The report, which was first presented as a paper at the 1976 Stirling Conference of the Permanent International Association of Road Congresses, discusses the need for measures of accessibility that are sensitive to variations in the travel patterns of different sections of the population. The report stresses the importance of car ownership in determining personal mobility. Using data from the 1972/3 national travel survey, it shows different distances that people are prepared to travel by various modes; socioeconomic group membership is shown to have a separate effect. Moreover, car ownership is not equally distributed through the population, and particular groups, notably the elderly, housewives and the young, are heavily dependent upon either public transport or walking for their mobility. Any measure of accessibility must be sensitive to the requirements of these people. The report looks at the utility of travel time for providing a suitable measure of accessibility. There is little variation in travel time by mode or group for any specified purpose and self reported travel time may prove a reliable means of demonstrating how far people will travel for a given purpose. Examples of accessibility measures which use travel time are given. (Author/publisher).
Abstract