Green Transport Week 2010 | Street Surveys

How do people travel into your nearest town on Saturday? By car? Or by bus, on foot, or by bike?

A street survey is an excellent way to make people think about the impact cars have on the local environment. And you can use the results to lobby your local council for better facilities.

Survey Checklist

To do a survey, you need..
A survey form. Volunteers: to survey 100 shoppers, you need about 5 people, each prepared to give up 2 hours.
Pens, clipboards.
If you are a local environment or transport group, it helps to have an obvious presence on the street – bring along a stall, banners, leaflets.
Let the local police know what you are planning a few days beforehand.

Afterwards add up the figures. If you have surveyed 100 people, the percentages work out easily!

Send your results, with a press release, to the local paper. Stress the strong support you found for better buses, or more cycle paths, or better provision for pedestrians. Send the results to local councillors, including the Chair of the Highways Committee – with a letter calling for the improvements you think are needed to persuade people to travel green. You can tell the local media what you are calling for.