Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Getting People out of Cars- What does it Take?

Public attitudes to transport: Knowledge review of existing evidence (171 page pdf, Glenn Lyons, Phil Goodwin, Mark Hanly, Geoff Dudley, Kiron Chatterjee, Jillian Anable, Peter Wiltshire, and Yusak Susilo, Final report to the Department for Transport , Centre for Transport and Society, Bristol University, June 2008)

The report reviewed today looks at the ways that the public (in London UK) regards various modes of transport- both positive and negative- and from the aspect of being a car driver or not. Some interesting statistics come out of this including the major difference in support for transit depending if one is a transit user or a car user, and what would likely trigger someone to get out of his or her car- with such triggers as congestion (and congestion pricing) and high parking rates.

Key Quotes:

“This is a review of available evidence on public attitudes to passenger transport.. first on a mode-by-mode basis and then relating to the five major policy goals of government namely competitiveness and productivity, climate change, health safety and security, quality of life, and equality of opportunity”

“Motives for car ownership and use include an important desire for ‘independence’ and ‘freedom’.. The desire associated with the car among children and young people is widespread, and nearly all seem to assume that car use will play an important part in their lives”

“Different trends in bus use .. are reflected in differences in satisfaction with bus services and value for money among bus users, though also seem partly to be influenced by levels of congestion, other local travel conditions, parking difficulties, congestion charges in London..”

“72% of users of local bus services rated them as being fairly or very good. Among non-users 44% rated them as good”

“A quarter of non-users agree that many journeys less than 2 miles could be made by bus”

“Walking - One in ten people indicate concerns about safety or their local walking environment.. Around four in ten car users say they would walk more if congestion charging was introduced, if it was more expensive to park, and if it was difficult to park”

“Around 3 in 10 car users say they would reduce their car use if there were more cycle tracks, cycle lanes and better parking facilities for cycles”

“The most frequently mentioned reason people do not use trains for short distance journeys..is the perceived convenience of travelling by car, i.e. the ease or speed of journey. Cost is mentioned less”

“70% of adults believe that air travel harms the environment..74% of people agree that the current level of air travel has a serious effect on climate change”

“over 70% of the public assert the seriousness of congestion for the country, seen as getting worse, and a high priority for action”

“Some key problems affecting a majority of people’s lives are exhaust fumes in towns (74%), congestion in towns (73%), and traffic noise in towns (51%)”

“A speed limit of 20 mph was favoured by nearly 80% of people; 60% supported use of speed humps; 52% closing streets to through traffic”
Related articles

Government earmarks regions congestion busting project for funding (rail.co)
Electric cars key to greener future (autonetinsurance.co.uk)
Direct Bikes Review Congestion Charge in London (prweb.com)
Motorbikes 'popular way to commute' (autonetinsurance.co.uk)
Drivers, want more space on the roads? Push for bike lanes (theglobeandmail.com)
What does Traffic Congestion Cost us? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Congestion project targets car-sharing (thisisderbyshire.co.uk)
Mayor's congestion policies fail to convince (bettertransport.org.uk)
Congestion surveys strengthens the argument for public transport (rail.co)
Streetsblog Makes Streetfilms (urbanpedal.com)
Motorway signage could prompt drivers to use public transport (money.marksandspencer.com)
Electric cars may get cash subsidy (autonetinsurance.co.uk)
Car Dependency and Exclusion from Social Mobility (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Government plans to abolish CfIT (autonetinsurance.co.uk)
CAR Transportation Modes FOR Various Types of Cars (athingforcars.com)

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