RD&E Travel Analysis

Client Brief

The NHS is responsible for 5% of all traffic on our roads (Telegraph, 2018). The Royal Devon and Exeter (RD&E) NHS Foundation Trust Wonford Hospital is one of Exeter’s largest employers and is positioned in the City Centre. The Trust commissioned City Science to conduct a comprehensive Active Travel analysis to better understand the existing travel choices and patterns of staff, patients & visitors. The Trust wanted to understand how they could effectively impact modal shift away from single occupancy vehicles and reduce the strain on their on-site car parks.

rde/logo.png

City Science Response

The project was conducted in two key phases - a baseline analysis, taking account of all open and proprietary data available and a second phase developing a bespoke survey of 1,500 staff, patients and visitors to capture insights specific to the Trust's emerging spatial, access and site strategies.

Outputs

The outputs of the project provided the Trust with an up-to-date view of travel patterns and car park usage. City Science quantified the potential for modal shift and the impact different interventions could have encouraged this. Using the evidence base provided, the RD&E has already increased their Park and Ride offering, introduced a subsidy for staff bus travel, increased bike racks on site, are planning to expand their fleet of pool cars and install electric bikes for use by staff.
"The Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust is committed to promoting the use of active and sustainable transport options to staff, patients and visitors when visiting the hospital and positively contributing to reducing Exeter’s congestion and air pollution, whilst improving the city’s health. City Science’s dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable team delivered thought provoking insights that we were able to use as an evidence base to help develop our plans for a number of schemes to improve travel to and from the hospital. City Science have helped the Trust recognise the challenges presented by single occupancy journeys and how tackling this problem will alleviate the strain on our on-site car parking.”
- Dave Tarbet, Business Development Director, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
A sample of the visualisations that formed part of the baseline analysis can be seen below.