A Summary of THINK’s Public Agenda Setting Workshops 2023
The full report can be downloaded from our publications page
This is a short version of what the members of the public who took part in the workshops shared with us. There were 7 participants in total, 4 male, 3 female from cities and more rural areas of Wales and England.
a) Priorities (in no particular order)
- Reduce the cost of Public Transport as much as possible
- Have more public transport services in areas where there are only a few services
- Better and more segregated bicycle lanes
- More areas made traffic free in city centres
- Monitoring and enforcement for safe space sharing
- Accessibility for all
b) Challenges (in no particular order)
- Weather
- Public transport: access to bus and train
- Pollution problem
- Space sharing
- Lack of information
- Negative image of buses
- Private car ownership
There are already good examples of positive things happening in parts of the UK and in other countries that make it cheaper, easier, safer and more appealing to walk, cycle or use public transport which should be used as inspiration to spread these ideas.
A diverse set off ideas for future research has emerged, to address the challenges listed from using Artificial Intelligence, to assessing the impacts of free public transport and the benefits/ dis-benefits to the population of cycling for tackling climate change.
There are many opportunities for practitioners working in transport and health to improve their communication with the public by learning from the experiences of the public via surveys in transport planning apps, and regular, respectful, pro active contact with the public providing them with opportunities to contribute to ideas, plus messaging via TV dramas and podcasts.
To be invited to take part in future public events please email think@aber.ac.uk