This report describes the travel patterns of shoppers in Tyne and Wear before the introduction of the metro, based on in-street shopping surveys carried out in five district centres and in Newcastle city centre. The work described was part of the Tyne and Wear public transport impact study and was designed specifically to examine some of the changes in activity levels (secondary effects) which may occur after the introduction of the metro. The travel patterns of shoppers are discussed in terms of modal split, trip lengths, trip origins, trip frequencies and types of shopping. About 55 per cent of people in Newcastle and Gateshead and 25 to 40 per cent in the other centres went shopping by bus. The average trip lengths for shoppers travelling on foot and by bus and car to the district centres were 0.74, 2.94 and 4.01 kilometres respectively. Eighty-nine per cent of shoppers travelled 5 kilometres or less to their district centre. The potential use of the metro by shoppers was estimated by counting the trips which started within 1 kilometre of a metro station and by modelling changes in accessibility by public transport.
Abstract