Cumbria County Council : Roads and Transport : Public Transport : Public Transport Survey 2004

Cumbria County Council is the local authority responsible for devising and delivering public transport strategy for Cumbria (The Local Transport Plan). In broad terms, public transport strategy in Cumbria reflects a combination of meeting the objectives of national transport policy (e.g. Transport Act 2000) alongside dealing with local concerns and preferences (e.g. Area Transport Plans). Encouraging greater use of public transport and reducing reliance on car travel are key elements in the Government's current transport policy.

In Cumbria, buses are likely to be the predominant mode of public transport for local travel for the foreseeable future, and the Council's strategy aims to provide a reliable, safe, comfortable and better integrated transport mode and, hence, become a cost effective alternative to the private car. This aim is fundamentally supported by the need for provision of good quality and easily accessible bus transport information. This Survey was implemented to make a contribution to the County Council's knowledge and understanding of a number of issues concerning public bus transport.

The Public Transport Survey 2004 focuses on two main areas of interest. Firstly, the difficulties and problems that discourage people from using public bus transport (or discourage them from using it more often) and switching to buses from car travel. Secondly, the accessibility and effectiveness of public bus transport information.

In aggregate terms, the respondents had recent and regular experience of travel to and within Cumbria by public transport, typically (in the case of non-residents of the county) for holidays and day trip purposes. Many of the respondents had used bus services within the county, including some of those people who arrived by car. The great majority of resident respondents use buses at least once per week or more frequently, with 'social and pleasure', 'travel to shop' and 'access to essential services' being the most common reasons. Distance normally travelled by resident bus users tends to be confined to their local area (e.g. town) or within their district (Allerdale, Eden, etc).

The main factors limiting increased bus usage can be summarised as follows:

Clearly, many of these factors are inter-related. For example, bus service timings can be altered to improve mode connections, but adherence to a connecting service schedule can affect punctuality. Similarly, increasing overall service provision requires greater investment in vehicles, drivers and infrastructure and thereby increases operating costs, with no certainty of commercial return. In a largely rural area, with a relatively small population base, satisfying all actual and potential passenger needs on a purely commercial basis is impossible. In this scenario, the selective use bus subsidy is critical to the delivery of the broad public transport objectives set by national government and local committees. Alternative transport schemes, such as 'demand responsive' transport, can help to overcome some of these issues.

Information is fundamental to the operation of public transport services, as without it passengers cannot make informed decisions about when, where and how to travel. It follows that information available to passengers should be easy to find, relevant, accurate and up-to-date. Just as there are differing needs amongst passengers for particular bus routes, bus times and connections, etc, so there are differing needs for timetable information and ways to access it. There is also a need to address the requirements of disabled users.

In aggregate, across all groups within our Survey, there was relatively little evidence of people having regular difficulty in finding bus service information for Cumbria. There appears to be continued overall strong reliance on paper format timetables of various forms, including leaflets, booklets and posters displayed at bus stops and other transport access nodes. Personal contact with 'official' sources such as Tourist Information Centres, bus operating company staff and telephone enquiry services (e.g. Traveline) are also important for many people. The information supplied appears to be meeting the expectations of travellers, as the great majority responded by saying that it had been very useful (or better) or had helped quite a lot or a great deal. Whilst this general summary is positive and encouraging, some areas of weakness were identified, perhaps most notably in terms of timeliness of some literature to assist with journey planning, especially for holiday purposes. Furthermore, there may be a need to re-examine the detailed format of some publications to make them easier to read and aid understanding. Some electronic forms of information distribution, such as Internet-based journey planners, are viewed as not always wholly reliable.

This survey begins to explore some of the key information that could be usefully gathered to improve understanding of the market for bus transport in Cumbria, but further market assessment could come from pooling existing knowledge or by undertaking a programme of targeted research. Whilst trying to answer some of these questions is likely to have an inherent cost, there is potential for more effectively developing bus usage based on better understanding of the market. Although aggregate national bus passenger numbers have been in long-term decline, some areas have demonstrated that reversing this trend is possible. A holistic approach to removing barriers to greater public bus transport usage, including the improvement of information provision, needs to be connected to other elements of transport strategy, such as physical infrastructure development, environmental protection and social inclusion. There is also a need to obtain the support of all stakeholders, underpinned by adequate and sustained resource.

If you have any queries concerning the survey, please use the contact details below.