This Case Study is exploring the potential benefits of Mobility Hubs for transport decarbonisation and health. Working with Transport for West Midlands, the impact of local travel points across the West Midlands is being evaluated in order to inform the design of future planned hubs. Initial evaluation comprises mapping the potential value of mobility hubs against the current local travel point business plan via a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and two stakeholder workshops across local communities, health, transport and climate. More broadly, mobility hubs are being explored as a system intervention in the context of specific places and in relation to other infrastructure and urban systems operating there – creating place-based interventions as well as transport systems interventions and yielding lessons for siting, design and operation.

Case Study 2 is exploring two interventions: bus gates and school streets. Evaluation of the Portswood bus gate is ongoing, supported by further traffic data that has been obtained from several sources. Some learnings/recommendations from the preliminary analysis have already been identified (and published as a conference paper), and an article has been written and published with The Conversation: Traffic‑calming schemes are controversial – here’s why some succeed while others fail. Methods for the evaluation of school street schemes are currently being developed.

This Case Study is focusing on the electrification of bus operations in Salisbury and the Isle of Wight, including comparisons with existing diesel-based operations in Southampton. This is expected to produce some interesting findings on factors that affect efficiency, as well as whether lower-carbon vehicles can potentially increase patronage (and therefore sustainable travel and public health). Infrastructure implications are also being explored. Additional evaluation indicators and metrics (particularly related to health co-benefits) from Workstream 2 will feed into the assessment of future (Pilot) trials planned for Southampton and Portsmouth, starting from mid-2028 to the beginning of 2029.

Case Study 4 focuses on the health and carbon implications of homeworking. Initial work has developed an integrated framework for analysing home/hybrid working and health. In parallel, the research team is exploring the Understanding Society data and the TRANSAS dataset for investigating different aspects of home/hybrid working, daily mobility and health. Both datasets are longitudinal, enabling robust analysis. The Understanding Society data includes a range of health variables whereas TRANSAS captures daily mobility since the Covid 19 pandemic. The ultimate aim is to introduce the broader appraisal and evaluation emerging from Workstream 2 and to recommend how home and hybrid working can be proactively targeted and managed to deliver decarbonisation and health-related co-benefits at both national and individual levels.

This Case Study is evaluating the longer-term transport carbon and health-related impacts of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), including traffic restrictions and related measures to improve walking and cycling infrastructure and the public realm. The case study involves an evaluation of LTNs introduced around 2020/21 in order to assess their transport and health impacts over six years after their implementation. Expected outcomes include: (i) an estimate of the extent to which the schemes led to reduced motorised traffic levels and related emissions within LTNs and on boundary roads, and increased physical activity; and (ii) better understanding of links between emissions, physical activity and other outcomes with medium- and long-term impacts on physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. The case study will contribute to producing an evidence base of a scheme aimed at reducing carbon, air quality and noise emissions (through traffic restrictions) and improving health – directly through reduced pollution, traffic collisions and an increase in physical activity, and indirectly through an increase in wellbeing linked to reduced crime and increased use of streets as social spaces.

Case Study 6 aims to evaluate the carbon reduction and health impacts of a set of measures to improve bus services (speed and reliability) and access to bus stops on a major radial bus corridor in South London, complemented with traffic restrictions (at a later stage). The scheme is funded by Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Better Bus Partnerships. The case study involves monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes and impacts of the scheme using a set of indicators developed in collaboration with Southwark Council. Expected outcomes are: (i) an estimate of the extent to which the scheme contributes to more and better-quality trips by bus and active access/egress modes and associated reductions in private car use; and (ii) an improved understanding of the links between travel behaviour, emissions, and other outcomes with medium- and long-term impacts on physical, mental, and social health and wellbeing. The case study will contribute to producing an evidence base of a scheme that will encourage a shift from private car to public transport, thereby reducing transport carbon emissions, and have important health co-benefits, because it encourages more walking and cycling (as access modes) and reduces stress and the environmental impacts of travel.

Contact: Healthy Low-Carbon Transport Hub Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Boldrewood Innovation Campus, University of Southampton SO17 1BJ

Email contact: Tim Yates – HLTHub network Communications, Marketing and Events Manager tim.j.yates@ucl.ac.uk