Football matches, concerts, outdoor events, the Christmas holiday season and many other festivals - a city like Manchester is constantly facing an influx of people who want to be entertained, go shopping or work and live in the city. Thus, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has a packed schedule of extra-ordinary circumstances that impact the traffic. Thus, travel demand management plans are created in a detailed exchange with partners from the world of sports, entertainment and events that are taking place in one of the largest cities in the United Kingdom.
Even though not every day is as crazy as 11 June 2022, as The Killers, Ed Sheeran and Alicia Keys had separate concerts that drew more than 120.000 guests to the city, in combination with a local festival that was attended by an additional 80.000, nevertheless, TfGM needs to manage travel demand. In order to guarantee smooth public transport services and reduce congestion, TfGM assesses datasets related to incidents, congestions and the situation of the road network.
Besides an eye on the numbers, TfGM also has an ear for its customers to assess the communication strategy around events. Success is also guaranteed thanks to a close cooperation with local governments, venues and sports teams, like Manchester United or Manchester City. As part of the COVID-19 resilience measures, four cross-organisation responses were highlighted by TfGM:
- Incorporate elements of the ‘Living with Covid’ work – especially around customer confidence in public transport
- Implement the seasonal road safety campaigns into the plan, particularly in ‘hot spot’ areas
- Continue to support active travel good behaviours with new data insight and promotion of popular routes
- Encourage the rise of contactless ticket purchases from Covid lockdown to continue, for safety purposes and from a data collection perspective going forward
Due to REFORM, an ambitious SUMP and dedicated men and women at TfGM, the public transport solutions are constantly improved.
