Realising emission reductions via ACTIVE transport strategies Jane Waldock, City of Yarra MAV Smart Urban Futures Conference, March 2014

Today’s subject Subject was initially proposed as “realising emission reductions via promoting passive transport strategies” In the white heat of pre Christmas, mid analysis of hundreds of pages of documentation for a major piece of infrastructure which was strongly opposed by Yarra, mid development of two major strategies on the CEO’s KPI list, I probably did not give the title my full attention, and took it to mean “promoting active transport” So having had time to think long and hard about it, I am going to shed my bureaucrat skin for a short while, and behave like a politician, and answer the question I thought was posed!

I’ll cover Context: Bike fleet case study Sustainable transport strategies Environment strategy and targets Bike fleet case study

Active transport involves physical exercise: cycling, walking, jogging, skateboarding, even rollerblading, although Sir Cliff Richard (mentioned mainly because we are now back in the business of creating our own Dames and Sirs) probably stopped doing this in the mid 1980’s includes using public transport, as most people have to walk some distance from their home or work place to their nearest PT stop

Yarra’s Active Transport Strategies Yarra has adopted several active transport strategies: 2005 Encouraging and Increasing Walking in Yarra Strategy 2006 Strategic Transport Statement 2009 Bicycle strategy The focus of these strategies is to increase active and sustainable transport use and decrease car use, with an additional benefit being emission reduction for both Council operations and the community.

Yarra’s Active Transport Advocacy We also advocate for public transport improvements such as Supporting Doncaster Rail Supporting Melbourne Metro Improving the DART service frequency and reliability, along Hoddle St and Victoria Pde Improving tram reliability and frequency eg Route 96 Piloting new DDA tram stop designs in Bridge Road Opposing the extension of Clearways in 2009/10

Yarra Environment Strategy 2013 The vision of the new Yarra Environment Strategy adopted in December 2013 is: “Yarra is a resilient and sustainable city where current and future populations enjoy a high quality of life within our fair share of the earth's resources, whilst ensuring we co-exist harmoniously with the natural environment.”

Yarra Environment Strategy 2013 (YES) Of the four themes included in the strategy, the Sustainable City Infrastructure & Lifestyles pathway includes Sustainable Transport - Community infrastructure and programs that provide for safe, efficient, affordable and low-carbon mobility. Carbon Neutral Yarra - Reduced greenhouse emissions from across the municipality, towards carbon neutral by 2020

Targets for Sustainable transport modes to work in Yarra (community) Baseline Measurement 2017 target 2020 41% Residents using Sustainable Transport to work (2011 census) 50% (2016 census) 60% (2021 census) 29% non-residents use sustainable transport to work in Yarra (2011 census) 35% (2016 census) 50% (2021 census)

Emission reduction targets (Council organisation) Emission (tCO2) 2000/01 baseline 16,820 2014/15 50% 8,410 2017 55% 7569 2020 60% 6728

YES: Cycling and walking actions The City of Yarra is very well served by public transport has excellent walking and cycling opportunities and is centrally located in Melbourne. Yarra City will encourage those visiting Yarra (for work and leisure) to use sustainable transport to access the city. The Yarra Bicycle Strategy includes continuing construction of bicycle infrastructure improvements in Yarra, such as separated bicycle lanes, and bicycle parking infrastructure. .

YES: Road management actions Trial 30km speed limits in LATMS precincts Improve road safety in Yarra Develop a phased plan of priority public transport projects that will help people travel from, through and to Yarra

YES: Sustainable transport actions Integrate sustainable transport improvements with local economic and urban realm improvements. Increase the number of staff travelling to work and for work by sustainable modes

Public transport advocacy Council will also: Advocate to improve conditions for sustainable transport modes. Advocate against road projects that increase the net traffic capacity for single occupancy vehicles, unless the scheme produces an overall significant mode shift towards sustainable modes by improving conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, disabled people and public transport.

Active transport We know that the only way to get more people into the city is to provide them with safe alternative transport options. The travel time/cost equation is what shifts people out of their cars faster than any other motivator. We know that more and more people are choosing active transport to get to the city. VicRoads car volume data shows a slight decrease in numbers of people on the arterial roads travelling to the city. Our residents tell us that using public transport is getting harder due to trams and trains being full by the time they get to Yarra. Year on year we see more cyclists and pedestrians.

Bicycle projects As with its emissions reduction strategy, Yarra started with bicycle projects which are easy to achieve. Clifton Hill – Abbotsford Elizabeth Street Pigdon Street Lennox Street Gertrude Street Heidelberg Road Largely these were win-win projects; bicycle lanes could be improved with little loss of parking.

Bicycle projects Projects underway. Wellington Street Brunswick St/St Georges Road

CASE STUDY Council’s staff bicycle fleet

Council’s bicycle fleet We have 24 bicycles in the Council fleet. To be eligible you must travel a minimum of 20 km per week for work purposes. Most riders would easily exceed this distance. This results in a (conservative) reduction in the number of fleet/pool cars Council owns by 12 vehicles.

$ savings of having a bicycle fleet Up front cost of a small car is $18 k each; cars are replaced every two years; $108k Annual running costs for Council’s fleet cars of the order of $8k; $96k Total cost $204k Up front cost of a bicycle is $1000 each; replaced every 6 years: $4k Annual running costs of order $24k Total cost $28k Annual saving $176k

Emission reductions of bicycle fleet (direct) Average gCO2/km for medium sized car: 183g Avg gCO2 saved per week (based on 20k/wk): 3660g Avg gCO2 saved per year per car (48wks/year): 175,680g Avg gCO2/km for bicycle: 0g Avg annual CO2 saving per bike: 0.18 tonne

Emissions reduction (direct) less conservative assessment Include kms saved for travel to and from work: avg 50km/wk Include kms for private use: avg 25 km/wk Kms for work use 25 km/wk Total 100 km/wk Avg annual CO2 saving per bike: 0.88 tonne For 24 fleet bikes: 21 tonne

Conclusion The emissions savings from having a bike fleet are modest The $ savings from having a bike fleet are significant The ease of achieving these saving is high (especially when compared to stationary emissions reduction projects)

Embodied emissions (indirect) Camry 1.28 tonne/car Bicycle 0.013 tonne/bike