Chapter 3.4: Exploring Transport Issues

Purpose — This chapter presents the methods used to explore transport issues in the study questionnaire. It outlines how transport disadvantage was measured and how transport issues such as forced car ownership, coping strategies, residential location choice and fuel price impacts are explored.

Methodology — The focus of the chapter is methodology description rather than analysis. Questionnaire design is the major method adopted. Much of this is based on previous approaches documented in the research literature.

Findings — Both objective (e.g. trip rates) and subjective methods (self-reported access problems) are used to measure transport disadvantage. The latter included exploring a series of possible problems with travel. A quadrant analysis measuring both the importance and the level of difficult respondents had with aspects of travel was adopted to explore transport disadvantage in more depth. Transport disadvantage was also explored with regard to difficulties in accessing activities due to transport problems. A range of other questions were developed to explore issues of low/zero-car ownership, forced car ownership, coping strategies, residential location choice and fuel price impacts.