The methodology of transport surveys is a relatively new area in the People's Republic of China. From 1981, when the first urban travel survey of residents was conducted in Tianjin, to 1986, nine cities have carried out travel surveys. The objectives of these surveys have been to plan public transport. Survey methods were conventional home interview and on-board surveys, with a fixed format that lacked any interactive type of questions. The paper begins with a review of travel surveys carried out recently in China. To date, there has been no survey conducted to define, in quantitative and qualitative terms, any comprehensive comparison of travel behaviour between cities and rural areas. In 1987-88, the Household Activity-Travel Simulator (HATS), developed by Dr Peter Jones at Oxford University, was employed to test whether this western survey technique is applicable in urban and rural areas of a populous country like China. Five areas were surveyed: Fuchengmen and Zhongguancun (Beijing) for residents with an urban life-style and Majuqiao, Yangxi and Zhangjiayao with various conditions of rural life-styles. The paper describes the pilot survey - its preliminary planning, questionnaire design (and redesign), experience in conducting the survey, and survey administration. Interviews were completed with 382 people in 105 households. The work indicates that although HATS provided valuable insights into travel patterns and constraints in Chinese cities, there were some modifications necessary when applying it in rural areas of China. Generally, respondents found maps difficult to interpret, and keeping a written record of activities impossible. In remote regions, respondents made inaccurate estimates of actual distances travelled, and had problems in accurately recording activity times. With a revised questionnaire design, the objective of comparing urban and rural trip rates was successfully achieved.
Samenvatting