Research reveals how public transport could match car travel

Key recommendations include ensuring guaranteed connections between different rail and bus services

Research from Campaign for Better Transport has revealed ways to make public transport offer the same kind of door to door travel as cars.

'Door to door journeys', commissioned by the sustainable transport charity and carried out by TRL Ltd, discovered that there are innovative schemes up and down the country proving that this can happen.

The research looked at what prevents people from making whole journeys by public transport and what passengers care about.

Four key recommendations were made to better integrate public transport. These were information, to give people information before and during their journeys by opening up data on timetabling and real time information about delays and interchange, to require station travel plans, which set out measures to make it easier to get to stations by foot, bike or bus, as part of rail franchises.

Also, connections , to ensure guaranteed connections between different rail and bus services, using recent rail and bus reviews and experience from other countries and ticketing, to have tickets that allow services to join up in a simple and transparent way and roll out Oyster-style smartcards with new zonal tickets.

Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the Government and the public transport industry to introduce measures based on its recommendations that will put passengers at the heart of the transport system and encourage more journeys by public transport.

The research discovered several areas of the country where the key elements to integrated transport already exist, such as in Edinburgh, where the Edinbus smartphone app provides Lothian bus passengers with real time information on timetabling and walking routes to bus stops.

Stephen Joseph, Campaign for Better Transport’s chief executive, said: "Coupled with new information and communication technology and the findings of the two recent reviews into the rail and bus industries, the Government has an unparalleled opportunity to turn the promise of seamless public transport journeys into a reality."

Further information:
Campaign for Better Transport