Mark Beecroft

Determinants of travel demand--exploring the future of society and lifestyles in the UK

This paper considers how changes in the fabric of society and its values, a subject usually considered to be outside the conventional scope of the transport profession, can have a profound impact on travel demand. The paper stems from the Transport Visions Network, a unique activity involving young professionals from academia, consultancy and government. It raises awareness of the diversity of factors that influence travel and transport. The paper offers an overview of existing trends and projections for the future before presenting a series of different future scenarios. Suggestions on the consequences for transport are then put forward.

People, Plans and Place: Understanding and Supporting Responses to Rural Public Transport Disruption

Public transport information provision in rural areas is often fragmented and of poor quality at best and non-existent at worst. This can have a significant impact on the everyday life of the inhabitants of rural areas, particularly in terms of limiting their travel choices and thereby their opportunities to access goods, service and social networks. Inadequate information provision also poses significant challenges during times of transport disruption. In this paper we examine the responses from a series of interviews (69) and focus groups (9) in which we explored the rural passengers’ experience during disruption, their coping strategies, and their behavioural responses to disruption. We identify that each passenger experiences disruption uniquely, and that the behavioral adaptation of the passenger relates to the severity and impact of the disruption. Furthermore, we identify that the most prevalent ways of mitigating the impacts of disruption is through time buffering and the use of kinship networks. Based on these findings and six co-design sessions with rural passengers we were able co-design and develop a prototype passenger information system to support the passenger during disruption. The results of this work aim to advance understandings of the interplay of technology, information provision, and passenger experience under disruption.

Vehicle positioning for improving road safety

Abstract Vehicle positioning is a key requirement for many safety applications. Active safety systems require precise vehicle positioning in order to assess the safety threats accurately, especially for those systems which are developed for warning/intervention in safety critical situations. When warning drivers of a local hazard (e.g. an accident site), accurate vehicle location information is important for warning the right driver groups at the right time. Global positioning system and digital maps have become major tools for vehicle positioning providing not only vehicle location information but also geometry preview of the road being used. Advances in wireless communication have made it possible for a vehicle to share its location information with other vehicles and traffic operation centres which greatly increases the opportunities to apply vehicle positioning technologies for improving road safety. This paper presents a state‐of‐the‐art review of vehicle positioning requirements for safety applications and vehicle positioning technologies. The paper also examines key issues relating to current and potential future applications of vehicle positioning technologies for improving road safety.

The effects of mobile real-time information on rural passengers

ABSTRACT Mobile real-time passenger information (RTPI) systems are becoming ubiquitous in public transport and a plethora of studies have explored the effects they have on passengers. However, these studies mostly focus on urban areas and largely ignore rural dwellers. In this paper, we present results of a study that looks into the effects that mobile RTPI has on passengers in rural areas. The results indicate that the participants primarily used the mobile RTPI system to gain situation and geospatial awareness and to adapt their travel behaviour in disrupted circumstances. Further, we have identified that mobile RTPI significantly affects the everyday public transport travel of individuals. The outcomes of this study provide an initial understanding of the effects of a mobile RTPI system on rural users.

Future prospects for personal security in travel by public transport

This paper reports findings from a project focused on understanding the interaction between transport technologies and user needs and perceptions in supporting personal security in travel by public transport. The research engaged over 60 experts from across the UK transport sector in a combination of interviews, workshops and scenario planning activities to address a set of four application areas in relation to secure travel. These areas were information provision, travel disruption, automated transport services and flexible transport services. Four future scenario narratives (to a 2040 time horizon) were developed for each application area. A final workshop consolidated and reviewed the narrative scenarios and pulled out key themes and priority issues for policy, practice and research for the near term. Consequently a set of policy recommendations, operator and business opportunities, knowledge gaps and research priorities were identified to support and enhance provision for personal security in travel by public transport.

Lessons Learned from the Development of a Rural Real Time Passenger Information System

In recent years, the advances in real-time transport telematics systems that use computer, communication, navigation and information systems, make the dissemination of the passenger information more effective and efficient. This led to real time passenger information systems to become more and more common. This paper explores the aforementioned in a rural context and presents lessons learned during the development of a rural real time passenger information system.