, with schemes that support a wide range of outcomes.
Highway maintenance (including cycle lanes) in the city is funded by a number of government sources in addition to the council tax raised locally. All council tax payers in the city contribute to highway maintenance costs.
Funds raised from vehicle excise duty and fuel duty go directly to the government. They are not ringfenced for local transport improvements. The government is expected to continue contributing significant funds towards the delivery of cycle schemes.
This is the share of all journeys to work by city residents aged 16 to 74 in employment (source: 2011 Census).
The council holds local journey data from a number of sources including:
The council collects information on reasons for choice of travel mode during the preparation of school travel plans.
A school travel plan is a document setting out how a school will promote safer, active and sustainable travel to school, with the main emphasis being on reducing the number of children being driven to and from school.
Brighton & Hove hosts over 11 million visitors (including 9.5 million day-trippers) every year.
This supports 21,000 tourism related jobs and delivers nearly £886 million of spend in the city (source: Brighton & Hove Visitor Economic Strategy 2018 to 2023).
This far outweighs the costs to the council of managing visitors.
The council has developed a strong partnership with local bus companies, but does not have direct influence over fare levels.
The majority of bus services in the city are provided commercially (in other words, at no cost to the council) and the fares are set by the companies.
A small number of local authorities across the country, including Nottingham and Reading, operate local bus companies. The council has no plans to buy-out the bus companies in the city.
The Bus Services Act 2017 does provide opportunities for enhanced partnerships with local bus operators.
See response to above question.
No. The council is currently undertaking some initial high-level work on the feasibility and costs of developing a car-free city centre by 2023. This includes the complementary measures that would need to be provided.
The outcome of this work will be reported to the Environment, Transport and Sustainability (ETS) Committee early next year before any decisions are taken on more detailed work, which would include public consultation before any options would be developed.
A ‘pop-up’ cycle lane is a temporary cycle lane facility, normally with ‘light segregation’ from other traffic.
Through various funding streams the council supports and encourages workplaces across the city to promote sustainable transport to employees.
The Access to Work project promotes cycle-to-work schemes to workplaces, and actively promotes the Green Commute Initiative cycle-to-work scheme which supports local bike shops.
To encourage workplaces to carry out a Sustainable Travel Action Plan, we offer a travel support package that can be tailored to workplaces.
The package includes:
The council has also partnered with Love to Ride, which encourages employees and residents to cycle more by offering rewards with incentives.
In the new year, the council will start another partnership project with BetterPoints which encourages all forms of active and sustainable travel.
Again, residents and employees can take part in this project, which offers incentives and rewards which can then be redeemed on the high street supporting local businesses.
The council runs annual workplace travel surveys that gathers data and information about how people travel.
The information gained from these surveys enables the council to make improvements to existing and future infrastructure projects and programmes.
The council is very keen to increase the uptake of electric vehicles in the city to help reduce the impact of vehicle emissions locally.
It is helping to do this by bidding for and investing funding in charging points across the city to support their use by residents and visitors, and over 200 lamppost chargers have now been installed.
In 2017 there were 200 electric vehicles in the city, by Q2 2020 this had increased to 625 vehicles.
The council does not have any influence over the cost of purchasing electric vehicles but is working with the local car club provider to introduce more hybrid electric vehicles across the city.
There are many short journeys made in the city along fairly flat corridors, particularly from east to west.
The topography of the city can though make cycling challenging for many journeys and residents.
It is hoped that the increased ownership and introduction of e-bikes within BTN BikeShare will enable an increase in cycling across all areas of the city.
The council will need to review the impact on parking revenues of the introduction of measures that promote increased use of active travel and public transport.
It will also need to identify possible changes to existing parking tariff arrangements, or explore new sources of funding which may include road user charging.
This discussion guide was used by Ipsos MORI facilitators to guide assembly members’ conversations in breakout groups.
10 new break-out groups to be pre-allocated during intro - up to 5 minutes waiting for participants to join/settle.
Chair to introduce self, Ipsos MORI, facilitators, note-takers and observers.
Chair to welcome participants back and cover:
Chair to share analysis of discussions in stage 1 and 2, addressing misunderstandings and overlooked points of importance, and drawing out their:
Chair to inform participants that we will be analysing the discussions through a behaviour change lens.
If they're interested in learning more about that, we're happy to run a short seminar on it/send over materials later in November. They should get in touch by COP (close of play) Friday 13 November if interested.
Chair to present key behavioural issues and tensions identified through discussion. Chair to inform assembly they will be exploring these issues first, then discussing the interventions after the break.
In earlier sessions we were told by experts that use of transport does not just revolve around work, and that many journeys are for social or personal reasons as well as work.
Paul described tension around how the council should be promoting behaviour change.
We’re going to watch some presentations on behaviour change now, then we will come back here to discuss.
Presentations on behaviour change and the future of transport:
Chair to ask each facilitator to feedback 1 to 2 questions from their break-out discussion.
Experts to answer key questions and chair to inform participants we may be able to provide answers to questions we’re unable to cover tonight first thing in the final session, depending on the amount of questions.
Facilitator to share screen showing the key trade-offs, feedback and ideas from the assembly in public transport.
Facilitator to share screen showing the key trade-offs, feedback and ideas from the assembly in reducing car use.
Facilitator to share screen showing the key trade-offs, feedback and ideas from the assembly in active travel.
Chair to thank everyone for their contributions, remind assembly members of next session (date and time), and outline what will happen next time.
Note to assembly that questions generated will be amalgamated and posed back to experts – we’ll share their feedback on Saturday morning as a presentation at the beginning of the session.
You said:
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Car use:
Public transport use:
Walking/cycling:
These things are largely about infrastructure and can be addressed through the interventions we’re discussing.
You said:
This may not be the outcome of interventions, but we want to explore these concerns with you.
These slides, updated to reflect the assembly members’ feedback in previous sessions, were used to stimulate assembly members’ thoughts during breakout groups in session 4.
Benefits:
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This discussion guide was used by Ipsos MORI facilitators to guide assembly members’ conversations in breakout groups.
10 new break-out groups to be pre-allocated during intro - up to 5 minutes waiting for participants to join/settle.
Chair to introduce self, Ipsos MORI, facilitators, note-takers and observers.
Chair to welcome participants back and cover:
Chair to play back 10 key recommendations based on analysis from Thursday’s session.
Chair to provide answers to key questions that were not covered on Thursday, if/where appropriate.
I want to reassure you that none of the detail and nuance that has been shared in assembly discussions will be lost. All of that will be captured in the report.
What we need to do as a whole assembly today is come to an agreement on the headline recommendations, with the conditions that need to be applied to any intervention for them to be acceptable to the community of Brighton & Hove.
In order to make sure each recommendation is given proper attention, each group is taking one recommendation to work on the wording, red-lines and caveats.
One of you will present it to the rest of the assembly and then we’ll come back here to reflect on everyone else’s recommendations.
Again, I want to reassure you that everything you say in these discussions will be captured so all reflections on the final recommendations will be included in the report.
Facilitator to share screen with their group's recommendation and make edits on their behalf throughout the discussion.
Chair to call on each group to share their recommendation by asking the facilitator to introduce their speaker.
Assembly speakers to talk through their recommendation and changes made to wording.
Chair to remind assembly members they will be back in their break-out rooms to discuss these final recommendations and they should use the break to reflect and make notes on what they do and don’t support in the changes made to the recommendations.
Thank you. All of that will be captured in the report. We’ve got a couple of exercises now to help round off the process.
Share slide describing the appraisal and ranking task.
In a moment I will share a slide with the recommendations on it. On your own, with a pen and paper, give each of the 10 recommendations a score out of 5 that represents how much impact you think this intervention will have towards reducing emissions. 5 should be the most impactful and 1 the least.
Then, rank the 10 recommendations in the order you think they should be prioritised by the council. Number 10 should be the recommendation most important to you, and number 1 the least.
So, the one that is most important to you should have the most amount of ‘tallies’ next to it if you do it as a tally chart.
It is now 11.45am, and I’ll give you until midday to complete this task – don’t overthink it! Then at midday I will ask you to tell me your scores and reasons.
Share recommendations slide - each facilitator will have a different version so that the ordering they see is different for each group.
Go around each assembly member asking for their appraisal scores only and make sure they clearly articulate their appraisal scores and reasoning.
Then, go around each assembly member asking for the ranked list of recommendations and ask for their reasoning. Write down their lists.
Facilitator to share screen showing the my future self task.
Please take the next 15 minutes to write a letter as if you were yourself in 10 years.
Imagine you are writing back to yourself in this moment about the changes that have been made to transport in Brighton & Hove, what your average week, month or year looks like in terms of travel and how you feel about these changes.
Please email this to us when you’ve finished it, either by sending a word document or by taking a clear photograph of a hand-written letter.
While you work on that we will be gathering the ranked recommendations across the assembly and will share this with you in plenary shortly. Stay in your break-out room for now, we’ll call you into plenary at 12.25pm.
Facilitators to join plenary room and tally the rankings from their group, Chair and tech support team to tally up the results and put onto a powerpoint.
Chair to share the priorities of the assembly in order of which recommendations received the most weight.
Chair to remind participants that no nuance will be lost, and this will not be considered as a vote by the council, only an exercise to help us understand what’s most important to you and why – we just wanted to share the result with you!
You have chance to reflect on this and change your answers now if you wish.
Thank you. We will feed that, and everything else that’s been said throughout the assembly, into the final report.
We emailed you about the council re-contacting you next year about the assembly.
Read out the email wording if needed and be clear who does and does not consent to be re-contacted by the council.
We also emailed you about whether you’d be willing to take part in a short interview about the assembly, is this something you’d be interested in? If yes, we will be in touch.
Make sure it's clear who wants to be contacted about an interview.
Chair to thank everyone for their contributions and explain next steps:
These slides were shown to the assembly in the plenary session at the beginning of session 5.
Each of the 10 breakout groups then took one recommendation and fine-tuned the wording. Both the original and the amended slides are shown together over the next few pages.
Note that the final slide was shown in plenary to acknowledge these recommendations, but was not given to the assembly for editing.
Introduce a park and ride for visitors and commuters to use - original:
Introduce a park and ride to minimise car use in the city - amended:
The public transport system should be affordable - original:
The public transport system should be affordable/accessible - amended:
Introduce mobility hubs - original:
Introduce mobility hubs - amended:
Driving a car should be less convenient than getting public transport - original:
Making public transport a more convenient alternative to driving a car - amended:
Cyclists should be prioritised more through well designed cycling networks that are safe and practical for day-to-day use as well as leisure - original:
Cyclists should be prioritised over cars through well designed dedicated cycling networks that are safe and practical for day-to-day use as well as leisure - amended:
Low traffic neighbourhoods - original:
Low traffic neighbourhoods - amended:
Message needs to be more positive (safer/healthier/community). Emphasis needs to be on the people not the car. Healthier low traffic/pedestrianised communities.
Car-free city centre - original:
Car-free city centre - amended:
Messaging should focus on what people gain rather than lose and educate citizens - original:
Messaging should focus on what people gain rather than lose and educate/expand citizens' knowledge - amended:
There should be a combination of ‘carrot’ and ‘stick’ interventions - original:
There should be a focus on incentives rather than sanctions as interventions - amended:
The council should actively consult and engage with the whole community - original:
The council should actively consult and engage with the whole* community - amended:
*This might be better compartmentalised into the neighbourhoods that make up the whole. Be mindful of relevance to particular communities depending on the issue.
Focus on creating pleasant environments:
All measures should be carefully planned, researched and monitored/evaluated:
Address lack of infrastructure and subsidise electric car purchase:
The citizens of Brighton & Hove should experience changes as a whole community effort:
Assembly members were asked to appraise and then rank the 10 recommendations, with the most important/impactful being ranked the highest number and the least important/impactful being ranked the lowest.
This slide was shown in breakout rooms while facilitators explained the task to members.
First - give each recommendation a score out of 5 for how much impact you think it will have on reducing transport related carbon emissions (5 should be the most impactful and 1 the least).
Second - rank the 10 recommendations in the order you think they should be prioritised by the council (10 should be the recommendation most important to you and 1 the least).
Recommendations:
While the prioritisation of recommendations across the whole assembly was being tallied by facilitators, assembly members wrote letters as their future selves about the transport system in Brighton & Hove in 2030.
This slide was shown in breakout rooms while facilitators explained the task to members.
Write a letter as if it is 2030. You are still you!
Imagine you are writing to yourself as you are now, and the changes that have been made to transport in Brighton & Hove.
When writing the letter, talk about:
When finished, please email the letter to Laura. If you have handwritten the letter, take a clear photograph and email that.
To understand the dimensions underlying behaviour, Ipsos MORI use MAPPS.
MAPPS is a behaviour change framework based on rigorous academic research (Behaviour Change Wheel/COM-B) and an evidence base of sustained behaviour change.
This underpinned the implementation chapter in the findings report.
There are 5 dimensions to the MAPPS framework:
Sitting under each of the dimensions are further ways to diagnose behaviour:
Once the barriers to behaviour change were diagnosed, researchers used an extensive body of research on interventions tailored to each of the categories to inform recommendations which can be designed, tested and implemented.
These interventions fell broadly into the following building blocks:
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