Cornwall is a rural and maritime county at the south-western tip of the UK. Its geographical position means that Cornwall has remained one of the more remote and isolated parts of Britain. The county has a dispersed settlement pattern, distinctive geographical shape, diverse population densities and journey patterns, all of which present a variety of challenges. Despite this, the county has an extensive network of rural bus services. Some of these are provided commercially and some under contract to Cornwall County Council. The County Council has undertaken a strategic review of the role of these services in tackling social deprivation issues. This paper describes two complementary elements within this review. The first was a survey of passengers and their needs. Unusually, this included questions that asked the passengers to prioritise further improvements in the frequency of service (at different times of the day and week), and the qualitative aspects of the service (vehicles, information and stops). The second was a geographical review, using data from the operators' electronic ticket machines (ETMs). This compared the ridership and population, broken down to settlement levels, with the level of service provided.
Abstract