Transport and Inner City Firms: Results of the Leeds Surveys.

Abstract

Twelve firms from the Holbeck Hunslet Industrial Area of inner Leeds were surveyed early in 1980 to determine the type, extent and severity of their transport problems. In order to compare and contrast these problems with those of firms located in an outer urban area twelve firms in the Stanningley area of Leeds were also surveyed. The samples have been treated as a series of case studies and the results for individual firms are available from the authors. This paper presents the survey results aggregated for each of the study areas. The predominant inner area problems revealed during the surveys, and amenable to solution by local authorities or the firms themselves, included: congestion and delays on the journey to work, on business trips and on commercial vehicle trips; inadequate parking at the firm; public transport difficulties for the journey to work; personal trips during the day; manoeuvring difficulties into and within premises for commercial vehicles; and delays during loading and unloading. Taken together, the results of the five surveys which were conducted at each firm suggested that in terms of the number of firms affected, and the degree of severity, transport problems did not seriously disrupt firmsr operations. Nevertheless they resulted in considerable lost time and in many cases a direct cost. There was a general inability of management to place a money cost against the problems which they mentioned and consequently there is the possibility that the impact of problems may be understated by local authorities. With the exception of parking at the firm, and to some extent manoeuvring difficulties, firms in Stanningley suffered similar problems to those in Holbeck Hunslet. In the case of Leeds it could not be concluded that inner area firms experienced different types of problems, and to a greater degree of severity, than firms located elsewhere in the urban area. Solutions applicable to the inner area are therefore, likely to be appropriate elsewhere. This paper is the first in a series reporting the results of surveys of samples of firms in Leeds and London