Last month, Urban Mobility Partnership member Trainline hosted its second annual I came by train event, a panel session which discussed how to achieve a 30% increase in passenger rail travel by 2035 through behavioural change. Trainline have predicted that this 30% increase in rail travel is required by 2035 in order to hit key UK net zero goals – specifically, the net zero goals set by the UK Climate Change Committee for 2050. As one of our members, we are pleased to see Trainline’s important work in this area, promoting behaviour change and encouraging a shift towards sustainable and multi-modal transport, which aligns very closely with UMP’s own aim of driving modal shift towards sustainable travel.
I came by train is a campaigning coalition of industry, policy makers, NGOs and community groups which acts together to support citizens to make sustainable travel choices. We were delighted to attend last year’s event which launched the campaign.
This year’s panel event featured interesting and informative contributions from Richard Shotton (behavioural scientist and author of The Choice Factory), Julian David (CEO of techUK), and Helen Taylor (founder of One Blue Marble and ambassador for Ecotricity and Forest Green Rovers), and was moderated by Leo Rayman (CEO and founder of EdenLab). Conversation focused on how to inspire behaviour change and how to encourage a shift towards multi-modal and sustainable transport.
To encourage modal shift, the I came by train campaign informs consumers of the tangible benefits of travelling by rail, in addition to the positive environmental impact. At the event, Trainline launched their new insights report, Travel and the planet, which called for collective action to support behavioural change and a modal shift. According to the report, two-thirds of people say they want to make greener choices.
Especially relevant for the Urban Mobility Partnership was the research presented by the campaign which found increasingly positive attitudes towards using multimodal transport: 67% of people surveyed in 2023 said they were interested in using apps to combine their travel options, up from 62% in 2022. Additionally, the report showed a clear and growing demand for joined up solutions to make choosing sustainable travel easier – 57% of those surveyed in 2023 reported being interested in hiring bikes/cars/scooters at their destinations, up from 55% in 2022. This was very encouraging to see, as it highlighted just how important a coalition like the Urban Mobility Partnership is for effecting behavioural change and for supporting consumers to make multi-modal and integrated sustainable transport journeys.
We are delighted to see Trainline’s campaign, and we look forward to working closely with Trainline, as one of our members, to support behavioural change, modal shift and multi-modal travel options.
