BAYinTRAP – engaging youth and changing public transportation

prospective

BAYinTRAP is a very fresh approach to the issue of public transport in the South Baltics. With its focus on getting youth involved, it is undoubtedly a valuable exercise in participatory policymaking – one in which we must comprehend and value.Jerzy Hardie-Douglas, Mayor of SzczecinekAcross Europe, countries are looking for better ways to create clean and efficient urban transport systems. Whereas all-too-often the focus falls on technology and infrastructure, there is another side to the equation: changing people’s minds.Although the development of new transport infrastructures is happening on a daily basis, efforts to change the public’s transport behaviour and mobility patterns, along with increasing their general acceptance of these new applications, are either an afterthought or missing altogether. BAYinTRAP is bridging this policy gap, with a specific focus on youth and an eye towards the mobility expectations of the future.The project is creating opportunities to actively involve young citizens in the development of a sustainable, urban transport policy. Knowing that when engaged, youth can become important multipliers for the message of sustainable transportation, the project sought out their creativity, enthusiasm and ‘outside the box thinking’ and applied it to addressing such challenges as road safety, accessibility and urban traffic management.An active summerTo achieve this objective, the project hosted a series of summer camps. Activities included urban cycling trips that scrutinised local public transportation systems and explored mobility issues such as gaps in infrastructure, poor communication and other traffic congestion issues. Common issues that were identified across the camps included not enough bus lines, the lack of separate bike lanes, expensive tickets for public transportation and a shortage of visual information about bus routes and adequate shelters at bus stops.With research like this in hand, participants then met with local politicians, public administration and other stakeholders to present their findings, brainstorm ideas and draft solutions. In addition, the summer camps also offered numerous educational activities on the topics of sustainable mobility, traffic safety and citizenship.A lesson in participatory democracyAs a result of these camps, in at least two cities – Szczecinek and Klaipeda – presented ideas were directly incorporated into the city’s transport policy. For example, in Szczecinek Komunikacja Miejska, the public transportation operator, ordered a mobile app that provides real time arrival information about a bus at a specified stop. More so, many important lessons were learned, all of which will be incorporated into future regional transport planning. On the one hand, policy officials learned that it is difficult to change attitudes and behaviours without directly engaging the public in policy development. But perhaps the most important outcome of the project was a reconfirmation in the importance of direct democracy and the power of youth to become actively involved in their local governments.Total investment and EU fundingTotal investment for the project “Baltic Youth influencing Transport Policies” is EUR 224 920, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 191 182 through the “South Baltic” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period.