Final Report.

Transcription

1 Final Report 1

2 STARS report January 2016 Contents 1. Introduction to the project 1.1 Project partners 1.2 Specific objectives 1.3 What is the goal of STARS? 1.4 Why STARS? 2. Preparing to implement your own STARS project 2.1 Implementing the STARS methodology 2.2 Methodology - Accreditation programme 2.3 Methodology - Peer-to-peer programme 3. STARS implementation: Case studies, lessons learned and best practice 4. Evaluating your own STARS project 5. What your own STARS project can expect to deliver 5.1 Headline results 5.2 Benefits of STARS & sustainable travel 5.3 Policy implications 6. Conclusions and key findings 7. External advisory board

3 STARS report Introduction to the project 1. Introduction to the project STARS Sustainable Travel Accreditation and Recognition for School is a project co-funded by the Intelligent Energy-Europe Programme granted by the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). The European project STARS gathered nine implementation partners around one common goal: to increase the number of pupils cycling to and from school, who would previously have travelled by car. The STARS project delivered two behavioural change programmes: The STARS Accreditation programme which allows primary schools to work independently to deliver increased cycling levels. The accreditation programme focuses on empowering primary schools (pupils, teachers and parents) to engage in cycling and is based on the principle of recognition. Schools work their way up an awards scale from a bronze to a gold star accreditation, based on how much they are doing to promote cycling and the mode shift they achieve. The Peer-to-Peer engagement programme targets secondary school students aged between years. The STARS peer-to-peer engagement programme aims to empower groups of students and give them the tools and ownership to develop, implement and monitor behavioural projects for peers in their schools, with a focus on increasing cycling and other sustainable modes. The principle of the programme is that students are more likely to persuade their peers using their own ideas and activities. Each STARS school, in the peer-to-peer programme, recruited a group of students to act as Youth Travel Ambassadors to encourage their classmates to actively participate in the Cycle Challenge and to design and carry out other activities to promote cycling and active travel. Youth Travel Ambassadors are the students responsible for carrying out campaigns and activities to encourage their classmates to cycle more. All schools were encouraged to participate in the Cycle Challenge; a website was set up where students could track their cycle trips and compete with their classmates, as well as against other schools in their city and across Europe. Cities have undertaken two implementation phases over the course of the project. This allowed partners to adapt the methodology in phase two based on learning and exchanges between partners. STARS ran from April 2013 to March The Project involved nine partners drawn from mobility experts, city authorities, leading research and networking organisations. This publication, presents the outcomes and lessons learned from our demonstrations to inspire other cities and mobility stakeholders to deliver STARS programmes of their own. We suggest you visit our website to download a comprehensive set of guides and tools which will allow you to deliver successful projects of your own. 3

4 STARS report January Project partners The STARS project was coordinated by the London European Partnership for Transport (LEPT) and supported by 13 partners from 9 countries. The STARS cities: London, UK (Hackney) Edinburgh, UK Krakow, Poland Budapest, Hungary Madrid, Spain Milan, Italy, Brussels, Belgium Bielefeld, Germany Province of Noord Brabant, Netherlands London Borough of Hackney Edinburgh Province of Noord Brabant Bielefeld Brussels Krakow Budapest Technical Experts: Milan LEPT (London Councils), UK Polis, Belgium Mobiel 21, Belgium DTV Consultants, Netherlands GEA 21, Spain Madrid Map of implementation sites 1.2 Specific objectives The overall aim of the STARS project was to take the tried and tested behaviour change approaches of accreditation and peer-to-peer engagement to achieve a modal shift away from the car to cycling and other active modes for the journey to and from school. The STARS objective was to create a long lasting toolkit of measures which could be rolled out to municipalities across Europe. The four main specific objectives therefore were: To achieve modal shift from the car towards cycling from the overall STARS programme. To set up a pan-eu programme of accreditation to allow primary schools to work independently to deliver increased cycling level and commit to monitoring and evaluation. To develop a network of Youth Travel Ambassador Schemes (YTAS), which provide the tools to encourage secondary school pupils to increase cycling levels amongst their peers. To share knowledge amongst cities, regions, and schools to develop a pan-eu agenda to improve sustainable mobility for the journey to school.

5 STARS report Introduction to the project 1.3 What is the goal of STARS? The STARS accreditation scheme and peer-to-peer engagement programme empowers schools and groups of students to consider cycling and other modes of sustainable travel. Through both programmes STARS Europe helps to: Increase active travel Raise awareness of road safety Increase community safety Address the environmental impact of car use Reduce the number of students travelling to school by car and increase the number of students walking and cycling Provide information to students and parents about the different modes of transport for travelling to school Improve safety and accessibility of routes to and from schools Improve the health and wellbeing of children through exercise Increase children s autonomy in relation to transport 1.4 Why STARS? Journeys driving children to school account for a large proportion of travel undertaken by households and are therefore also contributing to some of the challenges that our cities face with regards to congestion and emissions. The STARS project addressed school journeys to bring about a change in travel behaviour. Three main drivers for this change are: School journeys have the same destination every day and so are easy to target. The journey to school is usually short, i.e. less than five kilometres, which can easily be covered by bicycle. A long-term change in travel behaviour requires the early involvement of children and young people. 5

6 STARS report January Preparing to implement your own STARS project 2.1 Implementing the STARS methodology The Accreditation and YTAS programmes were carried out by the following parties: Youth Travel Ambassadors (YTAs): Students in the participating secondary schools who were given responsibility for developing and implementing youth-led awareness-raising activities which target their peers and the wider community. They surveyed their classmates travel behaviour and through regular meetings with the STARS Advisers, designed activities to encourage their peers to participate in the Cycle Challenge and to cycle more in general. STARS Accreditation Working Group: The Working Group is the motor of the STARS project in primary schools. Members can be teachers, representatives from the school board, pupils and other stakeholders, but there should be a balance between all members. Members of the Working Group organise and implement activities to reach the schools objectives on sustainable travel behaviour. STARS Champion: This was a school staff member who was responsible for supporting the Youth Travel Ambassadors. This role should normally be adopted by a teacher or member of staff who can maintain regular contact with the students and support the teams with materials and room bookings. STARS Adviser: This was a dedicated staff member from within the STARS project. They were responsible for maintaining regular contact with schools and providing them with the necessary skills and guidance to promote cycling. 2.2 Methodology: Accreditation Scheme in Primary Schools The accreditation programme focuses on empowering primary schools (pupils, teachers and parents) to engage in cycling. The accreditation programme is based on the principle of recognition. Schools work their way up an awards scale from a bronze to a gold star accreditation, based on how much they are doing to promote cycling and the mode shift they achieve. The STARS Europe project has developed a standardised criteria outlining what schools are required to do to reach each accreditation level. STARS schools are encouraged to organise lessons and activities to promote cycling to and from school. 1. Recruiting Schools: Selecting schools is a complex task and an important one. Schools were selected based on a number of considerations: Schools in areas where improvements in the design of roadways and public spaces was required.

7 STARS report Preparing to implement your own STARS project Schools in areas which had been identified as having a problem with congestion. Schools in areas which had good infrastructure that supported sustainable modes of transport. Once the schools had been identified, STARS advisers contacted the schools to engage with teachers to explain the Accreditation Scheme, the benefits and support offered by the local authority. 2. Local Workshop: A local workshop for all schools participating in the scheme was held to provide more detailed information on the project. In addition, these workshops provided an excellent way of generating a network among schools that allowed them to share experiences and best practice ideas. 3. Letters of Commitment: Schools were required to formally confirm their participation in the project by signing a letter of commitment. 4. STARS Adviser: The STARS Adviser is a dedicated staff member from the STARS project. They were responsible for maintaining regular contact with the schools and providing them with the necessary skills and guidance to promote cycling in their schools. 5. STARS Working Group: The STARS Working Group is the motor of the STARS programme within the school and are responsible for organising and implementing activities. The STARS working group should be made up of teachers, school management, pupils and parents. 6. Activity Plan: Each school was required to define a local Activity Plan at the start of the Accreditation process. The STARS Activity Plan allows schools to determine where they already qualify on the STARS criteria, as well as to plan and report on their activities. 7. Implementation of Activities: This is the action phase where schools carried out their activities. 8. School Audit Report: Audits are an essential component for: Assessing the school ethos with regards to active travel Evaluating the school s activities against the STARS criteria Measuring the impact of actions implemented in terms of modal shift Determining the school s score and the level of accreditation they have achieved 9. Accreditation Award: As an additional incentive to participate in the accreditation process schools received awards at local ceremonies and events. 10. GOLD Accreditation: The aim is that all schools will reach gold accreditation. Schools can continue to run the STARS programme carrying out activities until they reach the final goal of gold accreditation. Once a school has reached gold accreditation it does not have to be the end of the programme, these schools can become ambassadors for other schools providing support and best practice ideas Schools ARE informed about STARS Europe Schools take part in a local workshop Schools sign a letter of commitment Schools are assigned a STARS adviser Schools set up a STARS working group Schools work towards Gold level STARS Advisor award schools with Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation Schools report on modal shift data in January and June Schools carry out activities with guidance from the STARS adviser Schools develop and fill out an activity plan 7

8 STARS report January Methodology: Peer-to-peer Scheme in Secondary Schools The peer-to-peer engagement programme targets secondary school students (11-19 years). The STARS peer-to-peer engagement programme aims to empower groups of students and give them the tools and ownership to develop, implement and monitor projects for peers in their schools, with a focus on increasing cycling and other sustainable modes. 1. Recruiting Schools: STARS Advisers contacted the schools to engage with teachers and explain the peer-to-peer programme and the benefits and support offered by the local authority. 2. Local Workshop: Each city organised a local workshop, bringing together the STARS Advisers responsible for coordinating the STARS activities, as well as representatives from the participating schools (headmasters, teachers, students) and other stakeholders (police, local authorities). A detailed presentation on the project was given and schools were given the opportunity to ask questions. 3. Letter of Commitment: Schools were required to formally confirm their participation in the project by signing a letter of commitment. 4. Appointment of a STARS Adviser and STARS Champion: Once the letter of commitment was signed, the school was assigned a personal STARS Adviser. The STARS Adviser was responsible for maintaining regular contact with the schools and providing them with the necessary skills and guidance to promote cycling in their schools. 5. Youth Travel Ambassador Group: The Youth Travel Ambassador Scheme can start as a new initiative or build on existing youth groups in the school. The STARS Adviser should organise an information session in collaboration with the school s STARS Champion to give students details about the programme and what is expected of the Youth Travel Ambassadors. 6. Guidance, training and planning: The next step is to provide guidance and training to the students who have been recruited to give them the skills and resources needed to survey their classmates travel behaviour and deliver their Cycle Challenge campaign along with any other campaigns that they come up with. The key to the success of the scheme will be empowering the students to take ownership of the programme and to independently implement their campaigns. The result will be a structured, youth-led scheme where student teams design and run their own campaigns, aimed at their peers, promoting sustainability, road safety, and active travel in the community. Students were provided with the following: Training for surveying current travel behaviour and issues at their school Resources to enable students to do it themselves, such as survey templates, guidance, and tips Examples of how to plan develop and deliver a campaign, including examples of awareness raising activities from different European countries Skills in monitoring behaviour change and reporting 7. Travel Behaviour Survey: Using the YTAS toolkit, the STARS Adviser held one or two interactive meetings with the Youth Travel Ambassadors to familiarise them with the topic of travel behaviour research. In a subsequent meeting, the students designed a survey which was carried out independently. 8. Implementation of Activities: This is the action phase where students carried out their activities.

9 STARS report Preparing to implement your own STARS project 9. Cycle Challenge: The youth of today are often called the game generation. To convince secondary school students to cycle to school, the STARS project has developed a fun online game to be carried out during the Cycle Challenge. The Cycle Challenge is the culmination point in each year of the Youth Travel Ambassador Scheme, where the students themselves develop campaigns to promote cycling and other sustainable modes of travel to school and participation in the four-week Challenge. A dedicated website with a gamification element, linked to the project website and is available in eight languages 10. Evaluation: The Youth Travel Ambassadors evaluated their project with the support of the STARS Adviser and STARS Champion Schools are informed about STARS Europe Schools take part in a local workshop Schools sign a letter of commitment Schools are assigned a STARS adviser and appoint a STARS champion Schools set up a Youth Travel Ambassador group Youth Travel Ambassadors, STARS adviser and STARS Champion evaluate the project Schools participate in the cycle Challenge Youth Travel Ambassadors conduct awarenessraising activities for cycling and other sustainable modes Youth Travel Ambassadors survey students travel behaviour Youth Travel Ambassadors regularly meet with STARS adviser and STARS champion 9

10 STARS report January STARS Implementation Case Studies, Lessons Learned & Best Practice This section outlines a range of case studies and activities that have been delivered by schools in our nine implementation cities. All activities can be replicated by other schools and cities looking to implement STARS. Implementation in the London Borough of Hackney Youth Travel Ambassador Scheme: A total of 11 secondary schools participated across 2 school years. In total more than 100 pupils become Youth Travel Ambassadors across the 11 different schools. Accreditation Scheme: A total of 33 primary schools participated across 2 school years. At the end of 2 years, 10 schools achieved Gold Level, 6 achieved Silver, and 14 achieved Bronze. Go Green Cycling Event: This was a wholeschool cycle event to launch the cycle challenge in the Olympic park. Students could take part in cycling races, BMX Skills training and Dr. Bike Sessions. Tawhid Boys School 8 YTAs recruited activities

11 STARS report What have we learned that others can learn from Implementation in Edinburgh A total of 11 secondary schools were engaged across 3 school years. A total of 36 primary schools participated across 2 school years. Cycle Speedway: Liberton High School hosted Cycle Speedway sessions throughout the STARS programme which enabled schools from across Edinburgh to come and try out the exciting sport of indoor cycling. Secondary school pupils attended two-hour coaching sessions, by the end of which they were able to compete in races to get the feel of what competitive track cycling actually feels like. These exciting excursions helped to increase and sustain levels of cycling to school amongst participants. Liberton High School 8 YTAs recruited 4 activities each month Implementation in Milan A total of 12 secondary schools engaged. A total of 20 primary schools were engaged across 2 school years. We are born to walk: Families were invited to travel to school in a more sustainable way. Road safety lessons and bikeability lessons took place in the school year and a petition was set up to ask for traffic calming interventions in the neighbourhood. Piscane Primary School Silver accredited 13 activities held 11

12 STARS report January 2016 Implementation in Madrid A total of 11 secondary schools were engaged across 2 school years with 253 Youth Travel Ambassadors recruited. A total of 24 primary schools were engaged across 3 school years. All of these schools are still working on STARS in We are not aliens, nor superheroes initiative: Montserrat school invited all the STARS schools to join We are neither aliens nor superheroes day. Around 220 children and 20 adults gathered in the Retiro Park and cycled through the streets of Madrid. The slogan tried to transmit how riding a bike in Madrid should be the most ordinary thing in the world. This normalised cycling to school for students and their parents. Monserrat Primary School Gold accredited 42 activities held Implementation in Bielefeld A total of 11 secondary schools were engaged across 2 school years. A total of 19 primary schools were engaged across 2 school years. Bicycle Action Day: On the action day an obstacle course was set up to test pupil s skills levels. Safety courses were held and pupils undertook an observation of the school traffic situation. This really empowered children with practical skills to cycle safely and increase confidence. Gesamtschule Bielefeld-Quelle 9 YTAs recruited

13 STARS report What have we learned that others can learn from Implementation in Krakow A total of 12 secondary schools were engaged across 3 school years. A total of 20 primary schools were engaged across 3 school years. Escape on two wheels: Primary School No. 1 in Krakow is organizing a bicycle ride under the slogan Escape on two wheels as part of the STARS project. As part of the bike ride a contest was held for the best cyclist costume. The event was attended by more than 130 cyclists; including teachers, parents and pupils and the winners of the competition were awarded with a prize. Primary School No1. Silver accredited 30 activities held Implementation in Budapest A total of 7 secondary schools were engaged across 2 school years with a further 2 secondary schools engaged to continue for a third year. A total of 17 primary schools were engaged across 2 school years with a further 3 primary schools engaged to continue for a third year. Traffic Safety Track: The KTI Institute for Transport Sciences, a dedicated partner of BKK Centre for Budapest, offered their help by lending STARS schools with traffic safety equipment which allowed the schools to simulate traffic situations and give students the chance to practice cycling on the road. This targeted the common barrier of road safety fears. Kandó Téri Primary School Silver accredited 26 activities held 13

14 STARS report January 2016 Implementation in Brussels A total of 7 secondary schools were engaged across 2 school years. Red Carpet Day: The activity was used to record the number of pupils travelling to school by bike compared to the number at the start of the school year. A red carpet was rolled out to welcome cyclists to the school and cyclists were rewarded with a box of cycle gadgets (flag, cycle lights, and hi-vis materials). The number of cyclists was recorded by putting stripes on a poster right next to the red carpet. In total 71 students and teachers arrived by bike; that s 51 more cyclists than at the beginning of the school year. Maria-Boodschap Lyceum 7 YTAS recruited 20 activities held Implementation in Noord Brabant A total of 24 primary schools were engaged across 2 school years. Reflection Day: The province of Noord- Brabant held a competition to determine which school should represent the province at the closing ceremony of the STARS project in Brussels. Schools that wanted a chance to win the trip to Brussels had to present their best practice idea. The International School Eindhoven was the winner with their Reflection Day activity. The school held a poster competition to promote the importance of wearing the right clothing whilst cycling and walking in the dark. All pupils were invited to make a poster to promote reflection day. The poster had to include the following: opportunity to meet other students from across Europe that participated in the STARS Europe programme to share best practice ideas. Eindhoven International School Bronze Accredited A photo of the pupil wearing reflective clothing Information about Reflection Day (dates) Information about safety and reflective clothing As winners of the competition two students from the school were invited to the STARS final conference in Brussels providing an

15 STARS report Lessons learned and best practice Lessons Learned and Best Practice A core part of the STARS project was to mutually learn from the application of the STARS programmes in different cities. Incentives: The use of incentives or rewards were used in the majority of the activities undertaken. The positive effect of rewards generating the desired change in behaviour has been psychologically proven. Incentives and rewards do not need to be high in cost. For example, certificates for participants at an award ceremony. In addition, if rewards are given, it is recommended that they support the goal of the activity. Competition: The added element of a competition can lead to an increase in motivation and achievement. However, it is important to recognise the achievement of all participants that are making a switch from car use towards other sustainable modes of transport when travelling to school. Closing the Activity: Once an activity has been completed it is important to review successes, challenges and lesson learned. In addition, activities are a good opportunity to gather data and information from cyclists. Teacher Workshops: Create a network of teachers and key stakeholders promoting cycling and other sustainable modes of transport to school as well as providing schools with the opportunity to share lessons learned, best practice and experiences. tackle a variety of issues that schools or cities may be facing; congestion, safety, infrastructure, noise pollution etc. By supporting local policies, STARS activities can act as an umbrella for previously fragmented mobility schemes. Mutual Learning: Partners exchanged ideas of best practice. For example the School Streets project implemented in Edinburgh was borne out of a similar scheme run in Milan. Visibility: Ensuring the project was visible was essential for engagement. Students designed and created posters to display around the school and had project T-shirts that could be worn when competing and participating in activities. Partnering and linking events to other sustainable projects: Many partners held a number of events in conjunction with activities undertaken during European Mobility Week and other events in promoting sustainable mobility for maximum impact. Targeting Parents: Communication with parents is key, especially in primary schools, where they are more likely to choose how children travel to and from school. In order to ensure parents were engaged, activities were designed to bring parents, pupils and the school together. Flexibility: The STARS project offers flexibility and can be tailored to fit the school s curriculum. In addition, STARS activities can be used to 15

16 STARS report January 2016 Successes A brief outline of some of the key successes and main events across partner cities are outlined below. Bike Around the Borough (BATB): Organised by Hackney Council in partnership with the Metropolitan Police and sponsored by Volker Highways and Berkeley Homes, saw hundreds of young cyclists from more than a third of the borough s schools complete a nine-mile circuit of Hackney. It was the second largest bike bus in the world, with 873 school children, staff and parents taking part, missing out on breaking the bike bus World Record by just eight riders. Walking & Cycling Buses: In the second year of STARS, 16 out of 22 primary schools in Madrid carried out several routes of bike trains and walking buses. Bike trains and walking buses have been identified as one of the best tools to encourage pupils and parents to switch from travelling by car to either cycling or walking. STARS Cycling Challenge: The second edition of the Cycling Challenge in Krakow, ran from 18 May 2015 to 12 June Nine postprimary schools involved in the STARS project participated with more than 200 students and teachers enrolled in the Challenge. The Challenge was unique in allowing participants to not only declare bicycle trips but also trips taken on foot. Over the four week challenge students cycled and walked over 3000 km. City Cycling Bielefeld 2015: 13 STARSschools in Bielefeld participated in the city s cycling event. 939 STARS pupils competed and cycled 60,843 km, that is 1.51 times the circumnavigation of the equator and a CO 2 saving of. 8,761 kg. Cyclopride: The most visible interaction with other initiatives was the annual Cyclopride event in Milan. The event took place in May 2015 and saw 20,000 people cycling on the same city route. The parade was led by STARS students wearing their STARS T-shirts. Exchange Trips: Students from Bielefeld visited students in Edinburgh. During the trip students from Bielefeld had the chance to test out a smart phone app, which is able to locate the safest route to school.

17 STARS report What have we learned that others can learn from Example activities The aim of these activities is to promote the use of sustainable modes of transport to school, to foster a positive attitude towards active travel in children, and at the same time encourage parents and families to reconsider how they travel. These activities successfully gave STARS momentum and helped support goals to cut congestion and decrease emissions. All of the activities listed below can be adopted according to the city s or schools goals, target groups and budgets available. Car Free Day Purpose: Encourage staff and parents that are consistent car drivers to consider other modes of transport for their journeys. Description: The aim of the Car Free Day is to challenge staff and parents to abandon the car for a day in favour of walking and cycling. It may be especially useful in schools where car levels are high, there is a driving culture in the staffroom or where people are resistant to change. as Cycling Champions, who will encourage their colleagues and parents to get involved. We did the staff biking social after car free day and everyone loved it. People want to do it every month now... Kym Foley, Wentworth A Car Free Day can be undertaken in multiple ways, but works best when some form of incentive is offered to encourage those who normally drive to try an alternative way of travelling. It is important to work with motivating elements within a school, such School Streets project Purpose: To reduce congestion around the school and improve road safety by encouraging walking and cycling. Description: The aim is to reduce traffic on the street immediately outside the school gates by restricting the times when cars can be driven. An exclusion zone around the immediate vicinity of the school is set and cars are banned from driving on these streets for an hour at the beginning and end of the school day. This is controlled by special lighted signs that flash when the closure is in operation. 17

18 STARS report January 2016 Kiss and Ride - Red Carpet project Purpose: To reduce congestion by dropping school children at a specific spot away from the school and let them walk the rest of the way. Description: The Red Carpet activity was undertaken in the city of Bielefeld by schools facing problems with heavy congestion around the immediate vicinity of the school. In order to reduce congestion around the school, a designated site away from the school is identified for parents to drop-off their children who then walk the rest of the way to school by teachers or volunteers. In order to promote the activity, in the City of Bielefeld, children were welcomed by a costumed person on a red carpet. The person greeting the student wore a different costume every day so that students were excited to see what the next costume would be. In addition, incentives were used to increase participation and award participation. To record participation, students were given a card at the start of the week which was stamped each time they used the drop-off site. At the end of the week students who had collected three or more stamps were rewarded with a reflector mouse. Bike T-shirt Painting Competition Purpose: To encourage pupils to think about cycling as a mode of transport to school. The activity is used to support other events promoting sustainable modes of transport to and from school. Description: The bike T-shirt painting competition, undertaken in Krakow, allows pupils to design and paint their own t-shirts related to cycling with a prize given for the best T-shirts. The activity indirectly promotes sustainable modes of transport to school, fostering a positive attitude to active travel in children. The activity can be used as an introduction to other events with pupils wearing their T-shirts to other cycling events. It is suitable for winter months in countries where it is difficult to cycle during the whole year.

19 STARS report Evaluating your own STARS project 4. Evaluating your own STARS project STARS evaluation Monitoring and evaluation of the project results were undertaken by GEA21. This section provides an overview of the methodology used, the evaluation process, the results and benefits achieved. To assess the impact of the STARS project, both a quantitative and qualitative assessment has been undertaken. Quantitative Assessment: A Hands-Up survey was conducted in both primary and secondary schools at the start and end of the school year to identify travel habits of both pupils and teachers before and after the programme had been implemented. The questionnaire surveyed the mode of transport used to travel to school, the participants desire to change their travel habits and the distance travelled. Collecting data before and after the programme has been implemented to evaluate modal shift, and the impact in emissions and energy savings. Qualitative Assessment: In addition to the above, a further survey was conducted to determine the barriers and enablers of switching travel modes. In all nine implementation cities an analysis was also undertaken to determine the mobility options available in the city and around the immediate vicinity of the school. Behaviour and Attitudinal Analysis: STARS deals with both attitudinal change and behavioural change. For most people a change in attitude towards cycling is a necessary precondition before changing their mobility behaviour. Attitude in this context is the way people look at cycling as an appropriate transport mode for solving their transport needs. Behaviour is the way people act. It is an external characteristic often linked to the internal attitude. From a campaigning point of view, it is important to measure the attitudinal shift alongside the behavioural change, as stated by the MaxSem model. Realising an attitudinal shift via STARS campaigns, even if the modal shift is limited is still a strong result of the action. MaxSem is a model designed to monitor an individual s change in mobility attitude and behaviour which is used as a series of transitional stages which individuals progress through to reach the final stage of behavioural change. 19

20 STARS report January 2016 Evaluation methodology: Accreditation programme The Working Group together with the STARS Advisers are responsible for evaluating the programme. They determine the baseline measurement, set targets and evaluate the activities undertaken to determine the schools objectives on sustainable travel behaviour and accreditation level achieved. 1. STARS Activity Plan: Baseline Measurement In order for schools to achieve one of the accreditation levels, a STARS Activity Plan must be drawn up. The STARS Adviser along with the schools will determine the current status of the school in terms of their position in promoting sustainable travel. In order to do this, a hands-up survey is conducted on both pupils and staff to identify their current travel habits for travelling to schools; this provides a baseline from which targets are set. After each accreditation round, schools reviewed their activity plan, updating it for the following school year. The baseline is used for evaluating and reporting. 2. Online Reporting: Each school was given their own account on the STARS Europe accreditation website. The website allowed schools to enter all information pertaining to their activities directly online in order to generate their Activity Plan. This then gives an overview of their current status, which allows them to see where additional effort is needed and which of the criteria to focus on, in order to reach their desired accreditation level. Within the website account, the school was able to upload documents and outputs from their STARS activities. The STARS Working Group is responsible for providing all documentation and evidence of actions undertaken to the STARS Adviser, so they are able to carry out the STARS Accreditation Audit. 3. STARS Accreditation Audits: Audits are, essential component for assessing the success of the STARS programme. The audits aim to: Assess the school s ethos with regards to active travel Evaluate the school s activities against the STARS criteria Measure the impact of the actions implemented in terms of modal shift Determine the school s accreditation level achieved The STARS Adviser is responsible for assessing the school to determine the accreditation level achieved. To qualify for the Bronze, Silver or Gold level, the school must be able to show that they have been actively participating in the STARS programme, and that there was ongoing attention to traffic education, a safe environment, and activities that promote the switch from car travel to cycling, walking or public transport. The STARS Europe programme has developed a standardised checklist with criteria, based on which the schools can achieve an accreditation level of Bronze, Silver or Gold. This is available on the STARS website. The aim is that all schools will reach gold accreditation. Schools can continue to run the STARS programme carrying out activities until they reach their final goal of being awarded Gold Accreditation.

21 STARS report What your own STARS project can expect to deliver Evaluation methodology: YTAS programme Youth Travel Ambassadors are responsible for evaluating their own project; with the support of the STARS Adviser and STARS Champion. The evaluation consists of two pillars: Impact on travel behaviour: The impact on the travel behaviour is measured using data recorded by students on the Cycle Challenge website. The website will give insight into the effectiveness of the Cycle Challenge campaign and related activities. It is also possible to have follow-up measurements in the next school year by asking all students who previously participated to update their profile and travel habits and to check if the campaign activities have had a lasting effect on their travel behaviour. To evaluate the impact of other YTAS activities, a follow-up travel behaviour survey should be launched to examine behaviour change at the school level. Process evaluation: The Youth Travel Ambassadors evaluated the meetings they had with the STARS Adviser and STARS Champion, their internal cooperation as a team, and the activities they organised. In the last case a short survey was conducted among classmates to get feedback from external parties. The teams can then summarise the data into a set of lessons learned. 5. What your own STARS project can expect to deliver 5.1 Results Accreditation Programme: Primary Schools Peer-to-Peer Engagement: Secondary Schools In total 188 primary schools were recruited across the project lifetime. 114 primary schools have continued to implement the STARS project for a third year. This is a clear indicator of the transferability and popularity of the STARS approach. Across our partner cities the STARS programme has worked with more than 79,000 primary students and 8,000 teachers. Programme: In total 84 schools set up Youth Travel Ambassador Scheme; organising meetings, preparing and implementing activities and evaluating both process and results of the programme. More than 51,000 students have been involved in the campaigns developed by 600 YTAs; with over 1,000 activities carried out. 21

22 STARS report January 2016 CO 2 Savings: 436 ton CO2e saved by 191 Primary STARS schools in ton CO2e saved by 71 Secondary STARS schools in ton CO2e saved by all STARS schools in two years 447 ton CO2e saved per year A 20% of the project objective 5.2 Benefits of STARS Reduction in CO 2 emissions and noise pollution. Tackles issues of congestion. Improves health, both in terms of better air quality and reducing the sedentary lifestyle. Academic performance: It has been proven that pupils who walk or cycle to school will perform better. Modal Shift: Primary Schools: Over the course of the project a 5.7pp modal shift from motorised modes to active modes of transport has been recorded. Secondary Schools: Over the course of the project a 8.8pp modal shift from motorised modes to active modes of transport has been recorded. The YTAS offers a new approach for young people to engage with transport issues which affect their school and the wider community, while gaining valuable skills and experience. Through the YTAS programme, participants develop initiative, determination, resilience, and skills in leadership, relationship building, communications, presentation, teamwork and problem solving.

23 STARS report Legacy cities 5.3 Policy implications EU energy and environmental policy goals: The uptake of cycling and walking in cities will help Europe achieve its ambitious goals (20% increase in energy efficiency, 20% reduction in CO 2 emissions and 20% renewables by 2020). The uptake of more sustainable modes of transport also results in reductions in other toxic pollutants such as PM2.5 and PM10 - thereby improving air quality and public health. Health: Through walking and cycling more, STARS can be a powerful way of incentivising children and adults to carry out more physical activity thereby tackling the challenge of obesity, its related illnesses and the ever increasing costs on health services. STARS programme was used to raise awareness of the issue and promote a shift to more sustainable modes of transport which will help reduce the number of cars on the road. Road safety: By normalising the habit of children and adults arriving at the school gate by bike or foot, the number of circulating or parked vehicles in this key area is reduced, improving sight lines and hence safety. This also gives authorities the opportunity to slow down or restrict access through infrastructure measures. Productivity: The act of reducing peak time road congestion has positive impact on journey time reliability and hence economic productivity. Congestion: Many of our city partners used the STARS programme to support their wider transport policies of reducing congestion. The 6. Conclusion & key findings Incentives: The use of incentives and rewards is used in the majority of STARS activities outlined below. The positive effect of rewards generating the desired change in behaviour has been psychologically proven. Incentives and rewards do not need to be high in cost. For example, certificates for participants at an award ceremony. In addition, if rewards are given it is recommended that they support the goal of the activity. Competition: The added element of a competition can lead to an increase in motivation and achievement. However, it is important to recognise the achievement of all participants that are making a switch from car use towards other sustainable modes of transport when travelling to school. Teacher Workshops: Create a network of teachers and key stakeholders promoting cycling and other sustainable modes of transport to school as well as sharing experiences, lessons learnt and challenges across the network. Legacy: STARS has proven to be a transferable and successful methodology across European Schools and cities. Work is ongoing to examine ways in which the Accreditation and YTAS programmes can continue to expand to leave a lasting legacy for STARS Europe. Closing the Activity: Once an activity has been completed it is important to review successes, challenges and lesson learned. In addition, activities are a good opportunity to gather data and information from cyclists. 23

24 7. External Advisory Board The External Advisory Board (EAB) included members from different sectors and convened three times during the project lifetime, to provide advice, quality assurance and recommendations to help steer the projects progress. All partners from the STARS project would like to thank members of the EAB for their support, recommendations and insight during the projects lifetime. Members of the EAB: Helmut Paris, Ministry of Mobility and Public Works Ross Butcher, Modeshift Nick Butler, Parose Projects Marianne Weinreich, Weinreich Mobility Further information Project coordinator Andrew Luck For additional copies or copies in other languages, please contact: Project dissemination manager Giacomo Lozzi, POLIS Authors Paul Curtis and Kate Mouncher (LEPT) with input from all our project partners. Graphic Design: Threerooms January 2016 Copyright All photos are provided by STARS cities and the STARS consortium. Disclaimer The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.