RATS (ROMSEY AREA TRANSPORT STUDY): AN IN DEPTH STUDY OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT ISSUES IN A MARKET TOWN

During 1983 the National Bus Company and Hampshire County Council undertook a joint exercise in the Romsey area with the following objectives:- (1) to determine the existing and frustrated transport needs by means of both household and on-vehicle passenger surveys; (2) to identify the commercial bus network, if any, which could be sustained on passenger fares alone; and (3) to assess the most efficient and cost-effective means of meeting social needs using both conventional and unconventional transport resources. The study reached the following conclusions:- (1) reducing fares is not a viable proposition. A commercial bus service was identified on the Romsey - Southampton corridor although this would only cater for 36% of existing demand in the study area and result in widespread social hardship; (2) school transport movements were of critical importance. The need to provide conventional buses for school transport enables these resources to be used at marginal cost to meet inter peak social needs. Effective co-ordination of all transport resources can result in substantial financial savings. The cost of the county council's revenue support and school transport commitment in the study area could be reduced by more than 20% with 94% of demand being met by operation of the commercial service and the combination of school contracts and stage carriage bus services. Staggering of school hours could increase the savings to 30%; (3) the remaining unserved demand (6%) would be relatively costly to provide for by conventional means but unconventional solutions could possibly be co-ordinated to provide certain facilities; and (4) there was considerable scope for improving the bus operator's image, particularly in terms of value for money. (Author/TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0860501124
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Public Transport Planning and Operation. Proceedings of Seminar L held at the PTRC 11th Summer Annual Meeting.
• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  110 Strand
  London WC2,   England 
• Authors:
  • BEAMAN, D
  • Jones, David
  • 0000-0002-2938-076X
• Conference:
  • Planning & Transport Res & Comp, Sum Ann Mtg, Proc
• Publication Date: 1983

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 31-41

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Buses; Conferences; Coordination; Demand; Households; Networks; Paratransit services; Public transit; Questionnaires; Rural areas; School buses; Schools; Sociology; Staggered work hours; Surveys; Tariffs; Traffic surveys; Transportation; Urban areas; Vehicle occupants
• Uncontrolled Terms: Transportation networks
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 1272: Bus; 8525: Conference; 226: Cost benefit analysis; 285: Demand (econ); 309: Household; 9147: Interview; 1054: Network (traffic); 1128: Paratransit; 744: Public transport; 101: School; 2253: Sociology; 9145: Staggered working hours; 241: Tariff; 676: Traffic survey; 1155: Transport; 8119: United Kingdom; 313: Urban area; 1715: Vehicle occupant
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General); I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00382786
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• ISBN: 0-86050-112-4
• Report/Paper Numbers: Volume P240
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 30 1984 12:00AM