EMW: Swansea goes it alone

When Ben George took up the position of transport strategy officer of Swansea in February 2008, he was assigned the task of coordinating the local European Mobility Week (EMW). Little did he realise he was the only person in Wales doing such a job, a task he undertook in addition to his daily responsibilities.

"Swansea is the only authority holding EMW events in Wales this year, and this is its second year as a fully participating city," said Ben. "There have in the past been other local authorities in Wales which have held EMW events, such as Neath, Port Talbot and Cardiff."

Spreading the word

He explained that a lack of funding means that EMW suffers from a low media and public profile in Wales. He said that to counter this, Swansea is tailoring its approach to maximise public awareness.

"Unfortunately, EMW is in competition with many other schemes and because of its relatively narrow scope, being a one week event, for many cities it is difficult to justify the spend[ing]. In Swansea this year, we’re stepping up the campaign through advertising and public relations, to try and raise its media profile."

The campaign uses media coverage – including radio and billboard advertising, advertising on buses, and dissemination on council and NHS intranet sites – to spread the word about EMW.

Grab your briefcase...and a paddle?

Events set to take place during the week include the "Wacky Way to Work" competition, which encourages locals to travel to work in unusual but sustainable ways, and the launch of the Landore Express Bus Route – Swansea’s permanent sustainable mobility measure, a requirement of all cities participating in EMW.

"The 'Wacky Way to Work' competition is great fun. Last year it was won by someone who kayaked to work," said Ben. "Our 'permanent measure' this year is the launch of the Landore Express Bus Route, which is a newly-built, bus-only road that cuts travel times into the city centre terminus from the three park and ride sites."

'Metro' gets public showing

The public will also get to see Swansea’s new "Metro," an articulated bus which is expected to begin serving the city in spring 2009.

The Metro project has involved £10 million of infrastructure work on the city centre traffic system, including the reallocation of road space to introduce a one-way system for general traffic and a two-way system for the Metro and conventional buses. Swansea is one of only three cities in the UK, and the only one in Wales, with the new Metro buses.

"The project involves not only the city centre redevelopment, but also priority bus measures at a number of key junctions going from the city centre to a major hospital on the outskirts. The event on the Friday of EMW will be one of the first opportunities for the general public to physically see the new Metro buses and familiarise themselves with them," Ben said.

Blue ribbon-worthy P&R

The Metro project highlights one of Swansea’s key areas of sustainable mobility. In recent years, the city has become increasingly focused on reducing car use – particularly in the city centre – in response to rising levels of congestion. As a result, there are now three highly successful park and ride sites, which were used by more than 300,000 people in 2007.

"The popularity of the park and ride schemes has been increasing at extraordinary levels and has led to the council winning a number of awards for the service," said Ben. "The newest park and ride site also boasts cleaner Euro 4 engines and there are now award-winning services serving the rural areas of Gower and Mawr. Our focus is very much on improving public transport, and these services are very successful examples of how we can achieve that."

Related cartoon

• Wacky ways to work-competition