In November 2000, several local public services moved office from peripheral parts of the Norwegian city of Trondheim, to the central business district. This relocation gives improved public transport services and restrictions in parking facilities for employees and visitors. Changes in transport services from before relocation to after relocation include: fraction of commuters having to change bus decreased from 50% to 6%; average journey time by public transport: reduced by 23% from 43 minutes to 33 minutes; number of free parking spaces for employees: down from 'unlimited' to none; average parking cost increased from free to NOK 65 per day (equals 8 EURO). A before and after study was carried out during 2000 and 2001, focussing on changes in mode choice related to the relocation. The study included employees and visitors. The employee survey was based on self-completion of an electronic interview form with a one week travel diary, returned by email. The relocation resulted in significant changes in mode choice for employees and visitors, with a shift from car to public transport; for the employees, the changes were mainly due to the restricted parking options. The majority of employees with a shift in mode choice reported that they felt forced to carry out the change. The shift in the employees' mode choice was less significant on days with official duties out of office. Employees with no reported change in mode choice differed from the average employee on several points including: poorer public transport services; a larger proportion with obligations requiring stops on the way between home and place of work; and a larger proportion with young children in the household. For the covering abstract see ITRD E124693.
Samenvatting