Active Travel

Did you know...

Travelling by active modes has many far-reaching benefits, including improvements to personal health and wellbeing, and reducing travel costs.

Compared with all travel modes including public transport and driving, active travel provides the highest economic returns and supports mobility options for all people regardless of age. Travelling by walking, riding and cycling also enhances social connectedness.

RAC’s 2023 Commuting and Congestion survey shows:

• Members who predominantly use active travel and only drive once a week or less, are more satisfied with their commute compared to members who drive a few days a week.

Our Community Connectedness score also shows members feel more connected to their community the less they drive and the more they cycle.

Walking

Did you know...

Over 400,000 car trips of less than one kilometre are made in Perth each workday. Most people can walk this distance in approximately 10 minutes. Most trips begin and end with walking - even if it's just to your car. Walking is not only an important form of transport, but also the most popular form of recreation and a great way to get some regular physical activity into your day.

Walking leads to improved creativity within the brain as well as more divergent thinking tasks. Walking is also shown to be essential for maintaining neuroplasticity of the brain. Three studies from Stanford University show that going for a walk before a big meeting can help us to think clearer and prepare better. RAC member surveys found that:

• Just under half of RAC members walked for 10 minutes or more five days a week (or more) with over three quarters of members walking for more than 10 minutes each week.
• Half of our members believe the Government should do more to improve the network of footpaths.
• And just under 50% of our members believe the Government should build more services and destinations within an easy walking distance of their home.

Safety for people walking

Pedestrians are some of the most vulnerable people on our roads due to their lack of protection and regular interaction with fast moving traffic. In 2023, 159 people lost their lives or were seriously injured when walking on WA roads.

 

Cycling

Cycling provides many benefits, including improving personal health and wellbeing while reducing travel costs. A city which supports cycling can result in quieter streets, reduced congestion, better economic returns, cleaner air quality and vibrant and liveable centres.

Did you know...

• Investment in cycling infrastructure delivers huge benefits - the economic, social, health and environmental benefits outweigh the cost of investment by around four times.
• In 2022, cycling and e-scooters contributed an estimated $18.6b in economic and social benefits to the economy, including $17.6b in direct and indirect outputs from cycling and e-scooter expenditure, and $954m in health and social benefits.
• Cycling is popular in WA, with around 373,300 Western Australians riding each week.
• Nearly one in every 10 of Perth's residents cycle in a typical week, with most people doing so for recreational purposes and just under half for transport.

Our member surveys ask our members their habits and thoughts on cycling in Western Australia. Our Active Travel Survey revealed:

• The most popular reason for riding a bike is for recreation and fun.
• Over half of our members felt safe when cycling on shared paths.
• Women predominantly cited fear of sharing the road with motorists stops them from riding or riding more often, with many cycling less due to a lack of safe bike routes.
• The vast majority wanted to see more investment in on-road cycling infrastructure, such as cycle lanes, and many wanted to see more off-road cycling infrastructure such as shared paths.

Safety for people cycling

Cyclists are some of the most vulnerable people on our roads due to their lack of protection and regular interaction with fast moving traffic. In 2023, five cyclists lost their lives on WA roads. From 2018 to 2022, 491 cyclists were killed or seriously injured.

Understanding and tackling the road safety challenges for people cycling is critical to encourage the uptake of riding while preventing deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

Projects

RAC supports a range of initiatives during Bike Month which runs across October:

• Supporting WestCycle and the Department of Transport’s Grants program
• Running repair and bike basics workshops on National Ride to Work Day
• Sponsoring of Bike Basics workshops for members and the WA community

RAC also provides West Perth staff with eBikes to use when travelling locally during work time - and they can take them home overnight or on the weekend.

Shared path lighting review

In 2017, RAC initiated a project to investigate lighting quality along four popular sections of Perth's Principal and Recreational Shared Path networks to understand the opportunities to improve accessibility and safety and encouraging more walking and cycling.

The study showed that nearly 60% of the lighting along the 67km surveyed did not meet the relevant lighting standard. While better lighting is now a standard requirement on all new high-quality routes, lighting along these older paths still does not meet minimum requirements.

 

eRideables

eRideables are a relatively new addition to mobility options and are part of the Active Travel group as they allow us to move around without using a car. eRideables are an attractive mode of transport as they require little physical effort and can overcome short distances very quicky. These modes provide convenient travel options at the beginning or end of a public transport trip and are popular, particularly for moving people between home and their place of work or study.

Did you know...

The road rules in Western Australia allow eRideables to be ridden on the footpath, just like bikes. However, this isn’t the case across all of Australia, with eScooters still illegal in New South Wales and riding on the footpath illegal in Victoria. Maximum speed limits also vary between states as well as countries around the world.

RAC’s Member Survey for Active Travel showed:

• The main reason members use an eRideable over other forms of active travel is that it’s quicker to get to their destination.
• Most e-scooter trips are less than 5kms.
• 17% of members who used an e-scooter did so due to the availability of a hire scheme.

Safety for people on e-scooters

When using an e-scooter, the maximum speed limit is very important, as it determines the likelihood of whether the incident results in a head injury or not. At speeds up to 24km/h the hands and arms can protect the head of the person prior to a fall, however at 36km/h, the head is usually the first point of impact. For this reason, RAC supports the regulated maximum speed of 25km/h for e-scooters.

Projects

RAC has just rolled out their most recent education program focusing on e-scooter safety. RAC visits groups, clubs and interested parties delivering presentations offering advice and insight into both road and e-scooter safety.

It’s all part of our work to achieve our vision of a safer, more sustainable and better-connected future for WA.