The paper is based on a survey carried out in Swansea, South Wales, that studied the options of car drivers who chose to use city centre car parks and those who used the alternative park and ride scheme. The aim of the study was to determine if any discernible differences could be found between these two groups about their opinions on issues such as the environment, road congestion and public transport. Given this information it is hoped that a better understanding can be obtained of those factors that might encourage the use of park and ride schemes in the future. The analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the opinions of the two groups, with the park and ride user showing a higher level of concern for the environment and public transport. It was found that the park and ride users' trip distances were significantly shorter than non users. There was a discernible difference between the choice of public transport mode each favoured with the non users favouring rail travel in comparison with the bus. There was a significant difference in the two groups in their opinion of the problems of road congestion and the environment; the paper shows in what area the differences occured, the level of difference and suggests reasons as to why these differences might have occurred.
Abstract