ThinkChange is Sunshine Coast Council’s branded travel behaviour change program that empowers the community to reduce car use for a healthier, more connected and sustainable region. Since 2023, AECOM’s transport planners and behaviour change specialists have been trusted advisors to Sunshine Coast Council, supporting the delivery of sustainable travel initiatives to help the community shift trips from private cars to public and active transport.
The Sunshine Coast is growing rapidly, and reducing car dependence is critical to protecting the region’s lifestyle and environment. Through ThinkChange, Council and AECOM are working together to normalise sustainable travel choices.
A multi-setting behaviour change program
The ThinkChange program addresses car travel reliance across five key settings:
So far, we’ve supported ThinkChange initiatives across workplaces, events, schools and communities, helping people make the change to walking, cycling and public transport instead of driving.
Setting Sunshine Coast Council up for sustainable travel success
In our first year working with Sunshine Coast Council, we provided strategic transport precinct planning and behaviour change advice as they implemented program initiatives. We also evaluated the program’s effectiveness in its first year to build upon successes and find opportunities for improvement.
Our advice was foundational to the program’s future operations and success. We:
- Helped refine the scope
- Workshopped desirable future travel behaviours within the key ThinkChange settings
- Determined resourcing and procurement needs for initiatives
- Developed implementation action plans grounded in behaviour change theory
- Identified monitoring and evaluation tools so that Council could report on changed behaviour throughout the program lifecycle
Together, these steps created a clear roadmap for delivering and scaling a long-term travel behaviour change program across the Sunshine Coast.
Increasing active school travel with RideScore
A key initiative conceived and implemented by Sunshine Coast Council is its RideScore Active Schools Program, developed in partnership with We Ride Australia. The aim of the program is to support and increase the number of primary school students riding or scooting to school, reducing car travel at peak times and boosting children’s health and wellbeing.
The RideScore app underpins the program. It sends parents real-time notifications of their child’s arrival to and departure from school, giving families confidence to support independent active travel. Children are kept engaged through gamification, earning points for each trip and rewards at milestones.
Our team reviewed the operations and results of the program. We provided key actions to strengthen existing operations and expand to more schools across the Sunshine Coast, in turn securing ongoing support for the program’s delivery.
Program results at a glance
Key results of the program*:
*at the point of measurement, after two years of running from 2022-2024.
These outcomes demonstrate measurable reductions in school car trips at peak times and growing confidence in active school travel on the Sunshine Coast.
Planning mode shift in Priority Development Areas
The Sunshine Coast is a fast-growing region which requires a large increase in dwellings to accommodate its expected future residents. Priority Development Areas are located across the region, where development can be accelerated.
We developed an integrated travel and mobility plan for the Maroochydoore City Centre, a Priority Development Area driven by residential and employment growth. A ‘business-as-usual’ approach to planning the transport and movement networks within the area would contradict Council’s goal to reduce private vehicle travel from 85 per cent to 70 per cent by 2041. Our plan addresses:
- Governance and coordination
- Data collection, monitoring and evaluation
- Parking management and pricing
- Public and active transport
- Behaviour change interventions
Across all areas, we provided Council with priority actions to support their goal of a sustainable travel mode shift while the area develops at pace, helping to prevent long-term unsustainable travel behaviours.
We’ll build on this work and partner with Council to plan sustainable travel in another Priority Development Area, Caloundra South – Aura by Stockland. The Aura Major Centre will be at the heart of Caloundra South, and its vision is to become a pedestrian-centred 15-minute neighbourhood.
We’ll plan parking management in the Aura Major Centre to:
- Help manage supply throughout the precinct’s development
- Minimise traffic congestion risks to help realise the Centre’s vision
Partnering for long-term behaviour change
Transportation and mobility are ever-moving and ever-changing. We’re partnering closely with Sunshine Coast Council as it helps the community evolve away from car-dependent travel behaviours in the most sustainable way possible, aligning behaviour change programs with land use, transport planning and strategic growth areas across the region. We work collboratively with Council and their key stakeholders across the community, government and industry to align on initiatives and come to consensus for progress.