Transport Swap - Wheels on Reels

6th February 2007

The Centre for Transport Policy (CfTP) at The Robert Gordon University (RGU) is challenging members of the public to travel to work a different way for one day in February and record their experiences on camera.

The project is being run as part of the Festival of Social Science, organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), who have given £2000 funding towards the project.

Cameras will be available from RGU and video clips of volunteer's experiences will be edited together in a short film and screened at the local Belmont Picturehouse cinema on March 12th. A panel of local experts will then debate the issues to arise from the film.

Dr Jillian Anable is a research fellow at the Centre and is co-ordinating the project. She said, 'We want people to stop and think about how they travel daily. People could cycle, take public transport, or walk, or we'd certainly like to hear about any unusual ways of getting to work. It's all about making people think twice about what they do automatically; that perhaps there are choices but that they are unaware of any convenient alternatives.

Approximately 70 events will run across the UK as part of the Festival of Social Science www.esrcfestival.ac.uk, which runs from 9th-18th March alongside National Science and Engineering Week. It celebrates some of the very best British social science research, as well as highlighting the ways in which social science makes a difference to everyday lives.

This festival is designed to communicate to policy makers, business and the public the work of social scientists and to demonstrate how this work makes a difference to all our lives.

If you would like anymore information about the transport swap contact Dr Anable on 07930 330155 or j.anable[AT]rgu.ac.uk