For the last decade in the UK, for example, the Government has pursued the development of a national public transport information service (Traveline) and subsequently the development of a multimodal integrated door-to-door national web-based journey planner (Transport Direct). Such initiatives have been driven by a goal of empowering people to make more fully informed travel choices with greater awareness of the options available to them. As the travel information marketplace has evolved and matured a key consideration has become the extent to which and in what circumstances people are in fact making use of such services. This paper examines this issue drawing upon two key sources. The first is a recently completed strategic review of travel information for the UK Department for Transport which has examined the latest international literature between 2001 and 2007. The second is an ongoing study in the UK which is examining, from a social-psychological perspective, the barriers to information use. It is revealed that demand for information is lower than might be assumed from the perspective of all individuals being taken to be utility maximisers in the travel choice domain. In practice it is becoming increasingly clear that many people for much of the time do not seek new information to support their travel decisions. Nevertheless, it is argued that the aggregate level of demand that does exist is substantial and that meeting that demand is of value. For the covering abstract see ITRD E145999.
Abstract