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Author Topic: Rise in car dependency - unintended consequence, or expected effect of policy?  (Read 3833 times)
grahame
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« on: September 22, 2018, 02:49:36 »

A sidebar on a Sun article about "Furious passengers on Govia and Northern Rail have been blocked from forming a new political party to oust the Transport Secretary".

Quote
ANGER at public transport is fuelling a rise in car dependency, an annual RAC poll says.

A third of drivers, a record high, say they are more reliant on their cars than a year earlier.

A little over a quarter said the same in 2017. One in four blamed a deterioration in bus and train services. Six in ten said they would drive less if the networks improved.

RAC chief engineer David Bizley said many people do not see public transport as a “viable alternative” to the car. He called for more investment to make it “reliable, frequent, comfortable and affordable”.

Bus and rail passenger trips both dropped last year, Department for Transport figures show.

Are we again in an age where a deterioration in bus and train services to the extent that it drives significant numbers of people away is an accepted / acceptable policy, or is it an unintended consequence of what's being going on with very different intent (or no intent at all)?
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Lee
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« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2018, 08:17:09 »

I think what's happened with buses is a deliberate consequence of political policy. In the early days of the coalition in 2010, George Osborne's Treasury drew up lists of what they viewed as "wasteful spending" in terms of priority. £309 million in transport grants to local authorities, which councils used to subsidise socially necessary bus services, were deemed to be among the "most wasteful of all" and put on the very first list to be cut. This directly caused an immediate crisis in the provision of those kinds of bus services that continues to this day.

Rail is rather more complex to define in these terms. Since privatisation, administrations of all political colours, Network Rail and the TOCs (Train Operating Company) have all had notable bouts of incompetency that have contributed to this, but you have to say that having a lot of incompetency all at once does tend to get you noticed...
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broadgage
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« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2018, 11:16:22 »

Here in North Somerset, bus services have noticeably worsened.
Local employers have got fed up with staff turning up late due to bus problems, and almost all local job adverts now state "must have own transport"

Speaking more generally, I blame a lot of the problems on new housing developments that have no effective public transport provision. Residents of such estates therefore have to drive, often needing multiple cars per household.

There seems to be a general view that new housing developments cant be served with public transport until a proven demand can be demonstrated. By which time of course every resident has purchased a car and got used to driving.
IMHO (in my humble opinion), new housing developments need an effective bus service from before the first resident moves in.

A comparison could be made with electricity supply. Who would build a new housing estate without an electricity supply ? No one ! Despite the fact that INITIAL electricity demand is probably insufficient to justify the costs.
Similar arguments apply to mains water or roads within the estate.
"here is your new home. Sorry about the walk across a muddy field to get to your front door. But don't worry, we will consider building a road once enough demand exists"
« Last Edit: September 22, 2018, 11:32:55 by broadgage » Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
Fourbee
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« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2018, 11:49:39 »

Here in North Somerset, bus services have noticeably worsened.
Local employers have got fed up with staff turning up late due to bus problems, and almost all local job adverts now state "must have own transport"

I'd also be interested to know if existing staff at various companies have been "advised" to get a car.
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eightonedee
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« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2018, 12:55:59 »

Quote

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Re: Rise in car dependency - unintended consequence, or expected effect of policy?
« Reply #2 on: Today at 11:16:22 am »
Reply with quoteQuote
Here in North Somerset, bus services have noticeably worsened.
Local employers have got fed up with staff turning up late due to bus problems, and almost all local job adverts now state "must have own transport"

Speaking more generally, I blame a lot of the problems on new housing developments that have no effective public transport provision. Residents of such estates therefore have to drive, often needing multiple cars per household.

There seems to be a general view that new housing developments cant be served with public transport until a proven demand can be demonstrated. By which time of course every resident has purchased a car and got used to driving.
IMHO (in my humble opinion), new housing developments need an effective bus service from before the first resident moves in.

A comparison could be made with electricity supply. Who would build a new housing estate without an electricity supply ? No one ! Despite the fact that INITIAL electricity demand is probably insufficient to justify the costs.
Similar arguments apply to mains water or roads within the estate.
"here is your new home. Sorry about the walk across a muddy field to get to your front door. But don't worry, we will consider building a road once enough demand exists"

Actually for about a decade planning policy has resulted in most new developments of any size contributing financially or by way of physical infrastructure in larger schemes to non-car transport (although usually nothing for Rail related infrastructure), and require travel plans to be provided. The former may be by way of payments under planning agreements (the "Section 106 agreements" you hear about in the media) or as part of the infrastructure funded by a levy known as Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) that some local planning authorities levy instead, or physically providing cycling facilities, bus stops, bus shelters, information etc, and ensuring that appropriate pedestrian routes to shops and schools are provided. The latter usually comprise information about public transport, walking routes and cycle facilities, sometimes with tickets or vouchers to each first buyer or tenant, possibly backed up by appointing someone to provide advice or to monitor use of different modes of transport on large schemes and an obligation to change what is offered if it does not demonstrate a "modal shift" away from private car use.

It cannot really be compared to usual mains services. You cannot occupy a new house unless it is connected to its sewer, water, electricity and other services. A new buyer or tenant will come with their own transport. The availability of transport may be a factor influencing where you buy or rent (look at the premium in house prices for areas with good rail connections), but for many it will be a case that the buyer/new tenant would like or needs a larger house/one near a new job or a school they would like their children to attend/to be near relatives, not - "can I move to a place with better bus services".

The problem is that we are trying to wind back the clock on nearly a century of getting used to private road transport. Whatever its downsides and problems, it also has flexibility that public transport cannot match.

I am not convinced that some of the planning measures (particularly travel plans) are particularly effective. What we need is more integrated infrastructure and general planning. Even when you have heavily subsidised bus transport, it needs to have sufficient volume of use to justify the expenditure, and dispersed settlement patterns mitigate against this. Use of some of the subsidised services in Oxfordshire that are no longer supported was often very low. My wife, who was involved in community transport for a while, went to a conference before the cuts when a speaker made the comment that it had been calculated that it would produce less carbon emissions of they stopped the buses in rural areas and bought each passenger a Landrover Freelander to use for the journeys instead! Concentrating development along current lines of communications helps, but immediately conflicts with  Green Belt policies in those towns and cities which have them.

Recognising these problems though, we are not going to encourage more to use public transport unless its a user-friendly experience, provided at convenient times serving the places that many want to get to and reliable. The continued increase in rail use until this year shows that passengers were prepared to pay. Is it now the cost or the quality of the service that has reversed this?    
« Last Edit: September 22, 2018, 13:42:53 by eightonedee » Logged
Lee
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« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2018, 13:53:00 »

I am not convinced that some of the planning measures (particularly travel plans) are particularly effective. What we need is more integrated infrastructure and general planning. Even when you have heavily subsidised bus transport, it needs to have sufficient volume of use to justify the expenditure, and dispersed settlement patterns mitigate against this. Use of some of the subsidised services in Oxfordshire that are no longer supported was often very low. My wife, who was involved in community transport for a while, went to a conference before the cuts when a speaker made the comment that it had been calculated that it would produce less carbon emissions of they stopped the buses in rural areas and bought each passenger a Landrover Freelander to use for the journeys instead! Concentrating development along current lines of communications helps, but immediately conflicts with  Green Belt policies in those towns and cities which have them.

I'm afraid your wife was subjected to Ye Olde Freelander Chestnut, often trotted out to "prove" a pro-car factoid. Here's an example from 2006:

Quote from: The Scotsman
(then-Transport Secretary Douglas) Alexander said: "Here is an uncomfortable statistic. If 10 or fewer people travel in a Sprinter, it would be less environmentally damaging to give them each a Land Rover Freelander and tell them to drive.

"Be clear - that is not code for rail closures. Far from it. We want to see the railways grow. And in order to do so, we need to encourage better use on all parts of our railway."

Further on in the article:

Quote from: The Scotsman
South of the Border, services carrying fewer than 10 passengers per train include the Gunnislake to Plymouth line, with 4.4 passengers per train, the service between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno Junction at 6.9 travellers per journey, and the Falmouth Docks to Truro service which carries just 4.4 people per trip.

The environment could breathe more easily still if the passengers from any of these stations decided to share a car, even a gas-guzzling 4x4.

Should we, back in 2006, have pulled the plug on Gunnislake and Falmouth due to the perceived lack of volume of use, or on the flipside, should some of the innovative Community Rail-style promotion measures deployed on lines such as Gunnislake and Falmouth have been tried on those low-usage Oxfordshire bus routes?
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Red Squirrel
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« Reply #6 on: September 22, 2018, 15:01:39 »

A sidebar on a Sun article about "Furious passengers on Govia and Northern Rail have been blocked from forming a new political party to oust the Transport Secretary".

Quote
ANGER at public transport is fuelling a rise in car dependency, an annual RAC poll says.

A third of drivers, a record high, say they are more reliant on their cars than a year earlier.

A little over a quarter said the same in 2017. One in four blamed a deterioration in bus and train services. Six in ten said they would drive less if the networks improved.

RAC chief engineer David Bizley said many people do not see public transport as a “viable alternative” to the car. He called for more investment to make it “reliable, frequent, comfortable and affordable”.

Bus and rail passenger trips both dropped last year, Department for Transport figures show.

Are we again in an age where a deterioration in bus and train services to the extent that it drives significant numbers of people away is an accepted / acceptable policy, or is it an unintended consequence of what's being going on with very different intent (or no intent at all)?

I'd be much more interested to hear what an unbiased, properly-sampled study said rather than hearing the views of members of a motoring organisation. Having said that, clearly fewer people will be using buses in places where there are fewer of them. But when I hear an RAC spokesperson calling for better public transport, I can't help presuming they want that to make more room for their Mr Toads to poop-poop around in.

https://youtu.be/EfqPfq6t9NM




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broadgage
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« Reply #7 on: September 22, 2018, 16:31:14 »

Does say a sprinter actually burn 4 times as much fuel per mile as an SUV ? That seems surprising to me.
Estimating 30 miles to a gallon for the SUV, does a pacer really only go 7.5 miles on a gallon ?

I have heard, but can not substantiate, that the fuel consumption of a pacer is about the same as an SUV, and therefore that the pacer saves fuel with only two passengers.

Perhaps we need some new 2 car battery multiple units ?
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A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
TaplowGreen
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« Reply #8 on: September 22, 2018, 16:58:51 »

A sidebar on a Sun article about "Furious passengers on Govia and Northern Rail have been blocked from forming a new political party to oust the Transport Secretary".

Quote
ANGER at public transport is fuelling a rise in car dependency, an annual RAC poll says.

A third of drivers, a record high, say they are more reliant on their cars than a year earlier.

A little over a quarter said the same in 2017. One in four blamed a deterioration in bus and train services. Six in ten said they would drive less if the networks improved.

RAC chief engineer David Bizley said many people do not see public transport as a “viable alternative” to the car. He called for more investment to make it “reliable, frequent, comfortable and affordable”.

Bus and rail passenger trips both dropped last year, Department for Transport figures show.

Are we again in an age where a deterioration in bus and train services to the extent that it drives significant numbers of people away is an accepted / acceptable policy, or is it an unintended consequence of what's being going on with very different intent (or no intent at all)?

I'd be much more interested to hear what an unbiased, properly-sampled study said rather than hearing the views of members of a motoring organisation. Having said that, clearly fewer people will be using buses in places where there are fewer of them. But when I hear an RAC spokesperson calling for better public transport, I can't help presuming they want that to make more room for their Mr Toads to poop-poop around in.

https://youtu.be/EfqPfq6t9NM






Other than the fact that it perhaps doesn't suit your narrative, what evidence do you have to suggest that the survey was biased or not properly sampled?
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eightonedee
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« Reply #9 on: September 22, 2018, 17:16:18 »

Quote
Posted by: broadgage
Insert Quote
Does say a sprinter actually burn 4 times as much fuel per mile as an SUV ? That seems surprising to me.
Estimating 30 miles to a gallon for the SUV, does a pacer really only go 7.5 miles on a gallon ?

I have heard, but can not substantiate, that the fuel consumption of a pacer is about the same as an SUV, and therefore that the pacer saves fuel with only two passengers.

Perhaps we need some new 2 car battery multiple units ?

Those fuel consumption figures look pessimistic (for the SUV) and about right for the Pacer.

A typical modern diesel 2 litre SUV can manage 40MPG plus, has an engine of about 150 bhp moving a vehicle of 2 tonnes. A Pacer has two 225 bhp engines shifting about 50 tonnes of metal. Googling bus fuel consumption I found someone claiming 14 MPG as a good figure for a 29 seater midibus.

If you have a midibus tootling around rural Oxfordshire with an average of two passengers at any one time, and I think you can see how the "Freelander myth" came about!

All strengthens the case for electrification for me!
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Red Squirrel
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« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2018, 13:40:11 »


Other than the fact that it perhaps doesn't suit your narrative, what evidence do you have to suggest that the survey was biased or not properly sampled?

I'm not sure what you imagine my narrative to be... do tell!

My point, the language of which I would have sought to make more watertight had I though it was in the least bit controversial, is that a survey of people who are labelled as 'motorists' is less interesting than a survey of, say, 'public transport users' in this context. But it does depend on what you are trying to find out, or to prove. If you were trying to find out if investments intended to achieve modal shift were effective, for example, then surely you'd ask a random sample of everyone?
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« Reply #11 on: September 24, 2018, 14:02:03 »

I’d use Them if they coincide with my shifts. They currently don’t! Maybe the cornwall frequency increase may change that!

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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #12 on: September 24, 2018, 17:01:24 »


Other than the fact that it perhaps doesn't suit your narrative, what evidence do you have to suggest that the survey was biased or not properly sampled?

I'm not sure what you imagine my narrative to be... do tell!

My point, the language of which I would have sought to make more watertight had I though it was in the least bit controversial, is that a survey of people who are labelled as 'motorists' is less interesting than a survey of, say, 'public transport users' in this context. But it does depend on what you are trying to find out, or to prove. If you were trying to find out if investments intended to achieve modal shift were effective, for example, then surely you'd ask a random sample of everyone?

Given that there are over 40 million motorists in the UK (United Kingdom), and that a fair number of them would inevitably also be public transport users past or present, I reckon it's pretty representative, but your suggestion has merit, perhaps that's something ATOC» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here) could undertake to get a nationwide perspective?

I think badging motorists "Mr Toad" in the manner and context you have chosen suggests someone with an anti-motorist narrative...………...not a criticism you understand, just an observation.
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« Reply #13 on: September 24, 2018, 22:33:57 »

One thing that perhaps ought to be undertaken are surveys of those who chose to drive when they could take the train (or a bus). As a rail passenger I get questionnaires periodically, but I am not aware of any sent generally to those who work, asking them why they choose their preferred mode of transport over others.

Some of my work colleagues don't use trains although they could do so. In one case it is because their local station (Liphook) is badly lit at night, and there have been prowlers in the area (a female colleague), another likes winding down after work listening to Radio 4 in his car rather than taking a train to Cosham, and a third doesn't fancy the walk to his local station at Worplesdon down an unlit lane with no pavement or lights.  None of these mention cost or unreliability. Perhaps if this information was gathered and analysed we might find ways of attracting more over.
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« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2018, 07:21:56 »

Another example of people having a form of transport removed that forces them to use their car. The Hayling ferry, between Hayling and Portsmouth, went into administration a few years ago. It took about two years for somebody else to pick up the service. In the meantime most users had resorted to car, including for the school run to Portsmouth schools, potentially adding 20 miles to the journey and the environmental effects etc etc.

While the service was not operating the connecting buses were removed, not unreasonable. After much discussion the two councils. Havant and Portsmouth, have agreed to subsidise the bus services for six months from now. Will six winter months be sufficient to persuade the local residents to go back to using the ferry? The ferry service is probably viable in summer, like most Hayling businesses, but struggles in winter. So it is an exercise in trying to restore the base user population.

Be interesting to see what happens. I don't think the service is viable as a summer-only service, to much infrastructure to maintain. Unlike Hamble and Itchenor ferries where you land in the mud/foreshore one side.
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