On 16 March 2019, about 50 people came and went at the Barton Neighbourhood Centre between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to attend the Pass It On event.
What was it about? The goal of the Pass it on event was to raise awareness of the pilot interventions in Barton and sign people up to take part in the two of the pilots that will be launched next April (namely, free rides to affordable supermarkets and free training sessions on mobility apps for smartphones). Further, the event was used to provide information about the concessionary pass, thus marking the start of one of the 3 interventions.
Besides Cities-4-People, several other organisations contributed to the success of the event: Healthy Urban Mobility, OCC Concessionary Pass team, Museum of Oxford, Livewell.oxfordshire.gov, and the OCC Health and Wellness Innovation Team. Use of space and the provision of a cooked breakfast was organised with the Barton Community Association and Eatwell’s Café, respectively.
The event was widely promoted on different media – offline and online – and by word of mouth, making clear its importance for the target audience, notably concessionary pass holders. The effects were noticeable: people showed up, those who were reluctant or sceptical left the place more convinced of the benefits that such pilots can have for the community and members of the public who were not residing in Barton were keen for the projects to spread to surrounding neighbourhoods and villages to feel more connected. Of course, there were also some hurdles on the way: people did not feel comfortable signing up during the event and some pointed out that the timetable set for the training sessions was too rigid to accommodate different needs. However, it was made clear that people do not have to attend all sessions, which gives them some flexibility.
After such a positive start, we look forward to hearing the feedback about the three pilots! But we have to be patient: we first have to implement them. Come back for more news, we will keep you up to date!
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