Among the barriers, both perceived and real, to the wider uptake of public transport in our cities is that people must get to a bus stop, railway station, or ferry terminal to take a service, and then, at the other end, they must travel to their destination. This is known as the first-last-mile gap. As a general estimate, people will not walk more than about 700 - 800 metres to a stop and most people prefer to walk less than 500 metres (or about 5 minutes’ walk).
In less dense suburbs, relatively long distances to a bus stop can discourage the service’s use. As a result, this encourages the use of a private motor vehicle, either to get to the stop, or to complete the entire journey. To some extent this can be addressed by park-and-ride facilities, especially at major transport hubs, but these are expensive to provide and not practical at many locations.
Walking – Walking, cycling and public transport
In the past decade, a range of mobility options have become available that can provide low-cost motorised solutions to help bridge the so called first-and-last mile gap. New technology enables much easier sharing of vehicles of all kinds in ways that can create better transport options for residents. We are also seeing employers and workplaces wanting to ensure that their staff and customers can use low emissions and active travel options, including for the journey to and from public transport, to their location.
Round one application has closed.
