The recently completed Tyne and wear metro forms the backbone of what is the first fully integrated public transport system in the united kingdom. Nevertheless, users of the metro form, and will continue to form, a relatively small proportion of the total public transport market in the conurbation; the vast majority of public transport passengers making use of the bus services of the Tyne and wear passenger transport executive (PTE). Over the past five years the public transport network has undergone substantial revision in conjunction with the opening of the metro. Integrating has been a key feature including systemwide through-ticketing in addition to a harmonising of routes and services operated. The PTE is aware that track-based public transport frequently commands a superior image to a conventional bus services in the minds of potential passengers, and has attempted to portray a high quality image for the public transport system as a whole through efforts at integration and a common approach to marketing. The aim of the study described here was to assist the transport operator in making practical decisions to improve the quality of services by providing a clearer understanding of how passengers with different levels of dependence on public transport perceive the quality of service offered. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 290118.
Abstract