This paper describes the strategic accessibility methodology developed by the MVA Consultancy, and discusses its use for designing and evaluating an accessible transport strategy for Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The strategy aimed to cover all modes of transport, as part of the statutory Derry Area Plan 1996-2011. Accessibility and 1991 census analyses were combined, and applied to: (1) mobility impaired people, with physical or other conditions making walking or use of conventional public transport difficult; and (2) mobility handicapped people, who experience difficulty in doing everyday tasks due to mobility problems. The accessibility analyses studied journeys to work and shopping trips by these people, for a variety of origins and destinations; the calculation of accessibility had five stages. The preferred transport strategy was to increase public transport accessibility and service frequency. Tests showed that public transport accessibility would increase by 9% for unimpaired people and 32% for impaired people. The second stage of the study will estimate how many more seriously impaired people cannot use current services, and propose semi-fixed routes to meet their needs as far as possible.
Samenvatting