Travel Blending® involves in-depth analysis of people’s travel behaviour followed by detailed suggestions on how behaviour could be modified, with follow up monitoring and feedback.

The Travel Blending® Program was initially developed as part of a major public initiative called ‘Clean Air 2000’ which aimed to reduce pollution caused by car travel in Sydney prior to the 2000 Olympics (Rose and Ampt, 2001 – file available in full at right).

Travel Blending® consists of two one week travel diaries completed by all members of participating households. Individual participants were recruited through the workplace; the individual then co-opted the rest of their household. The first travel diary allowed:

• the amount of travel to be quantified,
• the pollution generated to be calculated,
• consideration of household interactions which result in travel,
• generation of targeted suggestions about how to reduce car use.

The second diary:

• identified change in travel behaviour,
• facilitated feedback to participants,
• monitored the impact of Travel Blending®.

Rose and Ampt (2001) report details of the Sydney pilot study in qualitative terms due to the small sample size:

• One individual who previously drove to the [train] station every day, started to catch the bus one day per week. This represented a 12 km reduction in distance travelled per week, and two fewer cold starts. The individual also reported that the change was sustainable in the long term.
• One individual who exhibited no change between diary one and diary two organised a group of friends travelling to the countryside to travel in two vehicles instead of three. This saved 600km of motor vehicle travel.
• One individual increased walking and ride sharing trips.

The above households changed their travel patterns as a result of Travel Blending®. Two others made fairly dramatic changes because one of their vehicles was off the road. Other participants had plans to change in the longer term, including:

• Occasionally cycling to a friend’s instead of being escorted by car, by her mother,
• Organising a car pool for children’s Saturday morning sport,
• Travelling to work by bus one day per week,
• Considering access to public transport when moving house in the near future, so that the household can ‘survive’ with one rather than two cars.