Accessibility and Public Transport Research at UCL

Accessible Public Transport in Rural Areas (APTRA)

Funding

Description

APTRA considers the effects of a high frequency fully accessible public transport service in rural areas by operating an experimental bus service and examining the opportunities and results. The research includes the design of the vehicle and exploits findings from EXCALIBUR to help design accessible bus stops for rural locations. It also considers ways in which the viability of such a service could be improved by including other inter-village transport services.

The public service is running in the Upper Eden Valley in Cumbria since April 1999. This allows us to test the ways in which such a service could provide opportunities for older people and others who are unable to get about because of a lack of appropriate public transport. The project involved extensive local public participation on all aspects of the service. Interim evaluation includes the following outcomes:

A high take-up relative to settlement size
Changes in shopping patterns
A significant use of the bus by young people
Use by disabled people
Elderly people regaining travelling independence
Business use
Changes in travel patterns
Some regular journeys to work and education

Cumbria County Council and Eden District Council provide officer support for the project.

More details

Reports

TYLER, N.A. (2000) Community Transport and Community Development in Rural Areas. Proc. Developing Policies for the Integration of Rural and Community Transport: CTA Scottish Rural Conference, Edinburgh, UK, June.

TYLER, N.A. (1999) Accessible bus services in a rural environment, Proc. ECMT Seminar "Strengthening the Transport Chain", Gothenberg, Sweden, September. (NB. this is a slightly updated version of the paper below)

TYLER, N.A. (1999) Accessible Public Transport in Rural Areas, Proc. Rural Transport for All Seminar, Lancaster University, July.

TYLER, N.A. and I.E.W. BROWN (1999) Accessible Public Transport in Rural Areas: Choice of Study Area for the Project. Working paper, University of London Centre for Transport Studies, London.

BROWN, I.E.W. (1999) Fully Accessible Rural Bus Shelters and Platforms. Working Paper, University of London Centre for Transport Studies, London.

Contact

Nick Tyler (supervisor)
Ian Brown (research fellow)

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Last updated Jul '00

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