The study described in this report is concerned with the impact of restraint policies on car use and is geared mainly to needs of local authorities. It is based on a re-analysis of data from household interviews carried out in 1966 and 1976. The policies implemented between the two surveys include parking charges and controls, restrictions on vehicular access, bus-priority schemes and the introduction of park-and-ride services. There appears to have been a general reduction in the extent of travel over the 10-year period, attributable largely to a decline in work trips, because of an increase in the proportions of economically-inactive heads of households and the elderly. Although there has been some re-distribution of trips ends away from the city centre to areas outside the city boundary, this does not appear to have resulted from the traffic restraint measures taken. For car travel to the city centre, the main effect of the policies has been a considerable shift from free public parking (which is now very limited) towards free private parking, which in 1976 was used much more frequently for shopping and social trips, in addition to work, than in 1966. The use of bus over the 10 years has declined appreciably, although the reliability and image of the service seems to have improved. The concept of car availability is examined in some detail and it seems that, in spite of restraint, when a car is genuinely available for a journey it is rare for another mode to be used. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting