Forget transport planning - let's think about designing one hour per day of everyone's lives

Dr. Alistair Kirkbride, the sustainable transport adviser to the Lake District National Park Authority, recently had an abridged version of the article below published as the 'podium' piece in the Westmorland Gazette. It constitutes his very personal perspective on the time we all spend moving around each day.

You probably travel about 1 hour per day give or take - ignoring any travel done as part of a job. It's one of those remarkable odd facts that is pretty consistent around the world (same in New York and African villages) and over time (was the same in the 1800s). Travel for much longer or shorter and you'll probably end up moving house, changing job or travelling differently.

So what is that 1 hour like? Mine involves cycling from Staveley to Kendal and back mainly. I love the time to wind up and wind down from work. I notice the weather, which way the wind is blowing, noises, smells - all of which are rapidly changing at the moment - and spot the changing patterns of snow on the hills. I get impatient waiting for a break in lines of cars when I want to cross roads. If I drive, I get impatient when cyclists press the pelican crossing button and I have to stop. If I walk around town, both cars and cyclists seem to get in the way. What's going on?

I don't like the word "transport". This is a pity as it's what my job is about. However, it is one of those words that just invites everyone to have strong opinions. In many ways though, a lot of my job involves thinking about how to design better quality 1-hour-per-day travelling experiences. As I work in the Lake District, we can add to this better "getting around" quality for visitors as well.

So how can we do that? We could start by asking what makes for a good quality of life and good quality places. If you could design the best way of spending an hour a day "getting around", what would it look like? Would you want to drive 30 minutes to work or would you prefer to walk? If you want that 30 minutes drive to only take 10 minutes, I'd guarantee that you'd eventually move or travel differently so that it becomes 30 minutes again.

In the Lake District, we're looking at how to design "getting around" that is of world class quality. To do this, we need to bust some myths. I'll expose some here not to raise hackles, but so that we can see what a well-designed 1-hour-a-day might mean.

Firstly, most people would like to use their cars less. Some people don't or can't - but all surveys that ask show that over half of car users would choose to make some journeys by other means if it was easy, convenient and affordable. There's the challenge. This doesn't mean never using a car - but more of that below. The flip side of this is making it possible for those without a car to be able to live a good life. There is a strong call from younger people to be able to get around independently - without cadging lifts off parents.

Secondly, nearly half of all car-based journeys have an alternative that doesn't require a car. Again, not all do, but let's not let them stop us working with those that do.

Thirdly, using a car is more expensive than just the cost of fuel. The AA calculate that once tax, insurance, wear and tear (etc) are taken into account, most cars cost between 40p to over £2 per mile. In 2007, my 2001 Citroen Berlingo cost me 48p per mile - I know because I kept every receipt. This means that 1 person in a car from Kendal to Windermere costs from £3.60 to over £18 one way - or £4.30 in my old Berlingo.

So how could we get around better? Not having to travel as much in the first place would help. Most people want shops and services nearby. Villages and neighbourhoods feel dead once their shops, post offices, schools have all closed down. At the heart of the Lake District's Local Development Framework is the need to make sure that services exist where they are needed rather than people having to travel miles just to buy a stamp or pint of milk.

There is a sense in the UK that places where people use "public transport" are somehow second class. I'd challenge anyone to visit places where the public transport system works well, and have a look at the quality of the places and quality of life of the people living there. I have marvelled at types of people that clog up the roads of Denmark or Switzerland on their bikes, and wandered through the bustle of pedestrian friendly cities, towns and villages of continental Europe. Most of these people will own cars, but the places are organised so that there are attractive ways of living and getting around so that the car is used when it's the best option for a journey - not by default. It's not anti-car, it's people friendly.

Good things are starting to happen here. The GoNoWLakes card will launch in the Lake District this year. This is an integrated travel card which has the potential to transform how we pay for getting around. I was shown how Bremen's travel card worked in 2001 - I could get on a bus or tram, rent a bike or take one of the (many) car club vehicles, and get a single bill at the end of the month. It was stunningly attractive not only in terms of the quality of the service, but in terms of cost. A few car share clubs are being planned in Cumbria - and Carlisle's has already launched. Pay-as-you-drive vehicles would be located around people's neighbourhoods and workplaces. Book a car (using the internet, phone or by checking its availability at the car itself), use it (for as little as an hour), take it back, walk away, get a bill at the end of the month. It's less hassle, provides more choice, is (usually) cheaper than owning a car, reduces the number of cars on the road and pressure for car parks. There are also plans to locate cars at hotels and guest houses for visitors to use. Imagine linking these to the travel card - then we are starting to transform how we get around.

There are immediate transport problems that need dealing with. The harsh winter has significantly damaged many roads, floods have wiped out bridges, fares on some routes are extortionate and some places are transport deserts. However, there is already a lot that we can do with what we have. The best way to improve a transport system is for people to use it.

If we start to ask how we would really like our 1-hour-per-day to be designed - not perhaps how our existing one could be improved, but how we would actually like it to be - then quite a few of the existing transport "problems" will fall away.