New tools are needed to turn the active travel agenda into a reality, says Teralytics and CKDelta

David Reed, CEO of Teralytics and Geoff McGrath, Managing Director of CKDelta have said that local authorities need new tools to come up with incentives to reduce car usage if we want to turn the active travel agenda into a reality.

David Reed, CEO of Teralytics said: “As Covid-19 restrictions are eased in the UK, many of us will likely start to return to travel, if not resume our pre-pandemic mobility behaviours altogether. The question that is front-of-mind for transport planners and city authorities throughout the country is how to take advantage of this turning point to encourage as many people as possible to embrace walking and cycling as an everyday alternative to driving.”

The UK Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy sets out to promote Active Travel, resulting in lower carbon emissions, promoting active lifestyles, and reducing congestion. However, Reed adds that despite the ambition, local towns and cities are not equipped to make these changes.

Teralytics has recently upgraded to its web-based platform, enabling city authorities and transportation planning bodies to determine the rate of walking and cycling in their area. it also allows them to identify opportunities to introduce Active Travel infrastructure.

Teralytics and its UK partner CKDelta, believe that a wide societal shift away from the private car and onto bicycles can only happen if we first come to understand how our current mobility infrastructure and services address the actual mobility needs of everyone within society.

The platform can be used by regional and national entities to understand the spatial and temporal dimensions of mobility and how these may be changing.

Reed said: “Meeting ambitious carbon reduction targets and promoting healthy lifestyle choices through considered infrastructure design choices are now at the top of the agenda for our customers – city and regional authorities, as well as transportation consultancy partners we work with to serve them”

“What they need to drive meaningful lasting change in behaviours and encourage a shift away from passenger cars is a current understanding of the actual needs of everyone in their communities. We launched the Active Travel functionality to help them make confident choices, rather than rely on gut feeling and patchy data.”

Geoff McGrath, Managing Director of CKDelta said: “The need for unique insight into short-distance journeys and modal splits that can enable transport planners to understand evolving consumer trends and attitudes will be crucial as we plan our recovery from the pandemic.

“With the UK Government pledging millions in funding to ‘level up’ communities through transport investments such as HS2 and Crossrail, using targeted, operational data can best deliver for the hardest hit communities.”

“The integrated system can enable network operators to optimise public and private transport systems at an early stage. By providing granular and unique levels of detail for short-term journeys, planners can better prepare for future changes and provide an integrated end to end multi-modal transport system.

“As the transport and urban planning sectors continue to face-up to the challenges of shifts in modality and the implications for flagship “levelling-up” projects such as HS2, only new innovations in data modelling can deliver sustainable and robust long-term industry growth.”

“Adopting this technology now is crucial if we are serious about bouncing back sustainably from the pandemic and delivering on public demand for greener transport options.”

CKDelta’s and Teralytics are hosting a webinar on 20 July at 12:00 on ‘Active Travel: Securing a Sustainable Recovery Through Smart Data’. Click here to register.