Whilst many professionals working in the field of accessible transport provision have argued that it provides many cross-sectoral benefits, there has been little empirical research in the UK. The area is complex but essentially the benefits of allowing and encouraging mobility impaired people to remain active, rather than be placed into institutional care are considerable. The costs of facilitating continuing independence are in all cases where data has been collated, considerably less than the costs of institutional care or the attendant costs of the welfare and social services. However, the role of transport in enabling people to remain independent of institutional care and dependency on expensive and social and welfare services has been under- researched and few comprehensive empirical studies have been achieved. In the face of further cuts in public expenditure, it is becoming increasingly important to further quantify the cross-sectoral benefits of public accessible transport networks, if national government is to be convinced of a strong economic case for funding such systems. A unique opportunity to test and evaluate the costs and benefits of such an accessible transport network has emerged in Greater Manchester as a result of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority and Executive (GMPTA/E) policy review. This review committed the authority to enhancing its accessible transport provision through a twin track approach of providing specialised door-to-door services and upgrading the conventional network. Members of the GMPTA/E agreed however that instead of evaluation and monitoring initiatives on a piecemeal basis, it was more realistic to test all modes' interaction in one place. The Bury district was chosen since it already had a successful door-to-door service which could be extended, and that would provide good empirical data for mapping out semi- fixed accessible routes. Yet most important of all, Bury had been chosen as a key interchange in the accessible Light Rapid Transit system - "Metrolink". A detailed before and after assessment of the costs and benefits in this area - designated as the Multi-Modal Test Area - provides a unique opportunity to perform a quantitative cross-sectoral assessment. This report examines the preliminary finding of the research team which was set up to perform this study, (consisting of Philip Oxley from Cranfield Centre for Transport Studies, William Tyson, Consultant Transport Economist to GMPTE and Trevor Meadows, Director of the National Advisory Unit for Community Transport). The report both identifies and quantifies the value of services to mobility impaired people in Bury and shows how this information can be used by GMPTA/E to plan the future development of services, both in the test area and elsewhere, in the most cost-effective way.
Samenvatting