Addressing social barriers to using public transport
Supported by In Our Nature, a partnership programme led by Manchester Climate Change Agency, Flavours from Manchester delivered a project to address several barriers towards using public transport amongst a diverse network of communities in south Manchester.
The project enabled individuals to choose low-carbon forms of travel more frequently by organising weekly public transport journeys throughout the summer to attractions and sites across Manchester. In recognition of their efforts, Shaeda, the project lead, was awarded the Be Proud Taking Neighbourhood Climate Action Award.
Shaeda, winner of the Be Proud Taking Neighbourhood Climate Action award
From A to B
Shaeda first came up with the idea when she noticed that her mother needed someone to drive her to the airport, despite living only a few minutes’ walk away from a train and tram station that would take her directly there.
As a result, Shaeda wanted to help remove the barriers to using public transport for her community and help get them confident and able to ditch the car and opt for public transport.
“This lack of confidence in using public transport must be tackled to reduce the emissions from car use. Providing support and often translation is a great way to remove those access barriers. Thanks to the project, Farrah, one of the participants now feels confident using public transport. She was quite apprehensive and thought that it was dangerous but since taking part she feels encouraged to travel now using public transport rather than the family car.”
By applying for In Our Nature Community Support, Shaeda was provided with bus, train, and tram tickets for her group. She was also offered advice and guidance throughout the project’s lifetime, as well as support with measuring the project’s impact.
All aboard!
Organised trips helped members of the group overcome the fear of getting on the bus or taking the tram for the first time and showed them how easy it was to use public transport to get to places they would normally only travel to by car.
The project showed participants how to book train tickets and how to navigate to their destination using their smart phones. The project also helped familiarise the group with using maps and building skills to know their surroundings and get home safely.
By visiting local parks, the group were encouraged to appreciate and explore the natural environments around Manchester, whilst helping build an awareness of climate change, its impact and how individuals can make change.
“We spoke about how the changing environment is affecting all of us, how the use of vehicles is continually damaging the environment and how, by not using the car, we contribute towards reducing carbon emissions.
The project successfully created a lot of awareness in this group and encouraged them to rethink their own ways in which they will contribute to reducing the impacts of climate change.”
Community Impact
Flavours from Manchester engages with many communities across the city including Afghan refugees, African Caribbean women, Kurdish women, Arab women, Pakistani-heritage women, and young people.
By encouraging active travel and building confidence, particularly among children and their parents who rely on cars and experience language barriers, the project enabled 35 women to start using public transport on a regular basis.
Flavours from Manchester on a group trip using public transport
The project gave people the skills to travel alone safely and confidently, to use different modes of public transport, explore different parts of Manchester, and learn how to purchase tickets and organise trips and days out on public transport, which, prior to the project, they had never attempted. Shaeda said that, “The group members felt that they had tackled many of the barriers that previously discouraged them from using public transport”.
“I had a great experience I used public transport after 15 years and it was so convenient and made me realise, I don't need a car all the time to get around I can use public transport. I had great fun thank you for this project and Shaeda who was so well organised and managed the group so well.” - Asma, project participant
100% of participants now feel more confident using public transport,
60% of participants are now using public transport once a week
In addition to learning how to use public transport, children and their mothers benefitted from this project by making friends, voicing their opinions and concerns, and talking about their challenges. They learnt to analyse their own carbon footprint, as well as how to recycle and upcycle things as part of a group trip to a repair café in Levenshulme.
The project also teamed up with Manchester Climate Change Partnership member, Station South, to provide bike riding sessions to the women, many of whom had never ridden a bike before. One individual enjoyed the sessions so much, she went on to buy her very own bike.
Carbon savings
By taking public transport instead of driving a car, the project was able to save 732.41kg’s of carbon from entering the atmosphere.