The following section contains the working tools developed within the first project output (IO1) to support the target groups in collecting citizens’ needs with respect to the topic of sustainable mobility, whereby the strengths and weaknesses of the territories’ sustainable mobility infrastructure can be identified (Survey Template). The following collection of the best practices already developed by project partners in each country will provide examples of activities/initiatives that civil servants and representatives of local environmentalist NGOs could put into practice to stimulate citizens in using bikes in their ordinary activities.
Here you can find the working tool (survey template) developed within the first project output (IO1) to support the target groups in collecting citizens’ needs with respect to the topic of sustainable mobility, whereby the strengths and weaknesses of the territories’ sustainable mobility infrastructure can be identified.
The following collection of the best practices already developed by project partners in each country will provide examples of activities/initiatives that civil servants and representatives of local environmentalist NGOs could put into practice to stimulate citizens in using bikes in their ordinary activities.
The objective of the Good practice Template (GPT) is to collect and systematize the previous experiences of the participating organizations with respect to the topic of promoting sustainable mobility. The GPT used to synthetically describe practices related to the theme of promoting sustainable mobility, identifies a series of elements believed by the project partners to be essential for the eventual replication of the practice itself in a different context, with all the steps to take in order to put it into practice.
Duration: 9/02/2021 to 4/03/2021 questionnaire administering
Description: Administration of the TRANSIT questionnaire through the mobility managers of local companies. The Municipality of Imola decided to set up a permanent round table with the mobility managers of the companies, the mobility manager of the Municipality and the Area Blu mobility sector with the objective of sharing proposals, criticalities and elaborating sustainable mobility strategies related to home-work commuting. This was the first experiment of administering a single questionnaire to all companies, each of which usually elaborates its own questionnaire. This allowed us to define a zero-starting point on which to verify the effectiveness of the actions put in place over time.
Involved Actors: mobility managers of local business companies, who in turn involved employees of the companies in the activities
Results: number of participants, questionnaire results, the questionnaire had 1166 answers. in addition to multiple choice questions, the participants used the open-ended sections to express criticisms and proposals.
Impact:
Spin off:
The experiment made us realize the importance of working through a mobility manager board and sharing a single questionnaire for all companies, in order to have an overall and coherent picture and to monitor over time the evolution of cycling, the number of people choosing to travel by bicycle and how the perception of well-being, safety, bike network quality and services related to home-work trips evolves.
Communication Materials used:
We used different tools to communicate with our stakeholders like letter to all mobility managers, press release, social media of the municipality
Duration: March-June 2023
Description:
“Cycle to Work” has been created looking at a similar project realised in Karlstad, by the municipality partner of Transit, and the “Bike to Work” project, developed by the municipality of Parma.
It is useful to remind that Unione Pedemontana Parmense’s target of people to promote sustainable mobility by bicycle were workers, so it was proposed to the companies previously involved in the survey, to engage a small group of their employees to cycle at least twice a week to and from their workplace.
UPP provided them with a “kit sack” with a bib and a canteen. At the beginning of the project, participants were asked to answer an online questionnaire, sent by e-mail, about their expectations and motivations. In September 2023 they were asked to answer a final survey about their experience and what could be done by the municipality to better cycling to work. Unione Pedemontana Parmense also bought ten e-bicycles for service mobility of its employees and those of its municipalities.
Involved Actors:
Companies and their workers, Unione Pedemontana Parmense employees and those of its municipalities, political administrators and civil servants, and cycling associations.
Results:
Two companies, GEA Procomac based in Sala Baganza and Fornovo Gas Plus based in Traversetolo, took part in the project: 22 workers started cycling to and from their workplace. Unione Pedemontana Parmense has also organized a sort of “Opening ceremony” of the project over two days with its political administrators and those of the municipalities involved, companies’ top management, workers who take part in the project and journalists. The first one was at GEA Procomac on 27th March 2023 and the second one the next day at Fornovo Gas Plus. During the two events, participants were provided with a “Kit sack”.
Union Pedemontana Parmense prepared a questionnaire at the beginning of the project. Questions were mainly focused on the expectations and motivations for the participation in the proposed activity to bike on the home-work way.
Starting from the assumption that around 50% of the participants already bike to the workplace, and the other 50% use a private car, all the respondents accepted immediately to participate in the pilot project for two main reasons: they already cycle to the workplace and they want to do more physical activity. Only a small percentage highlights the importance of this choice to support concretely sustainable mobility in the territory where they live.
Around 60% of the participants did not change their habits in the home-work path and those who answer that they had to change their habits, this is mainly linked to the fact that they had to wake up early and had to organise in a different way the family management.
As a pilot project, UPP asked the participants to bike to work at least two days a week but more than 70% of the respondents said they would be available to bike home-work path also more days during the week and they highlighted that a way to support the participation of other colleagues is, on the one hand, a more extended bike routes network and on the other hand, some incentives from the company in which they work would help.
As the main expectation, two elements can be underlined:
After the project implementation, an ex-post questionnaire has been prepared for participants in the pilot project. Some figures.
More than 60% used bikes to reach the workplace for the period of implementation of the pilot project: as our Swedish project partner highlighted during the Transit project, weather conditions play an important role in biking to work. The remaining 40% of the Italian respondents underlined that hot weather in June was a strong hindrance to following the instruction to cycle to work at least twice each week for the two-month period.
First consideration: weather conditions influence a lot the use of bikes in the home-work path.
90% of participants biked to work at least twice each week and around 65% of bikers more than twice (mainly on a daily basis).
The pilot project showed a positive impact on participants above all for the improvement of their physical and psychological well-being (they felt less stress) and around 15% highlighted also the importance of biking as a way to appreciate more the natural environment in which they live.
Participants had also an important “multiplier effect” on their families (100% talked about the project) and with colleagues.
Many of the respondents’ colleagues expressed their appreciation for the pilot project however they highlighted that public authorities should be more engaged in keeping bike routes safe and companies should support more employees’ commuting with sustainable transportation (incentives).
Second consideration: a positive synergy among public authorities, private companies and citizens is essential to promote coherent and effective sustainable mobility.
As a final result, 100% of participants answered that will continue to bike to the workplace and 75% of respondents will also have a proactive role in promoting the activities of “cycle to work”.
Third consideration: Spreading information about the positive effects on personal, community and on environmental well-being is vital to promote more biking as a sustainable means of transportation to work.
Spin off of the project:
Even if the pilot project officially ended in June, workers keep on cycling and Unione Pedemontana Parmense is planning to involve other companies in order to make “Cycle to Work” grow, including its workers and those of its municipalities.
Communication materials:
As reported in the communication template, Unione Pedemontana Parmense press and communication office produced many press releases covering every single step of Transit and Cycle to Work projects. Were also produced many posts on his Facebook and LinkedIn pages. Cyclist-workers were invited to become testimonial of the project, sending pictures of their experience to be published on UPP social networks. And they did. Here we have some examples:
