A 1987 Trip-based Urban Transportation Strategy - still ignoring the needs of elderly and disabled people

The Belfast Urban Area covered by the Review has a population of 500,000, of which 51% of households have no access to private transport. Car ownership varies enormously within the urban area, in some parts of Belfast car owning households are higher than 80% but in other areas ownership is less than 20%. Although transport planning is largely involved with statistics it is not an absolute science and the attitudes and perceptions of planners invariably influence the provision of infrastructure and services. It was decided by the researchers that a needs-based survey should be conducted in order to provide documented evidence of transport neglect. The survey was in the format of a household travel survey which contained conventional questions such as trip purpose, trip destination, and mode of transport used. Accessibility measures were a particularly contentious area as “Accessibility to bus services was measured partly in terms of catchment areas surrounding bus stops.