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ASSESSING THE VALUE OF BUS SERVICES FOR
LEISURE
Dr Jo GuiverNick DaviesInstitute of Transport and Tourism
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Jo Guiver
Leisure Travel• Different from utility
travel:– Less routine/novelty– Part of experience– Discretionary,
• Whether or not to travel• Where to go• When to go• How to go• Who to go with
– Bundles of choices
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Jo Guiver
Discretionary Travel
Less important than utility?Often cross-borderMore politically expendable?
BUSES ARE BORING!
Why Buses?
• Use road network, – so potentially same reach as cars
• Greater range of destinations than railway network
• Potential to enhance visitor experience• More sustainable and less intrusive than
individual car use• However, present a number of problems,
– not least image and information
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
2004
2005-2006
2007-2009
2010-2011
Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
STAR Conference 17th April 2013Rationale
• Previous surveys:– Costs– Skills – Combining data: bigger picture
• Produce off-the-shelf, easy to use system To maximise the skills of the University and minimise costs to users.
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How it worked
• University designed survey template• Spread sheet allowed easy inputting of
survey data• Macros in spread sheet generated
instant report
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
FINDINGS: PASSENGERS
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
Findings: Passengers1118 respondents• Older profile (52% over 60)• Lower income groups (37%
under £10,000, but 10% £50,000+)
• 9% (86) with disability restricting mobility
• 51% no car available on day• 8% (92) from overseas
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How knew about bus
0 20 40 60
Used before
Leaflet
Word of Mouth
Saw bus stop info
Tourist Info Centre
Internet Search
Saw bus
% of total responses
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Reason for Visit
Visit Ev
ent
Work
Get to/fr
om Accommodati
on
Visit Fr
iends
Outdoor Acti
vities
Meal/D
rink O
ut
Shopping
See C
ountrysid
e from bus
Visit Plac
e/Attrac
tion
Walk
ing0
50100150200250300350400450
Resp
onde
nts
Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
STAR Conference 17th April 2013
Reason for VisitVisi
t Eve
nt
Wor
k
Get to
/from
Acc
omm
odati
onVisi
t Frie
nds
Outdo
or A
ctiviti
esM
eal/D
rink O
utSh
oppin
g
See C
ount
rysid
e fro
m bu
s
Visit P
lace/
Attracti
onW
alking
050
100150200250300350400450
AllMain
Resp
onde
nts
Visiting Area and Using Bus
when last visited area
0
10
20
30
40
last used this bus service
0
10
20
30
40
week
mon
thye
ar
5 ye
ars
neve
r
when expect to visit again
0
10
20
30
40
week
mon
thye
ar
5 ye
ars
neve
r
Alternatives if Bus not running
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Stay at home SameDestination
DifferentDestination
% of
Vali
d Re
spon
ses
Walking
Cycle
Train
Car
Bus
Stay at Home
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
Alternatives• 35% would stay at home• 64% would not visit area
– (Stay at home 35% + Different destination 29%)
• 27% would use a car • 47% would change day of
travel to use bus
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Spending
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Spending
• Average Spending per day – £16.47 excluding accommodation– £25.89 with accommodation for one
night
Spending
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Ave
rage
Spe
ndin
g pe
r pa
ssen
ger
£s
Visitors and Income lost without bus
Accommodation
47% stayed at least one night in holiday accommodation
Average length of stay was 5 nights
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HEALTH AND WELL-BEINGAND SATISFACTION
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74% of respondents did some form of physical activity
469 (65%) people walked14 (2%) people cycled127 (18%) said they did other physical activity
Satisfaction with Service
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
Satisfaction• Comfort, Information and
Frequency ‘good’• Most Factors ‘very good’ • 64% had a great time• 89% would recommend
service to a friend
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
In Summary• We have evidence that
these buses are helping to:– Reduce Social Exclusion– Reduce car use– Generate Local Spending– Are used for physical
activity • High satisfaction
– suggests they help well-being
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
How to Evaluate the Benefits?• Can apples, pears and
grapes be added up as units of fruit?
• Do we need to attribute relative values to the benefits?
Game at Seminar
Participants sat at different tables according to their roles:– Volunteer Sector– Local authorities – National Parks, Areas of Outstanding
Natural Beauty, etc – Bus operators– Academics– Consultants
Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
STAR Conference 17th April 2013Sequence
1. Asked to give their personal priorities in terms of %s among: – Health and well-being– Local Spending– Social Inclusion– Car use reduction
2. In groups asked to allocate budget of £1,000 using (fictitious) table of benefits
Rates of Return
Number of extra people able to get out for day
0
200
400
600
800
1000
0 500 1000 1500 2000
£s
Ext
ra P
eopl
e ab
le to
get
out f
or a
day
Number of extra hours of physical activity
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
0 500 1000 1500 2000£s
Ext
ra H
ours
Phy
sica
l A
ctiv
ity
Number of car journeys replaced
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0 500 1000 1500 2000
£s
Car
jour
neys
repl
aced
Extra spending brought into the area
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0 500 1000 1500 2000£s
Ext
ra s
pend
ing
in A
rea
Original Allocation of Priorities
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Academic BusOperator
LocalGovernment
NationalPark andsimilar
Voluntaryorganisation
% o
f priority
Health Local spending Social inclusion Car use reduction
Allocation of £1,000 Budget
Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
STAR Conference 17th April 2013
Decision-making• Stronger voices have more influence• Some just averaged individual
budgets• Budget allocation reflects priorities
rather than efficiency• Types of beneficiary important as
well as abstract ideas• Difficult to isolate benefits
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
Questions Arising
• Are Decisions to allocate Public Money rational?
• Is evidence useful?• Should we be comparing the
benefit/cost ratios of these buses with other expenditure?
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Jo Guiver
Where to now?
• Enlarge data collection?• Extrapolate survey findings to
whole season?• Look at costs?• More investigation into what
works/what doesn‘t ?• Applications to other types of
service?
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Assessing the Value of Bus Services for Leisure
Thank you!
Any Questions or Suggestions?
Jo Guiver Institute of Transport and Tourism
University of Central Lancashire
