Sustainable transport choices and the retail sector - advice to Government from CfIT

Chapter 5: Conclusions and recommendations

5.1 Balancing the need to travel with the need to improve quality of life is at the heart of CfIT's research into sustainable transport choices.

5.2 CfIT acknowledges that for some shopping trips, especially those to the supermarket, the car will remain the preferred mode of choice because of the ease of transferring goods from the place of retail back to the household.

5.3 CfIT does not want to prevent shoppers from using their cars, but is seeking to encourage shoppers to make less use of their cars than they do at present since current levels of use and trends are unsustainable. CfIT is aware that a proportion of people already use a mixture of their cars and public transport depending on the nature of their shopping needs. Measures that can encourage a shift amongst those who perceive a need to use their car for all their shopping journeys should therefore be explored further. These include Park & Ride services, the provision of affordable deliveries for non-car users and internet shopping and encouraging the use of shops and services at the neighbourhood level so people can walk or cycle for their day-to-day needs.

5.4 CfIT is primarily concerned with the traffic generation caused by edge-of-town and out-of-town locations, and although town / city centres may themselves be congested and difficult environments for parking, we believe that future changes in transport and access will bring relief.

Improving accessibility

5.5 Out-of-town developments can be inaccessible for people without a private car. Providing effective and attractive services to out-of-town retail sites can be problematic as these locations are very difficult to serve comprehensively by public transport (i.e. they need multiple networks to cover the catchment area). Out-of-town retail parks, because of their inaccessibility to alternative modes (to the car), can only continue to re-enforce and increase current levels of car use. This is supported by the findings of our study which reveals that 85% of people travelling to out-of-town sites do so by car.

5.6 CfIT is therefore keen that future development of the retail sector is focused on local centres and town and city centres rather than on edge-of-town and out-of-town parks. Local centres and town and city centres currently offer the best levels of accessibility for all sections of the community, especially for those without a car who would otherwise be excluded from social and economic activities. These sites also hold the most potential for further improving accessibility through future improvements to public transport, including Park and Ride. As mentioned above, it is widely recognised that improvements to public transport provision for out-of-town sites are unlikely to be achieved because of the difficulties posed by their non-central and more remote locations. CfIT believes current government guidance on out-of-town development must be retained and rigorously enforced.

Market misconceptions

5.7 One of the key areas to address in CfIT's research were the misconceptions that currently exist in the market. For example, generally town centre retailers underestimate the number of their customers arriving by bus, walk and cycle and their spend profile and overestimate the number and effect of car borne customers. Work needed to be undertaken to gather existing evidence on the actual split by mode and spend profiles for facilities at each of the three locations. We believe this has been achieved.

5.8 Our study demonstrates that there is no significant economic argument for not focussing retail development on local centres and town and city centres. Our findings revealed that public transport users do not spend significantly less than car users in the town and city centres, particularly once income bias is eliminated. Therefore, any modal shift amongst existing car shoppers through the implementation of sustainable transport measures should not result in significantly less retail spend.

5.9 Our evidence reiterates the findings of previous studies which indicated that a high proportion of shoppers arrive in town centres by public transport, walking and cycling.

5.10 Spend on different types of goods differed with travel choice. The shopping profile for public transport users differs from car users. People who travel by public transport are more likely to purchase clothes and shoes, whilst purchasing of household goods was more likely amongst car users. Indeed, people travelling by bus, cycling and walking are more likely to support their local town and city centres, visiting them more frequently than car users.

5.11 Income rather than mode is actually the key determinant of spend per trip. For example, whether a person of a certain income level chooses to use the car to travel to the shop or any other mode, their spend level at the end of that journey will not be affected. However, their decision on where to shop will depend upon the retail experience they are seeking (e.g. pedestrianisation, availability and cost of parking, mix of shops), the type of shopping they are planning to do (convenience or comparison) and the items they are thinking of purchasing.

5.12 While our research shows that people of similar income levels spend similar amounts, regardless of the mode they choose to use, the car continues to dominate shopping journeys to edge-of-town and out-of-town retail sites because parking is available (and free) and alternatives may not offer the convenience and reliability of the private car (i.e. door to door). However, given the growing problem of congestion and concerns about the environment, this behaviour is unsustainable. Nor does the out-of-town retail model help engender social inclusion and accessibility for the wider community.

Levelling the playing field

5.13 Consumer choice is an important but difficult area to monitor. It is argued that giving preferential treatment to town / city centres and discouraging out-of-town developments denies consumer choice. However, if the pricing system for access is not equitable then one could be supporting a regime that is distorting the market and denying non-car based consumers. The answer is to ensure an equitable situation for access and parking to all three levels of location - out-of-town retail centres provide free car parking unlike, in general, town /city centre facilities. Thus an expensive car parking space is being subsidised to attract customers; an advantage often not open to town centre operators.

5.14 It is necessary therefore to estimate the comparative cost to the customer and the absorbed costs of provision to the operator. The costs of the three location levels should be estimated, compared and equalised in terms of, for example, a notional rental charge per space. A regional dimension should also be introduced as a basis for regional parking standards.

Previous CfIT recommendations

5.15 As well as considering changes to better use the legislative framework, we believe it to be worth restating our previous CfIT recommendations which have a bearing on the vision that CfIT has for sustainable transport.

• Concessionary fares:
• We believe the most effective means to achieve transport social inclusion is through widening the current criteria for concessionary fares to include young people and other groups on means tested benefits.
• Additional public support would be necessary - our earlier research shows that this would provide best value in terms of social inclusion for any additional expenditure.
• Regional Transport Strategies:
• More effective Regional Transport Strategies are required to facilitate more widespread up-take of Bus Priority and Demand Restraint policies at the local level including:
• Greater co-ordination between land use planning and transport provision;
• Greater emphasis on enforcement policies to encourage better policing of bus priority measures; and
• A framework within which complementary (not competitive) demand restraint policies can be developed at the local level.
• National Road User Charging:
• There is no doubt that a long term solution is pricing through a National Road User Charging Scheme where drivers pay depending on where they are and the time of day. Customers pay for other utilities in this way and it is equitable, efficient and effective.
• However, road user charging is not something which can be implemented within the short-term as it is reliant upon an appropriate infrastructure to implement. It is evident, therefore that other solutions will be required in the short term, including local road user charging schemes which are being considered under the Transport Innovation Fund.

Current CfIT recommendations

5.16 CfIT wants to see economically vibrant and socially diverse shopping centres which can be readily accessed by all sections of the community. These should not be dominated by the car, but offer safe, attractive, pedestrian-friendly environments.

5.17 On the back of the findings contained in its new research, CfIT is making the following recommendations:

• Local planning policy and decisions should give precedence to existing town / city centres, in line with current planning guidance on transport and retail development.
• Thoughtful application by local authorities of planning conditions for proposals for expanded and new out-of-town retailers/supermarkets, for example in terms of providing comprehensive public transport access, affordable home deliveries, or incentivising shoppers to come without their cars.
• Quality public transport - particularly Park & Ride which is seen as a solution for rural shoppers with no alternative to using their car. Placing bus stops as close to shops as car parks is also important.
• Improved retail experience offering attractive and safe, pedestrian-friendly environments and a retail offer which combines major High Street names with individual smaller stores.
• Measures to tackle congestion through initiatives such as bus priority and congestion charging. Where congestion charging is introduced, prior to any national scheme, care should be taken to ensure that a sub-regional strategy considers and minimises the loss of trade to neighbouring retail areas.
• Parking charges (based on regional agreements to prevent switch to free parking at retail sites).
• Parking costs should be estimated, compared and equalised in terms of a notional rental charge per space.
• The system should work with the grain of the market using the incentives to support and shape emerging trends.
• Parking charges should be re-cycled to provide better public transport, walking and cycling facilities at all location levels.
• Planning policies should positively encourage (a) developments around public transport hubs and (b) a network of small, local retail and leisure facilities, linked to centralised services.

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