Evaluation Update
Over the last few months the Evaluation Team has been working with the Local Evaluation Managers to collect data on the outcomes of each measure. Some of the preliminary results are suggesting that substantial improvements to perception of bus services and associated infrastructure have been achieved in the following cities:
Malmö:The new simplified bus routes in the city have been promoted under the theme of ‘greener, easier and more often’;91% of respondents to a survey were aware of planned changes to the bus routes in the month that the changes were implemented.Norwich:A new bus-rail interchange has been built outside Norwich Railway Station;The frequency of buses has doubled from 6 to 12 buses per hour (Monday to Saturday daytime) between the railway station and the city centre;98% of respondents to a survey were satisfied with the quality of the new facilities;Suceava: 30 new buses using renewable fuels have been purchased, to replace the older fleet of minibuses;Bus passenger numbers increased by over 250,000 between June 2006 and January 2007, while minibus passenger numbers fell by almost 100,000 over the same period;67% of citizens responding to a survey agreed strongly with the introduction of a dedicated bus lane. In addition to the ongoing measure evaluation activities, interactive workshops are being planned in each of the SMILE cities to discuss the evaluation lessons learned by those involved in the project. By running a workshop in each SMILE city, everyone involved can identify the benefits of being involved in the wider project development and implementation programme. These workshops will also help us gather as much information as possible for the evaluation and dissemination elements of the CIVITAS SMILE projectIn order to get the most out of the experience, and to promote full discussion by participants, each workshop will be run in the local language. A successful workshop was already held in Suceava in April 2008 to test the concept and future workshops are forthcoming in Tallinn (11 June 2008), Norwich (1 July 2008) and dates still to be confirmed in Malmo and Potenza (early September 2008).
Author: Chris Humphrey
