Pull and Push Measures

Reading over my blog, I realised that I have widely discussed transportation in terms of sustainability. So I thought I should briefly mention other ways that could be used to reduce car dependency within Auckland, to get people out of their cars and instead using more sustainable forms of transport such as those mentioned in the blog. I will do this by identifying pull measures and push measures. A pull measure attempts to encourage people to use more efficient modes of transport while a push measure attempts to push people out of the use of private vehicles by discouraging car use or by creating barriers that make car use difficult, (Jensen-Butler et al 2008).

PULL MEASURES

Measure	Description
Use of School Buses	A private bus providing transport for students to and from school. This provides an alternative form of transport for school children and is a more convenient option for parents who then do not have to use their private vehicle to drop and pick their child to and from school.
Park and Ride	While a park and ride requires some driving, it encourages less travel on the road and more travel on public transport. In Auckland there are park and rides in many areas, for example, Homai, Papatoetoe and Orakei.
Telecommuting and Alternative Work Schedules	This involves people “using telecommunications technologies to avoid driving to and from work during peak periods,”(Hildebrand 2007).
Travel Awareness Campaigns	Involving “media campaigns and marketing techniques which aim at making the general public aware of their transportation choices,” (TravelWise 2010).

PUSH MEASURES

Measure	Description
Parking Charges: Push	Costs imposed on vehicle drivers to discourage them from car use - this is why a lot of people that work in Auckland City use public transport, because of the high costs of parking.
Fuel Taxes	“Imposed sales tax put on the sale of fuel,” (Petrol Prices.Com 2010).
Road User Charges	To “reflect the costs that vehicles impose on others and on the environment,”(New Zealand Government 2008).
Vehicle Excise Duty	“Penalising the highest emitting cars,” (BBC News 2008).