What Works report published

The Department for Transport has today published the long-awaited report What Works? Learning from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund 2011-2015.

What Works is the practitioner evaluation of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), capturing what the Fund’s 96 projects collectively achieved and the lessons they learnt along the way.

Based on extensive research with LSTF projects, including a series of workshops with practitioners from exemplar projects, What Works is an invaluable resource for sustainable transport practitioners; combining examples, project design ‘menus’, case studies and checklists of lessons learnt.The key themes it focuses on are:

• Increasing bus use
• Increasing cycling
• Increasing rail travel and sustainable travel to stations
• Sustainable travel to work
• Helping job-seekers into work
• Marketing sustainable travel
• Programme management

The report’s Companion Appendices allows readers to delve more deeply into the topics they are most interested in; outlining an array of exemplar initiatives and discussing the lessons learnt in more detail.

Boosting Local Economies

What Works also summarises ten ways LSTF activities helped to boost local economies through their design and delivery, from giving workforces larger catchment areas to recruit from to enhancing town centre vitality and increasing the profitability of train and bus companies. This summary expands on the Fund’s Annual Reports, which each feature a chapter about how LSTF projects helped boost local economies.

Beth Hiblin, our lead consultant, who worked with our sister consultancy Transport for Quality of Life as researcher and co-author of this report said:

“LSTF was the first time DfT had funded travel behaviour change programmes on such a scale and a lot was learnt along the way. This learning is captured in What Works, which has been published in parallel to the Department’s announcement of successful Access Fund projects. These successful authorities should take note of the findings of What Works, as it will help them deliver more efficient and effective Access Fund projects.

Local authorities should also take note of the many ways these types of projects can help local economies. Future funding for sustainable transport projects is going to be scarcer and more competitive after Brexit; so it is going to be critical for practitioners to be able to demonstrate how their sustainable transport projects contribute to the local economy.”

Download What Works? Learning from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund 2011-2015 and its Companion Appendices.

Download LSTF Annual Report 2014/15.

Download LSTF Annual Report 2013/14.

Download LSTF Annual Report 2012/13.

Download LSTF Annual Report 2011/12.

Find out how we can help with delivery and monitoring & evaluation of your sustainable transport project.