The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames has appointed ICE to back its Smarter Travel programme with social marketing.

Funded by Transport for London, the £4.2m Smarter Travel initiative aims to increase the public's awareness of transport options and improve access to them to reduce congestion and promote a more active lifestyle.

Over the next five months, ICE will work to encourage families who have young children and tend to make essential journeys by car to consider greener travel options to places like medical centres, nurseries and supermarkets.

The agency will work closely with the families themselves, nurseries, community groups and other stakeholders such as police and road safety organisations to understand parents' travel habits and determine how they can change their behaviour.

Suzanne Goldenberg (pictured), ICE’s business development director for the south east, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to reach out and engage with young families in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and help them to find easier, cheaper and greener ways of travelling which fit in with their everyday lives.
 
“As social change specialists, we know that using the common sense approach of talking to people and understanding why they travel in certain ways will help increase the number of families with young children walking, cycling and using public transport. In turn, this will have a far-reaching positive impact by reducing congestion and localised pollution, as well as improving overall health and wellbeing.”

Richmond currently ranks 23rd out of London's 33 boroughs for transport-related carbon dioxide emissions.