DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT

We’ve all got places to be but it may be time we shift our focus from where we’re going, to how we’re getting there. Sounds philosophical, but we mean it quite literally.

Research recently commissioned by the Department of Transport revealed that 77% of Irish people agreed that walking, cycling and using public transport more is important for the environment and 60% are willing to make changes to how they travel. See? It’s all about the journey.

In 2023, the Government invested €1.9 billion in increasing sustainable travel options and infrastructure, and they asked us to help them encourage the Irish public to start thinking about their journey more.

Lyndsey Drea, Head of Communications at the Department for Transport explains the campaign as thus: “This campaign is about encouraging people to make more sustainable travel choices where possible and informing them about what Government is doing to support those choices.”

We developed a multi-platform campaign ‘Your Journey Counts’ with a strong message telling people that every time they walk, cycle or take public transport, they are making an impact, both in terms of carbon emissions and quality of life.

“Any journey can make a real difference. To your health, your social interactions, your environment. We were delighted to play our part in developing such an important message. Every journey makes an impact. We wanted to celebrate this with the ‘Your Journey Counts’ campaign, by making people feel good about the travel choices they can make in their daily lives.” Ken Ivory, Javelin

It normally takes multiple campaigns, over time to effectively change behaviour. This campaign is different, behaviour is already beginning to change, and the campaign will continue.

Thankfully 2023 was the busiest year to date for Ireland’s public transport system with passenger numbers exceeding 300 million, a 24% increase on 2022’s figures.