Travel assistant helps audiences choose sustainable options

An ongoing pilot project using travel assistant technology to encourage audiences to travel to cultural venues more sustainably has shared its initial findings.

Five cultural venues – Chichester Festival Theatre, The Point & The Berry in Eastleigh, Farnham Maltings, The Old Fire Station Oxford and The Electric in Guildford – are taking part in the Act Green travel pilot, which is being run by consultancy and research agency Indigo-Ltd in partnership with You. Smart. Thing (YST) and crowdEngage.

The venues have received Arts Council England funding to see if a combination of technology and messaging can influence audience behaviour.

YST operates travel assistant technology that allows audience members to see the carbon impact of their travel options. It has paired with crowdEngage, which enables venues to send communications to encourage audiences to use the travel assistant service, to create an integration between the two systems.

Since the pilot began in July, audiences across the five venues have created more than 4,000 sustainable travel plans.

Indigo-Ltd says the initial results show visitors are opting for low-carbon travel methods of public transport rather than driving to venues.

When compared with their usual travel behaviour those who used the route suggested by the travel assistant service reduced their carbon emissions by 41%, together saving an estimated eight tonnes of carbon over the last three months.

The pilot will continue to run until May next year, with results being published in the spring alongside a toolkit for other cultural organisations.

YST CEO Chris Thompson said: “We are delighted to see adoption of our technology across the cultural sector, and in particular, by theatre going audiences”.

“Behaviour change and model shift can be hugely difficult to achieve. It is brilliant to see these theatres offering tailored routes and low-carbon travel options that ultimately enhance the overall cultural experience they deliver.”