What did we learn from the eco-mobility festival?

Abstract

Historically the South African transport system has been skewed towards car use, particularly in affluent urban areas. ?The car? has become a symbol of prosperity for the masses, where people opt for private cars over public transport at the first available opportunity. Changing preferences and behaviour in favour of sustainable transport modes requires a mind shift. A more sustainable, eco-mobile transport model is required to support Johannesburg?s growth. Eco-mobility is an environmentally friendly, socially inclusive way of moving, that aims to decongest major cities by reducing the number of private cars on the roads to allow freer movement of people. The Eco-mobility Festival, held in Sandton in October 2015, presented an opportunity to demonstrate that alternative modes of transport are just as relevant as private vehicles. The month long festival comprised of road closures for private cars in favour of more sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling, public transport and other low carbon mobility systems. Traffic and transport data was collected before and during the festival to evaluate the success, or not, of the Eco-mobility Festival. In this paper a review of the impact of the Eco-mobility Festival on Sandton travel patterns and behaviours is presented.