A Comparison of Travel in Three British Cities: Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds

This paper describes how the comparison of travel behavior in Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds draws together results from two complementary sets of analyses: the first is based on travel surveys that were conducted in two separate time periods in each of the cities and the second draws on census material from 1971 and 1981. Contrary to national trends, bus patronage increased in Sheffield in the 1970’s where Leeds and Manchester on the other hand followed the national decline in bus use. The increased bus patronage in Sheffield was not simply a result of increased trip making by existing public transport users; when compared to the other two cities, Sheffield has not only retained its existing patronage but it has also attracted new passengers. These signs of revival in public transport use have almost certainly resulted form South Yorkshire’s low fares policy. There are many elements in Sheffield’s urban structure, such as its compactness, the high density of residential development, the strength of the city center in providing jobs and therefore attracting centrally oriented travels, and the channelization of some work trips through corridor development of manufacturing sites along river valleys, which lend themselves to a better use of public transport. In contrast, in that have experienced extensive suburbanization of homes and a decentralization of workplaces, as in Manchester, the increasing need for out-commuting and orbital travel has encouraged car ownership and use. When the number of household workers is taken into account, the difference in propensity in acquiring a second car is not so much between the cities themselves as between their inner and outer areas so that the higher multiple car ownership in Manchester or Leeds is related to their more extensive suburban areas compared to Sheffield. There is of course a complex set of interactions between demographic, socio-economic and land-use factors on the one hand and mode choice travel patterns on the other. However, the evidence presented in this paper does suggest that transport polices, such as those adopted by South Yorkshire, play a role in affecting change.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of British Columbia, Vancouver

  Centre for Transportation Studies
  Vancouver, British Columbia  Canada  V6T 1W5
• Authors:
  • Dasgupta, M
  • Paulley, N
• Conference:
  • Research for Tomorrow's Transport Requirements. Proceedings of the Fourth World Conference on Transport Research
  • Location: Vancouver British Columbia, Canada
  • Date: 1986-5-0 to 1986-5-0
• Publication Date: 1986

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1474-1492
• Monograph Title: Research for Tomorrow’s Transport Requirements

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile ownership; Bus transit; Bus transportation; Census; Public transit; Transit operating agencies; Travel behavior; Travel surveys; Work trips
• Geographic Terms: Leeds (England); Manchester (England); Sheffield (England)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Motor Carriers; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01082481
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 18 2007 11:29AM