Back to the Alps (Alpen retour)
Back to the Alps (Alpen retour) is the name of a three-year mobility campaign run by the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). The aim of the project was to persuade people travelling to the mountains to make less use of private motor vehicles and more use of public transport. The campaign was based on the principle of service support including mobility counselling and “Alpen-online”, material incentives like the Alpine Ticket and immaterial attractions like a youth competition. The result was a shift of 1 million person-kilometres, with 80% of the SAC membership reached.
Project executive
The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) is the biggest mountaineering organisation in Switzerland, with a membership of about 110,000 organised in 111 local groups. Its 153 mountain huts also make it the country’s biggest “hotel chain”. As a tour operator, the SAC organises classic walking tours and trekking holidays and also holds training courses for guides and staff. The local groups are also responsible for organising walking and mountaineering tours. In addition, the SAC is a nature and environmental protection organisation and has upgraded its activities in this field.
Participants
• Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), Board, management, 5 commissions, 60 local groups • Swiss Railways (SBB) • Postauto Schweiz (post buses) • Verband für öffentlichen Verkehr VöV (public transport association) • Verkehrsclub der Schweiz VCS (green traffic club) • Save the Mountains – a foundation of the AlpenRock-House Group • Mountain Wilderness • Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung ARE (Ministry of Spatial Development) • Energie Schweiz • Bundesamt für Gesundheit BAG (Ministry of Health) • Bundesamt für Strassen ASTRA (Ministry of Highways) • SAEFL • Geo7 / Alpenbüro Netz GmbH / MOVE RAUM.
Objectives
Qualitative objectives: Presentation of the traffic problem and focus on opportunities for energy savings in SAC travel • Awareness building for the traffic problem among mountain visitors • Promoting the use of public transport and maximising the advantages of multi-modal transport • Developing practical examples of environmentally friendly travel • Promoting and organising specific measures and campaigns • Role model for the SAC membership on the one hand and the general public, other associations and the mountain population on the other. Quantitative objective: With its programme of walking holidays and courses, the SAC generates about 10 million person-kilometres by car per year. The aim was to substitute 1 million of that total.
Activities
Material incentives: Products that make travel and lodging in the mountains easier or more attractive • SAC Training Ticket • Rail&Sleep Alpine Ticket • SAC Multi-Day Ticket. Service offerings: Practical planning aids and information for walking and mountain tours undertaken by groups or individuals • Alpine Timetable • www.alpenonline.ch • public transport guide for back-country skiing • mobility counselling (with info-box). Immaterial incentives: In addition to the material incentives, a focus on the problems of traffic for mountain sports was to serve awareness building and trigger a change in travel habits (appeal to ethical principles, group dynamics, the competition situation). The following incentives were offered and tested • pilot for the French-speaking regions • self-declaration • collecting edelweiss tokens• youth competition.
Results
The local SAC groups achieved a total shift from car to public transport of one million person-kilometres per year. PR: reports in all major print media. Internal communication: good contact with officials, very good contact with SAC membership. Alpine Ticket: product met with a positive response in and outside of the SAC. SAC Training Ticket: promising approach with good level of acceptance. SAC Multi-Day Ticket: still available. Alpine Timetable: positive response, high level of acceptance. Alpenonline: good results, important product for the SAC and mountain visitors. Public transport guide for back-country skiing in the French-speaking regions: good product, sluggish sales. Mobility counselling: good results and feedback. Self-declaration: important tool for the campaign launch, but little relevance afterwards. Edelweiss tokens: low level of acceptance. Youth competition: simply designed competition with poor response in the youth organisations. Pilot for the French-speaking regions: the western Swiss attracted great attention with their success.
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