Sustainable transport choices and the retail sector - advice to Government from CfIT

Chapter 3: Our approach

Case study sites

3.1 The results of CfIT's study are based on quantitative research from a week-long household diary of shopping behaviour from over 1600 households, together with qualitative research from focus group interviews with the public and stakeholder interviews. The case studies were selected on a number of criteria:

• Geographic Spread: across several regions.
• Size: Large, Medium and Small Cities.
• Type: Modern, Industrial and Historic Cities.
• Policy: demand restraint, Park & Ride, Metro.

3.2 The six cities chosen were:

• Cambridge (population 109,000) has received considerable investment in park and ride as well as interest in demand management. [Factsheet]
• Birmingham (population: 977,000) has seen considerable investment in pedestrianisation and the Metro and Bus Priority. This has accompanied extensive retail development in the urban core although there are extensive edge-of-town and out-of-town retail sites. [Factsheet]
• Leeds (population: 715,000) has invested considerably in guided bus and bus priority as well as pedestrianisation. It has a strong commuter rail network but no Metro. [Factsheet]
• Nottingham (population: 287,000) has a Metro and a range of demand management. There is a strong public transport system but the city is smaller and more historic in nature. [Factsheet]
• Brighton (population: 249,500) is a smaller, older city with strongly developed public transport and parking control policies. [Factsheet]
• Bath (population: 90,000) is a smaller city where the impact of demand management has been quite controversial. [Factsheet]

Choice of survey method

3.3 A sample of local households in each of the study areas, rather than individuals, were included, as different household members may be responsible for making decisions on different types of goods.

3.4 The household survey investigated information on the household demographics such as income, marital status, the number of occupants aged 16 or over, the number of occupants under the age of 16, car ownership and access to a PC with internet connection (on-line shopping). Specific information was also collected for each retail trip on such things as the type of purchase (food, clothing, household goods), the cost of goods, the location of the retail centre visited, the reason for choice of retail centre, the mode of transport and the reason for their use.

3.5 The 'diary' questions were completed for each day of the week, for a whole week, by or on behalf of each member of the household. They would cover all shopping related trips including day, time, type of venue, goods bought, household member who made the purchase, means of transport to and from the centre, reasons for mode choice, and amount spent.

Definitions

3.6 In determining the scope of our study, CfIT defined sustainable transport choices to include measures aimed to reduce congestion, improve accessibility and safeguard the environment. These may take the form of measures designed to restrict car use (e.g. parking restrictions, pedestrianisation); measures which reduce the need to travel (e.g. teleworking, home delivery, travel plans, car sharing); measures which promote more sustainable modes of transport (such as walking, cycling, car sharing, public transport) and measures designed to promote modal shift to public transport (e.g. bus priority lanes).

3.7 The range of modes investigated within the research included:

• Private Car User;
• Public Transport;
• Park and Ride;
• Taxi;
• Cycling;
• Walking.

3.8 The research undertaken divided the retail sites across a range of locations, including:

• Town / City Centre - the town or city centre of the city from which the respondents reside.
• Large Supermarket - a large retail store that sells food and other domestic products and has an adjoining car park.
• Local Convenience Store - a small shop or store, which is not part of a shopping centre, serving a local catchment area. For example, a 'corner shop'.
• Edge-of-Town Retail - a shopping centre that is located on the periphery of the town or city centre which is within walking distance to the centre.
• Local Centre - typically local centres may include a small supermarket, newsagent, a post office and a hot food takeaway, serving a local catchment area.
• Out-of-Town - a dedicated retail centre which is not in the town or city centre and has a car park. This includes shopping centres such as the Blue Water Shopping Centre, Meadowhall, and Brent Cross, and out-of-town Designer outlet centres such as Freeport Castleford.
• Other Town / City Centre - a town or city centre which is not the named town or city to the respondents home.

3.9 As illustrated by the range of retail sites above, there is a large element of choice and availability for the shopper about which activity they're going to engage in, and which facility they are actually going to use. Fundamental to our approach in examining retail behaviour and transport use is how you might influence that choice. We believe it is very difficult to provide a disincentive to using a certain mode to individual facilities, because the opportunity to go elsewhere is so prevalent. Equally, we believe any approach that is based on disincentives to car use and/or goes against market trends will be difficult to implement - without providing incentives, appropriate investment in high-quality alternative modes, and ensuring that planning decisions reinforce integration between land use and transport planning.

3.10 In reviewing the evidence, CfIT has focussed its attention in the relationship between three key locations: Town / City Centre, Edge-of-Town and Out-of-Town retail sites. While our technical report provides a more thorough breakdown of evidence against all retail locations, we have chosen to focus on those sites we believe to be important in responding to our research questions regarding accessibility, trip generation, parking and congestion.

3.11 (Readers are directed towards the Technical Report compiled by Mott McDonald for an overview of the full research findings across all locations).

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