FAQs

A School Access Travel Plan is the result of a collaborative process to document current student and staff travel behaviours, understand current barriers to the further uptake of active travel (walking, scootering, cycling or busing) to and from school and outline future projects to support more students participating in active travel more often.

The process commences with surveying the current travel behaviour of school children to and from the school campus. How many students were dropped off / picked up by a parent or guardian? How many caught the bus? How many walked or rode a bicycle?

It also summarises the barriers preventing students from using public transport and active travel, including school policy, perceptions of safety, convenience and limited network connections.

With an understanding of current travel behaviours and barriers, consultation with students and the school community, an understanding of the demographics of an area and future plans of a school, the Plan outlines projects, strategies and approaches to address concerns, encourage policy changes and change travel preferences. Of course not all students or staff are necessarily well positioned to take an active transport trip, and this is acknowledged.

In the short and long term, strategies and approaches in such plans typically include:

• A safe routes to school approach
• New infrastructure / modification to existing infrastructure at a school and in the surrounding street network
• Student and parent/guardian/ teacher education and awareness programs
• Policy work to support the ongoing uptake of active travel modes to school

The purpose of developing a School Access Travel Plan is to co-create a tailored plan to improve active travel participation for the journey to and from school. Other considerations such as drop off and pick up areas around schools can also be assessed.

Plans, programs and projects can be identified in a School Access Travel Plan to improve safety for students arriving at and leaving school, and to encourage and promote active travel within the school community. A School Access Travel Plan provides the City of Hobart with the necessary data to identify and prioritise projects for construction and/or funding.

The health and wellbeing of all community members is important and the daily exercise of active transport is an important contributor to community and individual health outcomes. Other benefits such as reducing vehicle greenhouse gas emissions and reducing traffic volumes on are roads also occur when more people can use active transport for trips.

The City of Hobart has sought and received funding for a State Government Community Road Safety Grant (CRSG).  

The City of Hobart will:

• Engage a consultant to develop School Access Travel Plans
• Develop a standardised travel behaviour survey for school communities
• Organise for required consultation with the school community
• Project manage the development of the Plan

As a partnership organisation, schools will:

• Be responsible for organising the distribution, completion and return to the City of Hobart of the travel behaviour survey by the school community, which is critical for the development of an effective School Access Travel Plan.
• Participate in collaborative discussions to develop and finalise the Plan

The City of Hobart has been successful in receiving funding through the CRSG and has engaged a consultant to assist with creating a School Access Travel Plan.

It is intended that this first round of funding application will allow for the “road testing” of the process and methodology for a travel plan at selected schools.

The intention is to progressively engage with additional schools in the City of Hobart to produce further plans, once this first pilot round of plans has been completed.

The plans will provide a set of prioritised projects and actions for future years, which can be progressively completed as funding allows.