NEW CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCHOOL TRAVEL PLANNING Paul Lucas, Operational Service Planning Manager GMPTE

JOBS IN GREATER MANCHESTER Extra 210,000 jobs by ,000 new jobs in last 5 years Renaissance after decades of decline Currently 61% non-car share in City Centre – rising to 65% by 2011 Car ownership rising 25% in a decade

EMPLOYMENT SPLIT IN GREATER MANCHESTER

DEPRIVATION IN GREATER MANCHESTER 2006 – 9% of 16-18’s NEET Manchester truancy – amongst worst in country 8.4% (7%) No GCSE’s 7% 52% 5 GCSE’s A*-C (55% nationally) 43% <19 live in areas in bottom 20% of IMD (=280k) Of the 215 poorest “wards” nationally, 75 in Greater Manchester 22% of “wards” in GM are in lowest 5% in England Of 33 “wards” in Manchester City, 27 are in lowest 10% nationally

City Centre Modal Split Current: ModeNumber% Car Public transport Total Future: ModeNumber% Car Public transport Total Source : GMITS April 2005

YELLOW SCHOOL BUSES - BENEFITS 34 Yellow Bus “Schemes” have reduced car mileage by 265k pa Anti social behaviour down 75% Bullying almost negligible Truancy rates down at associated schools

YELLOW SCHOOL BUSES – CASE STUDY STANDISH HIGH SCHOOL – WIGAN Former position : 2 local indirect school buses from outlying rural areas Other children relied on local services Following introduction of 3 new YSB’s in 2003 : Better links to residential areas 53% shift from car to bus (254 students) Better accommodation on parallel commercial services More children able to travel safely Revenue saving on “standard” school contracts

GM Charging Points

Location of children crossing charging points - GM

Analysis of pupils at one school – North GM

NEW TRANSPORT BILL – AN OPPORTUNITY? Greater influence over bus services Integrated Transport Authority Local control over road user charging Significant potential for modal shift REMAINING CHALLENGES :- Independent schools Parental choice Cost of bus travel Safety and security perceptions

NEW TRANSPORT BILL – “CONCLUSIONS” Local Transport Bill could provide Authorities with greater influence over bus services….. ….and empower Authorities to better integrate all modes of public transport – tram, bus and rail But resource, as well as legislative change, critical to delivering the scale of public transport improvement required

EDUCATION AND INSPECTIONS ACT / EDUCATION AND SKILLS BILL Statutory qualification based on deprivation and distance  = greater parental choice Extended school hours Diploma programme / employment based subjects Mainstreaming of SEN pupils GM’s economic activity = more travel

SO WHAT HAVE SCHOOL TRAVEL \ PLANS ACHIEVED? DfT report “Travelling to School Initiative report on the findings of the initial evaluation” 14% primary and 40% secondary schools saw a reduction in car use BUT 14% primary and 56% secondary saw an increase in car use Conclusion “because children often no longer attend their nearest school…. the car remains the most convenient option for some parents.” … but… were all the statistics fully available and collected?

WHAT HAPPENED IN MANCHESTER CITY? Aim - STP’s introduced in all 202 schools by 2010 Aim - secondary schools to reduce the rate of car use from 16.4% to 12.6% by 2010 Baseline Single Occupancy Vehicle rates at primary schools with STP’s fallen from 39.1% to 29.9% Best example – Temple Primary – 3 walking buses reducing car use from 35% to 14% but … larger catchments = higher car use, and bad weather affects results.

IN CONCLUSION ……. On the one hand Economic competitive- ness of the nation and EU against Far East and emerging global economies On the other hand Future of the planet and our own sustainability / carbon footprints school travel plans are a microcosm of a global problem