Integrating Walking + Public Transport

This policy brief: 

• Makes recommendations to “increase walking activity and public transport ridership by creating and promoting safe, accessible and comfortable walkable catchments to and from public transport stops and stations (p.2).”  
• Calls on more attention to the integration of walking and public transport “in travel surveys, environmental audits, urban mobility plans and investment decisions to enhance both active travel and public transport and reduce the use of private cars (p.2).” 
• Recommends the integration of walking and public transport as a “key strategy for reducing the use of private cars, reducing carbon emissions and improving the fiscal viability of public transport services while enhancing urban efficiency and livability (p. 2).”
   

This policy brief also outlines the benefits of integrating walking and public transport, referencing the academic research of Helge Hillnhütter (2016) to state that “the quality of the walking environment impacts the perception of whether public transport is within an acceptable walking distance by as much as 70%,” which, in other words, can up to triple walking catchment areas around stops and stations (p. 5).

Key recommendations

This policy briefs recommends the integration of walking and public transport through the following strategies: 

Providing safe, accessible and pleasant walking routes to public transport, especially for people with reduced mobility, children, older persons and women, including by: 

• Providing infrastructure to protect against adverse weather conditions. 
• Mitigating the impact of irregular terrain, such as slopes and stairs.  
• Installing adequate and high-quality street lighting.  
• Creating crossings that prioritize pedestrians with direct routes and short waiting times.  
• Providing wayfinding signage, essential for tourists and occasional users. Ensuring obstacle-free pathways with ample space, including during maintenance works.  
• Recognizing the importance of sidewalk life and active frontages.

Promoting the physical and mental health benefits and cost savings of integrating walking and public transport in campaigns and messages. 

Reducing the perception of distance and time by making walking and public transport more convenient than car journeys by:  

• Prioritizing people walking in street design.  
• Identifying preferable walking routes and effective footpath networks that are direct and convenient.  
• Reviewing crossings to limit the barrier effect of car traffic.  
• Increasing possibilities to access shops and services.

Coordinating walking and public transport across departments, agencies, policies and funding mechanisms by:  

• Creating partnerships between public transport operators and authorities managing the public realm to ensure that more priority and investment is given to the walkability of public transport catchments.  
• Recognizing the value of an integrated approach in policies relating to urban and transport planning, health, environment and climate.  
• Coordinating door-to-door trip surveys that map experiences from the traveller’s viewpoint using on-site surveys that consistently measure the quality of the catchment area and how it impacts on accessibility to public transport” (p. 7).