A travel-to-work survey of non-industrial workers at Aere Harwell is reported. The response rate was about 90 per cent. Forty-one per cent of respondents used works bus while 48 per cent used a car mode. Journeys were generally between 1 and 22 kilometres. The data collected were used to calibrate a demand model to estimate the probability of works bus use. The factors found to be most significant were distance to work, access distance to a works bus route, car availability and fare per kilometre. The model estimated total works bus patronage to within 1 1/2 per cent. On a route and stop basis the mean errors of estimation were 13 and 28 per cent respectively. The forecast fare elasticity was -0.3. to demonstrate the capability of the model as a planning tool it was used to calculate the numbers of workers needed in a works bus catchment area to ensure break-even operation. It was shown, for example, that for an average direct distance to work of 5 kilometres about 165 low- or 350 high-car-availability workers were needed within 1 1/2 kilometres of a works bus stop, and the fare was 3-4 pence per direct journey kilometre. For a 20 kilometre distance the corresponding figures were 50, 65 and 2 pence per direct journey kilometre respectively. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting