PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN THE CAR SOCIETY

This report studies a travel survey implemented by the Swedish National Central Bureau of Statistics in 1978. It structures vital results from the travel survey into a frame of transport policy aspects where balancing between public transport and own car transport is put into focus. Long term travel consumption is stimulated by urban sprawl and separating work places and dwellings. These trends are made possible by widespread car ownership (50% of single persons and 90% of married couples owns a car in Sweden). Work trips constitute 37% of the total number of trips but only 21% of transportation output. Recreational trips correspond to 29% total trip number but 45% of transportation output. Earlier estimates give higher rates for work trips and lower for recreational purposes. In cities work trips are more often made by public transport but this partly leads to low rates for walking and cycling. 59% of school trips are made by public transport making them constitute 15,6% of total number of public transport trips. The number of car passengers for work trips nearly equals that of work trip public transport passengers. This makes ride sharing nearly as important as public transport. Generally speaking low use is made of public transport except in big cities. Improvements would therefore become costly (without giving more revenue). Those who prefer going to work in their own car are often saving a lot of time which makes public transport unattractive to them. (TRRL)