The role of bus-based Park and Ride in the UK : a temporal and evaluative review

The number of bus-based Park and Ride schemes in the UK has grown substantially over the past 40 years as a result of its encouragement by the Government as a tool to deal with increasing traffic congestion and traffic-related pollution. The aim of this paper is to analyse the degree to which Park and Ride is effective in the contemporary policy context. The authors identify phases of development of Park and Ride since its emergence as a local solution to transport capacity constraints in historic towns. Policy goals are identified against which a review of literature is used to highlight its effectiveness. It is concluded that Park and Ride may increase the distance travelled by its users due to low load factors on dedicated buses, public transport abstraction and trip generation, although it is highlighted that there are areas in which further research is required to clarify its impacts

Evaluating alternative concepts of bus-based park and ride

Whilst it has been used since the 1960s, the UK government have promoted bus-based Park and Ride (P&R) particularly heavily over the last 20 years as a tool to deal with traffic congestion and air pollution. There has long since been a view however that P&R in its current guise may actually be exacerbating the problems of traffic congestion, fuel use and emissions instead of mitigating them. This paper aims to reconsider this proposition whilst also testing a range of alternative forms of car–bus interchange in the context of traffic reduction, drawing on evidence from a large survey of P&R users in Cambridge, UK. Overall the results suggest that while current P&R significantly increases the vehicle miles travelled by its users, some of the alternative models presented potentially offer considerable improvements

UK local authority attitudes to Park and Ride

Although the implementation activity within UK local government would suggest that bus-based Park and Ride (P&R) is considered popular, little evidence exists which tests this assumption empirically or explores the constituent elements of this popularity. In addition, a growing body of evidence indicates that P&R may increase the vehicle miles travelled (VMT) of its users. This paper reports on a recent survey of UK local authorities, both with and without current P&R provision, to understand the reasons behind its popularity and the level of recognition of its effectiveness in reducing car use. Particular consideration is given to the relationship between P&R and conventional public transport (particularly bus) services, as the transfer of passengers from these has a significant impact on the effectiveness of P&R. The potential future growth of P&R is also considered. The results suggest a number of divergences with the empirical evidence, particularly with regards the traffic effects of P&R. It is strongly predicted to grow but there is support for implementing P&R in ways that may increase its effectiveness

Stakeholder perspectives on the current and future roles of UK bus-based Park and Ride

UK bus-based Park and Ride (P&R) has increased significantly in popularity over the past 40 years although there are doubts over its role in reducing car use. This paper presents the findings from interviews with eight key stakeholders involved in UK P&R, which sought to provide insights into the popularity of P&R, particularly at the local government level, its success, and how the concept of P&R can be developed in the future to improve its role in reducing car use whilst maintaining its popularity. It is suggested that there are a range of goals for the use of P&R which extend beyond traffic reduction. It is discussed how there may be potential to develop the concept, particularly by decentralising P&R sites and developing their role as interchanges for public transport

Park and ride: Lessons from the UK experience

Park and Ride schemes using dedicated bus services have become particularly popular over the last 40 years with UK policymakers. This popularity can largely be attributed to the UK policy context and the advocating of Park and Ride to tackle increasing car use, congestion and traffic-related emissions. The aim of this paper is to use existing evidence on the degree to which this has been achieved and provide lessons on how bus-based Park and Ride can be used effectively. From this, lessons are provided that will benefit stakeholders internationally on the use of dedicated link-mode Park and Ride schemes operating at the edge of urban areas. It is found that although Park and Ride has been popular amongst motorists, it has also attracted users of existing public transport services and has generated additional trips, resulting in a counter-productive effect. It is concluded that for Park and Ride to be successful, it should be implemented in tandem with other supply-side measures and alongside sufficiently rigorous restraint instruments. Also, despite the use of frequent and dedicated bus-link services providing a key feature that attracts motorists who would not otherwise use public transport, their use needs to be carefully monitored to avoid low load-factors decreasing levels of efficiency

The impact of train and station types on perceived rail service quality

This paper aims to highlight the impact of train and station types in the evaluation of service quality, whilst taking account of a range of relevant trip and socio-demographic factors. It applies a partial constrained proportional odds model (an extension of ordered logit model) to data extracted from the 32nd wave of the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) held in spring 2015, which comprises around 30,000 trip-level observations of passenger satisfaction of rail services across Great Britain. The results indicate that the impact of train types on service quality is significant. Thus, for type of train services the modelling results indicate that high speed rail, long distance, inter urban rail and especially open access operators are more likely to lead to satisfied customers compared to commuter and rural railway services. For stations, users of the smallest station category are more likely to be satisfied than those of larger category stations, but other station types do not significantly impact satisfaction. Next, delays have a significant negative impact on satisfaction levels. Considering passenger segments, respondents in the oldest age category are more likely to be satisfied compared to respondents in the youngest age category and commuters are less likely to be satisfied compared to respondents on a business or leisure trip. Overall these results show how TOCs (Train Operating Companies) might best focus their efforts on improving passenger satisfaction according to train type, station type, and trip stage and/or user segment

The role of Park and Ride in the UK: a temporal and evaluative review

The number of bus-based Park and Ride (P&R) schemes in the UK has grown substantially over the past 40 years as a result of its encouragement by the Government as a tool to deal with increasing traffic congestion and traffic-related pollution. The aim of this article is to analyse the degree to which P&R is effective in the contemporary policy context. The authors identify phases of development of P&R since its emergence as a local solution to transport capacity constraints in historic towns. Policy goals are identified against which a review of literature is used to highlight its effectiveness. It is concluded that P&R may increase the distance travelled by its users due to low load factors on dedicated buses, public transport abstraction and trip generation, although it is highlighted that there are areas in which further researc

Advancing the concept of car-bus interchange in the United Kingdom

The UK offers 40 years of experience with a model of car-bus intermodality that has become a popular policy option. This concept, with interchange sites located close to their host cities and served by dedicated buses, has changed very little despite concerns that it may have a detrimental effect on car use. The aim of this paper is to consider the impact of current interchange schemes and propose a number of alternative concepts for car-bus interchange, primarily by adjusting interchange site location and bus operation. The impacts of such concepts on car use are then modelled. The results suggest that while current intermodality generally increases car use, considerable relative benefits can be derived from the alternatives

Modelling the impact of rail delays on passenger satisfaction

Rail use and rail traffic in the UK increased substantially in the 25 years from 1994 to the end of 2019, a situation which led to progressively more delays and increasingly dissatisfied passengers. This study aims to quantify how disruptions to rail services are perceived by passengers to highlight situations that cause the highest rates of dissatisfaction so that they can be more effectively managed by the rail industry.Passenger satisfaction data from 7000 or so responses to the UK National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) where passengers had experienced delays were integrated with Network Rail data of the exact operational performance (e.g. train punctuality, service frequency, delay cause, magnitude of delay) that was encountered on each surveyed trip. An ordered logit model was then applied which allows for random taste variation to understand how passenger satisfaction was affected by rail delays.The study found that passengers reacted negatively to delays over 30 min, and dissatisfaction was exacerbated when passengers had to stand during the journey and/or received poor information, and when trains were cancelled. Policy implications for train operators include: (1) only cancel trains as a last resort; (2) prioritise trains approaching the ten minute delay threshold; (3) prioritise minimising delays to trains carrying high numbers of standing passengers; (4) enhance information quality and information delivery mechanisms as far as possible. Government should re-orientate franchise contracts to: (1) incentivise train operating companies to place more emphasis on passenger satisfaction when implementing service recovery strategies; and (2) improve delay information provision. Already the results are helping rail operators and practitioners to develop targeted recovery strategies aimed at minimising passenger dissatisfaction. This is the first academic study to investigate how rail passenger satisfaction is influenced by operational factors such as real-time delay, train frequency, train cancellations as well as delay causes.</div

Investigating the role of preference variation in the perceptions of railway passengers in Great Britain

This study explores the factors associated with passenger satisfaction on the UK railways. To uncover taste variation, the data was segmented into three homogeneous groups of passengers through a latent class ordered logit model, whereby the class allocation was based on observed personal and trip characteristics. The findings suggest that there is significant variation in the impact of service attributes on overall satisfaction across the segments, ‘class a’, ‘class b’ and ‘class c’. Class a (15% of the sample) consists of moderately dissatisfied to highly dissatisfied passengers, for whom ‘punctuality/reliability’ is most impactful on overall satisfaction. Respondents in this class are much more likely to experience adverse service conditions such as delays or crowding conditions. Class b (32% of the sample) consists of passenger who are quite critical and moderately satisfied, for whom ‘hedonic’ factors such as ‘upkeep and repair of the train’ and ‘seat comfort’ were most impactful. Finally, class c (53% of the sample) consists of passengers that are generally satisfied, and for whom the ‘value for money of the ticket price’ is most impactful on overall satisfaction. Interestingly, for both ‘class b’ and ‘class c’, ‘punctuality/reliability’ plays a more limited role in determining overall satisfaction compared to ‘class a’. This suggests that the role of ‘punctuality/reliability’ in determining overall satisfaction is more complex than presented in the literature thus far. Finally, unobserved taste variation plays an important role in the model, as the class allocation is not always easily linked to observed groups in the data. This paper thus highlights the importance of accounting for unobserved and systematic sources of heterogeneity in the data and could provide useful insights for analysts, policy makers and practitioners, to provide more targeted strategies to improve passenger satisfaction.</p