From Car-Oriented to People-Oriented Transport Systems: A Strategic Guide
Key Takeaways
- The real challenge isn't technical, it's political. We know what creates people-oriented transport systems, but we lack effective strategies to get average politicians to implement them.
- Don't wait for bold reformers; make change appealing. Instead of hoping for exceptional political leaders, create conditions where supporting sustainable transport becomes the smart political choice.
- Build your base by getting people using sustainable transport. The best way to increase support for walking, cycling, and public transport is to get more people actually doing it.
- Choose policies with organised popular support, that are relatively easy to progress, act as catalysts for expansion, minimise backlash risk, and can be implemented smartly.
- Start with kids, school-focused policies are the easiest entry point. Parents are already organised, policies are relatively cheap, and success at one school creates immediate demand from others.
- Win over businesses to succeed with town centre transformations. The key to successful pedestrianisation and town centre improvements is demonstrating increased footfall to local businesses with data and trials.
- Core cycling infrastructure faces unique political challenges. Unlike other policies, comprehensive bike networks score poorly on change theory criteria and require strategic combination with more popular complementary policies.
- Implementation matters as much as policy choice. Trial and adjust, engage stakeholders meaningfully, communicate effectively, and avoid top-down approaches.
- Assess your context before diving in. Review your policies, stakeholders, communications approach, organisational capacity, political landscape, and implementation requirements before developing your strategy.
What Next?
Do you want help in moving to a people-oriented transport system? You can register for my course (details here) or book a 30-minute call with me to discuss some coaching or consultancy (here).
Introduction
This week, I hosted a couple of webinars on how we can move from car-oriented to people-oriented transport systems. This blog is based on the presentation I gave. If you would like to watch the webinar, you can access a recording here.
Let me tell you the true story of two local authorities in the same city.
In one authority, people-oriented street advocates spoke to local politicians asking for lower speed limits, cycling infrastructure and pedestrianised town centres. They were ignored.
In another authority, the same advocates asked for the same thing in the same way and the Council set about implementing their requests.
What was the difference?
Perhaps you think one was a left-of-centre Council and the other a right-of-centre council. Nope, the opposite was true.
Perhaps you think the demographics of the two Councils favoured people-oriented policies? Nope, the demographics were similar.
Perhaps one Council had a bold reforming leader who was willing to stand up to naysayers? Nope, the leader was not one of those.
So, what was the difference?
The key thing was that the Council that made the changes had worked out how to implement the policies in a way that took the community with them.
I know this story, because I was an elected Councillor in charge of Transport and Urban Planning in the reforming Council.
We all know what needs to be done to create people-oriented transport systems. Invest in public and active transport. Create streets for people, not cars. Make it less appealing to use cars. The technical solutions are well documented and widely understood.
What's almost always missing? Effective ways to get politicians to actually implement these changes.
After 20 years working in transport policy, I've learned that waiting for bold, reforming politicians to come along is not a strategy that will move us forward in most places. We need a different approach, one that makes reform appealing to average politicians, not just the exceptional ones.
A New Model for Change
The traditional model is simple: wait and hope. Wait for that rare politician who's willing to champion controversial reforms, and hope they come along soon.
The alternative model is to make change more appealing. Instead of relying on political courage, we create conditions where supporting people-oriented transport becomes the politically smart choice. This approach leads to more progress in more places.
The Theory of Change: Three Phases
Phase 1: Build the Base
The challenge is breaking the impasse. How do we shift from a car-oriented system when change feels politically impossible?
The answer is to increase the number of supporters for public and active transport. Not through advocacy campaigns alone, but by getting more people actually walking, cycling, and using public transport.
To do this, we need to progress policies that meet five key criteria:
- Core popular support: Preferably from people who are already organised
- Relatively easy to progress: Without massive political capital or resources
- Act as catalysts: Success in one area creates demand for expansion
- Minimise backlash risk: Start where support is strongest
- Can be implemented smartly: With room to adjust and respond
Phase 2: Scale and Multiply
Once you've built momentum with initial wins, you expand strategically. Success stories from one school, neighbourhood, or town centre create demand from others who want the same benefits.
Phase 3: Transformation
With a growing base of supporters who've experienced the benefits firsthand, more ambitious reforms become politically viable. The system tips from car-oriented to people-oriented.
The Policy Toolkit: Six Strategic Groups
There's no one-size-fits-all solution. What works in one place won't work everywhere. The key is taking core concepts and adapting them to your context.
1. Start With The Kids
School-focused policies are often the easiest entry point because they tick all the boxes in our change theory:
- School streets: Temporary road closures during drop-off and pick-up times
- Active transport connections: Safe junctions, walking paths, bike lanes, and slower speeds near schools
- Walking and cycling buses: Organised groups of children travelling together with adult supervision
- School support programs: Bike parking, training, environmental education, and health initiatives
Why start here? Parents are already organised through school groups, many support the idea of their kids walking or riding to school, and the policies are relatively cheap and easy to implement. When one school benefits, parents from other schools immediately want the same. You can start small, where support is strongest and minimise backlash.
2. Residential Neighbourhoods
Low traffic neighbourhoods, 20mph or 30km zones, and controlled parking zones address concerns many residents already have about speeding and rat-running through their streets.
Many residents are already organised into associations, making it easier to build support. These interventions are relatively inexpensive and, when one neighbourhood benefits, adjacent communities start requesting similar changes.
The key to smart implementation is to trial and adjust, engage meaningfully with local businesses, communicate effectively, and avoid pitting one part of the community against another.
3. Town Centres
Transforming town centres through pedestrianisation, shared zones, parking reform, active transport links, environmental improvements, and car-free days can revitalise struggling high streets.
The secret to success is winning over local businesses by demonstrating how these changes increase footfall. Start with trials, prepare to adjust schemes based on feedback, bring data to business engagement meetings, and use vision-led co-design rather than top-down planning.
4. Cycling Support
E-bike rebates, bicycle lending libraries, free bikes for deprived areas, cycle training, and expanded bike parking are popular policies that are often oversubscribed.
These are relatively cheap, easy to implement, and low risk. The challenge comes from competing uses like electric vehicle subsidies. Focus initially on specific groups where support is easier to build, such as people who cannot drive, and on areas with existing cycling infrastructure to support demand.
5. Better Buses
Start by getting one core bus route right. Focus on bus priority and reliability, high-quality vehicles, high frequency, better bus stops, and easy payments.
This approach is more challenging than others because it requires reallocating resources from other parts of the network, potentially expensive new buses, and controversial bus prioritisation measures. However, once you've demonstrated success on one route, you can promote those benefits to build support for expansion.
Consider hybrid carpool/bus lanes for prioritisation, make changes in small incremental steps, and combine improvements with other initiatives like town centre upgrades.
6. Transport Hub Connectivity
Improving bus services, walking infrastructure, and cycling infrastructure around transport hubs makes sustainable transport more viable for trips beyond the immediate area.
Local residents within about 1km of hubs are often supportive, though usually not organised. Implementation difficulty varies by context; some streets are easy, others are much more challenging. Keep controversial aspects minimal and localised, and combine with complementary policies like free bike programs.
The Core Cycling Infrastructure Challenge
Unfortunately, comprehensive cycling infrastructure networks score poorly on nearly every criterion in our change theory.
Supporters are often organised, but too few compared to opponents. Implementation is frequently challenging, requiring removal of car parking and traffic lanes. Bikelash subdues the catalysing effect that we see with other policies. Minimising backlash is difficult.
Does this mean we shouldn't build cycling infrastructure? No. But it means we need to be strategic. Keep controversial aspects minimal and localised, combine infrastructure projects with popular complementary policies like free bikes or school connections, and be prepared to build piece by piece if you cannot secure broader support initially.
Where Do You Go From Here?
Review Your Context
Before jumping into implementation, assess six key areas:
Policies: Which ones make sense for your specific context?
Stakeholders: Who is already organised and supportive? Where will opposition come from?
Communications and Consultation: What messaging will resonate? What consultation approach will be most effective?
Organisation: What capacity and capability do you have to progress these initiatives?
Politics: What is the political landscape you're operating in?
Implementation: What will you need to implement successfully? What funding is available?
Develop Your Strategy
Based on your context assessment, develop specific strategies:
- Decide which policies to progress and in what order
- Create a stakeholder engagement plan detailing who you'll engage, when, and how
- Develop your communications approach, messaging, and consultation methods
- Identify how you'll build organisational capacity and capability
- Formulate your political strategy to maximise support and manage risks
- Plan your implementation approach
- Create a next steps plan for an initial phase
Conclusion
Transforming car-oriented transport systems into people-oriented ones is not primarily a technical challenge. We know what to do. The challenge is political, making change appealing enough that average politicians will support it.
By starting with policies that have broad support, demonstrating success, building a constituency of people who've experienced the benefits, and scaling strategically, we can create the political conditions for more ambitious transformation.