Could PTP work in the US?

Individualized marketing is one of the go-to methods for encouraging mode-shift in the US and Canada. Following a successful pilot in San Diego, Personalized Travel Planning (PTP) could be an alternative, and arguably more effective, approach.

Personalized Travel Planning is a form of community-based social marketing commonly used in the UK. It involves door-to-door outreach using Motivational Interviewing techniques to understand more about a participant’s current travel experience and any barriers they encounter with both their current mode or alternatives. 

PTP has a record of success in the UK, encouraging significant mode shift. Research carried out by the UK Department for Transport reported that PTP projects can reduce car trips by 11% and reduce mileage traveled in cars by up to 12%, with walking the preferred alternative mode.

In March this year SDG carried out a pilot PTP project in association with the San Diego Association of Governments in Encinitas. The goal was to help residents discover more convenient and attractive ways of traveling, suited to their own priorities, interests and needs. The Travel Encinitas team undertook door-to-door visits to households in a defined target area and asked about their current travel habits, providing custom advice to those who were interested. Following a conversation with a Travel Advisor, resources relevant to the identified travel needs were mailed out to participants. These included local bike maps and a walk-bike factsheet, pedometers, bus and train schedules, free transit day passes, and information on ridesharing. 

Finally we held an event at the local Farmers’ Market to coincide with the final day of the visits, giving community partners and staff the chance to share information and services, like free bicycle tune-ups, with the public.

Outcomes
In total, 372 households were visited over a three day period. Among the total households visited, we spoke to almost two thirds of the residents, which is in line with our experience in the UK. About half of these residents participated in the PTP program, meaning they engaged in a conversation with the Travel Advisor about their travel options and were given tailored resources relevant to their situation.
The number of participating households is also in line with our UK experience, where between 30-40% of residents participate. This figure is much higher than most Individualized Marketing (IM) projects in the US, where only about 5 to 10% of households participate.

Impacts
Five weeks after the doorstep visit, we conducted a follow-up telephone survey with participating households who had agreed to be re-contacted. 34% of participants were successfully re-contacted and asked about the impact of the PTP visit on their travel choices. Of those: 

• 12% had made changes in their travel behavior since the intervention
• 30% intended to make a change in the future
• Over 40% of participants identified the Motivational Interviewing conversation as the reason for their change

When asked whether they thought the conversation with the Travel Advisor was helpful, 86% of participants agreed and none disagreed. Two out of three participants agreed that it had made them think more about their travel options while 61% agreed that they now felt more positive about walking around their local area.

Evidence of behavior change
Residents were asked how many trips per week they made on average using different modes. This information was collected during the PTP conversation and then again during the follow-up to establish a before/after comparison. For trips conducted once a week or more, the following changes in weekly mode share were reported:

• A 10% reduction in lone car driver mode share
• A 5% increase in bike mode share
• A 6% increase in walking mode share

The Encinitas pilot has paved the way for future PTP projects in other US states.