TravelSmart
City of Melville case study
The City of Melville has long been a TravelSmart
Champion. With the help of Departmental funding, they
were one of the first local governments to hire a
TravelSmart Officer in 2000. In 2005 the City of Melville
started fully funding the position. Over the years the City
of Melville has instigated many TravelSmart innovations.
Melville’s TravelSmart Officer has helped to shape and
develop projects tailored to the City of Melville: projects
suited to resident’s needs and the available opportunities
for active transport. The TravelSmart Officer has helped
develop many innovative projects including:
SMARTi Canning Bridge Precinct Traffic Reduction Program
The SMARTi program encouraged staff in the Canning Bridge Precinct to TravelSmart to Work. The
program was designed to coincide with the opening of the Canning Bridge railways station. It involved
hiring a part-time Travelsmart Workplace Officer; providing subsidised public transport fares; giving a
bicycle to those who committed to commute by bike for a year; some minor improvements to the path
network; and the installation of improved signage. In addition to increases in physical activity SMARTi
reduced single occupancy vehicle trips by 16% among participating organisations, saved 147,360
kilograms of CO2 emissions over one year and freed up 83 car bays each day for customers and staff
who needed to drive. SMARTi was funded by the Australian Government, Department of the
Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts and the City of Melville.
Magical Mystery Tours
The aim of this program is to familiarise Senior Citizens,
who may not have caught a bus since their childhood or
are unfamiliar with the new ticketing systems, with public
transport . “Often people are unaware of how easy using
public transport can be. The Magical Mystery Tour
provides them with a fun way to find out how straight
forward public transport is,” City of Melville TravelSmart
Officer Leon Ebbelaar said. The tour includes a briefing
session prior to departure where Seniors learn how to
organise their journey, consult timetables, and use their
SmartRider. A mentor accompanies the Seniors on a
public transport trip which involves a couple of transfers
and answers any questions along the way.
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Silhouette Children Project
The Silhouette Children Project involves the temporary installation of life-sized upright silhouettes of
children in front of schools. This creates a sense of ‘intrigue’ in the driver, which causes them to slow
down. As part of this trial parents also pledge to drive within the speed limit and place stickers on their
cars claiming they care about the impact that fast cars around the school have on the safety of their
children. This is a creative solution to speeding in the 40 kilometres an hour zone.
Bike Plan
The City of Melville adopted and completed one review
(2001) of their comprehensive bike plan. Since the
adoption of their bike plan they have been actively
installing and upgrading their cycling facilities. They now
have one of Perth’s most extensive cycling networks with
over 83 km of dual use paths and an extensive network of
on road cycling facilities.
School parking policy
A School Parking Policy was adopted by Melville Council which rules that the provision of additional
parking facilities will only be considered if schools have a demonstrated commitment to promoting
walking, cycling, public transport and safe motoring habits. Schools are strongly encouraged to
participate in TravelSmart programs to identify the current need for parking and the potential for non-car
travel modes, before other engineering treatments are considered.
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