Response to the Government Consultation on Developing an Integrated Transport Policy
See also the personal response by Ben Fairweather
The consultation seeks views on how to reduce peoples need to travel (Paragraph 34, Issue 6) and on how to achieve economic growth which is less road traffic intensive, while still ... promoting national and regional competitiveness (Issue 19)
So far as we can see, though, the consultation paper does not mention telework. We find this omission exceedingly worrying, given the clear evidence that is now emerging (Hamer et al 1991, Koenig et al 1996) about how telework can reduce actual levels of travel.
Telework has the potential to significantly reduce the demand for transport, and thus road transport. An extraordinarily high proportion of journeys are travelling to and from work. For a high proportion of workers, including most office-based workers and many others, telework has the potential to enable them to work either from home or from somewhere close to their home. Moreover, the reductions in the need for travel occur at precisely the time when road systems (and public transport) are most congested (thus meeting the aims of paragraph 8). This also means that telework can contribute to an improvement in overall safety (Paragraph 34, Issue 23), as less traffic, and especially less traffic at times of high congestion, will mean less injuries and deaths, if everything else is equal. Additionally, reductions in traffic at times of greatest congestion should disproportionately help reduce the amount of pollution, and help transport contribute to meeting the targets of the Governments air quality strategy (Paragraph 34, Issue 27).
There are a number of measures the Government should take to promote telework (Paragraph 34, Issue 12) as part of an integrated transport policy. It should be possible to do this in partnership with telecommunications companies, internet service providers and other businesses in information and communications technology, thus keeping the cost to the taxpayer down. The measures should include providing publicity for telework especially that targeted at managers and senior executives. The involvement of Government in this could give an authority that would be lacking from commercial advertising.
There is also a need, as part of this process, for training to be provided for managers on how to manage teleworkers. It is clear from existing research (for example Huws, undated, p24) that managers have exaggerated fears of the difficulties the might face in managing teleworkers.
A further inhibitor on telework is likely to be the housing stock. To telework from home will normally require a dedicated room. This has different consequences depending on the housing sector, but the Government can act, whatever the housing sector, to reduce this inhibitory factor.
The Government should ensure through the funding corporations for social housing that selective grants are made, and ensure that receipts of the sales of council housing are used in part, to ensure that telecottages or telecentres are provided as part of all social housing developments (both new and existing), to enable residents to telework who live in accommodation without spare rooms. Such a development could aid such areas in establishing a competitive advantage in the labour market, working against the tendency for relative (and sometimes absolute) deprivation in such estates and developments. Clearly, in some areas high levels of security will be needed, and must be incorporated in designs from the outset. Such telecentres should be available to all, including those living in private rented accommodation. They could play a real part in working against social exclusion (Paragraph 34 Issue 24).
Telework also has a part to play in reducing the social exclusion of disabled people (Paragraph 34 Issue 24), having the potential to bring the work to disabled people who cannot get to conventional workplaces. However, we are anxious to ensure that it is not seen as a substitute for making workplaces or transport systems accessible to disabled people (see Fairweather, 1997)
For the private sector, the Government should issue planning policy guidance (paragraph 9) about teleworking from home so that provided
the main use of the building remains residential
no alteration is made to the exterior of the building
no sign or advertisement is displayed
no person outside of the household uses premises as their main workplace
there is no nuisance to adjoining residents caused by noise, vibration, fumes or smell, it will be permissible to use the existing property and/or to convert garages / sheds (that are already present and within planning regulations) to use as a home office without further planning permission.
There is a need for further research on 1) the extent to which telework reduces levels of travel 2) the factors that promote and inhibit the uptake of telework and 3) how those factors can be overcome. As part of its promotion of telework, we call for any integrated transport policy to support research on these questions.
One inhibitor of the use public transport is difficulty obtaining reliable and up-to-date information. As The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (1995, p186, paragraph 11.31) said customers could be attracted to public transport if fuller information on services were made consistently available. There is great scope for computerisation of travel information as a tool towards ending the effect of poor information inhibiting public transport use (paragraph 15) and towards the integration of public transport. We recommend that terminals for public enquiry should be made available in a wide range of key locations (such as bus and railway Stations, offices of operators, libraries, post offices and telecottages). To enable access for all, there should be provision for voice synthesis, and tactile output for those with visual impairments, and facilities for others with special needs. In view of the fast increasing number of people with internet access, and the possibility of internet access becoming a standard feature of cable television, we also recommend that all types of information about public transport be made available over the internet. Information made available in these ways could also have the additional advantage of being available in the mother tongue of minority communities (and bilingually throughout Wales and Gaelic areas of Scotland), often for the first time.
It should be possible for people to obtain such information entirely anonymously, regardless of the means by which they obtain it.
It is clear to us that the National Rail Enquiry Telephone Service does not provide reliably accurate information. The national nature of the service would be an advance, if the information supplied can be relied upon, and can be quickly obtained.
It is a good general principal that individuals should be empowered to find out information for themselves rather than relying on an expert intermediary. When the information supplied through the intermediary is unreliable, there is an even stronger case for similar information being available for direct query by potential passengers. One of the problems with the National Rail Enquiry Telephone Service is the need for the queries to be passed between the potential passenger and the computer through an operator. Thus we would recommend that national rail information, including about fares, is made available for direct public query using the internet, in addition to an improved telephone enquiry service being available for those who do not have internet access or the skills and physical ability to use the internet.
There currently is available on the internet a rail timetable (at http://www.railtrack.co.uk/), that if improved, could provide a model for all sorts of travel information on the internet. There are a variety of improvements we would like to be made to that on-line timetable. Our suggested improvements include:
that a much more user-friendly interface is produced, with much more comprehensive help information, that is context sensitive (but where help on queries that are out of context is always available).
the ability for users to pre-set default values for start-points and destinations, or the region within which they would lie (without prejudicing their ability to get comprehensive information for the whole of the UK).
that fare information should be integrated, so that the various fares are displayed for the possible journey that is having its times displayed, and that there is a button available so that journey times by routes with different fare levels can be quickly and easily displayed. It may well be possible to integrate the booking of tickets, and the making of seat reservations at the same time. However, there are current concerns about the security of data transmitted over the internet that would have to be addressed first.
that work is done to make the input - and especially the output - compatible with text-only web browsers (eg Lynx). This is vital for visually impaired users using voice synthesis (who are also unable to use the old fashioned paper timetables).
that there is an advanced option that will enable people to search with any or all of: 'Not via' in the sense of 'The train must not go through' (relevant for ticketing, also relevant if the potential passenger is disabled and, for example, only one platform at a station {eg Todmorden, Hebdon Bridge, Stone} is wheelchair accessible) or in the sense of 'Not changing at' (relevant if the traveller is disabled and the only way between platforms is steps, or to a woman not wishing to be alone on an isolated station late at night, for example); as well as 'via' in the sense of 'goes through station but does not have to stop' and 'via' in the sense of 'must stop (or have a change of train) at' (both can be relevant for ticketing - the former if the route is specified on tickets, the latter if a return ticket is needed for part of the journey and singles for the rest). All of these should be possible to specify more than once simultaneously (and in combination with eachother) in a single query (for example, if a passenger is disabled, they need to be able to specify not changing at all inaccessible stations that might be suggested, and they may also have concerns with routing because of fares). Integrating more information on access for disabled people at stations would also be useful (so if desired, a disabled person could choose for themself whether to use a station with a small number of steps, or recover full details of every step that might be encountered, or avoid a booking office without an induction loop to help hearing-aid users, or a station where a ramp to get on and off the train is only available by booking days in advance, or not available at all).
similarly it would be useful to integrate into the database information about access for disabled people on board trains (for example if a disabled person must travel on trains with an accessible toilet {perhaps on journeys over time x}, or where they can get to buffet, or if they wont travel in a luggage compartment / guards van). Similarly, the ability to integrate the stationlink bus service in London would be good as an option (implying, a simultaneous option to not travel via LRT underground), as would the ability to specify no walking between adjacent stations.
The fourth, fifth and sixth improvements would help make more easily available information that would go some small way towards making public transport more accessible to disabled people, the young and the elderly (Paragraph 34 Issues 25 and 26). The first improvement we suggest could also help with this.
With deregulation of busses, the number of companies has increased dramatically in some areas, making it much more difficult to obtain timetables - for the ordinary member of the public this will often require visiting quite a number of offices (paragraph 20). Additionally, where different operators serve the same points, there is a tendency for the timetables issued to only show the services of one operator, meaning additional inconvenience to potential passengers. Moreover, since deregulation, timetables change more quickly.
Terminals for public enquiry (see above) should have comprehensive information on bus services throughout the UK, but presented in such a way that local information is most easily available (regardless of operator). Such information should also be made available over the internet, providing direct access without leaving home, with a similar ability for users to choose an area of preference for which information is most easily obtainable.
While there are possible advantages to be gained from computerising bus information, there are huge numbers of longer and more complex journeys that can be accomplished combining buses and rail travel. Often for these journeys, the time of bus caught can be affected dramatically by the timings of trains (and vice versa): indeed, in many cases, different railway stations are preferable at different times, because of the way times of bus and rail services relate. In these circumstances, an integrated timetable database, preferably available in the same way as the buses only facility just mentioned, would be of great help to travellers, could help approximate to the door-to-door convenience of motoring (paragraph 6) and may help to persuade them to make journeys by public transport that they would not otherwise make by car (paragraph 15).
One reason why many people are reluctant to use public transport is that they fear an indefinite wait for a delayed or cancelled service. Thus, an additional role that can be played by information and communication technologies is to provide more information on delays and estimated times of arrival, as is currently done at major railway stations, many underground stations and some bus stops in major cities.
There is a key role for the electronic tagging of vehicles to track the progress of vehicles, and the information obtained in this way can be transmitted to those waiting. Such information can also be used by bus operators to take action to even out the gaps that naturally open between bus services on the road.
Output can be both through displays at an increased number of stations and bus-stops and, again, through the internet, in the way that is done at http://iris1.rail.co.uk/scripts/u1.dll?OPERATOR=63&TYPE=BOARD&NAME=MANCHESTER+PICCADILLY
For the benefit of people with impaired vision, there should be provision for tactile displays of such information as part of the routine installation at bus stops and stations.
Again, this should help realise greater use of public transport (paragraph 15). It may be that quality partnerships (paragraph 23) could play a part in the promotion of such schemes.
They could also play a role in using data from vehicle tagging to set traffic lights so that busses have higher priority.
Tagging of taxis could also be used to provide an output for those waiting at taxi ranks about how long it will take for any given number of taxis to arrive.
We can see a substantial role for smart cards in enabling local through ticketing without the accounting difficulties that can sometimes result (Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 1995, p186, paragraph 11.32).
There are a number of options that could be considered. There could be a value card that held electronic money or tokens for the transport. The alternative would be to have a special debit or credit smart card. Incentive schemes could be put in place to encourage the use of public transport through a "public transport miles" scheme whereby the smart card kept a tally of total miles travelled and turned this into tokens that could be used to purchase "free" journeys. The introduction of a single public transport smart card would enable a customer to purchase tickets from any operator thus improving convenience and access. Smart card readers should be attached to information points so that once the journey had been planned and availability confirmed then a ticket could be secured. The smart card could hold the ticket indeed a number of tickets so removing the need to issue paper tickets. All public transport would be fitted with readers to access, check and "clip" the smart ticket. Inspectors would have special readers to facilitate inspection. Customers would have to have some means of being able to read the information on their public transport smart cards.
However, as with all applications of smart cards, there are substantial privacy issues. Individuals have a legitimate interest in keeping their movements private unless there are subject to judicial processes. To maintain privacy, no information at all should be held about the route travelled once the journey is complete.
While we believe it is appropriate for road users to pay for road use (paragraph 34 issue 17), if payment for road use is based on charging for the use of a particular piece of road at a particular time, we are worried that any scheme may have substantial implications for privacy.
So far as we are aware, there are three models of road pricing that can be used. The first, conventional method, vehicles being stopped at toll booths, does not raise privacy issues, but the disadvantages of needing vehicles to stop and the costs of collection suggest there is restricted scope for its use, especially within cities.
The second method would be to record the identity of particular vehicles as they pass particular points. As with local ticketing for public transport using smart cards, it is important that the only information that can be recovered is that which is directly relevant to payment. Thus we would oppose any scheme that recorded movements of particular vehicles past particular points. There is theoretically an alternative to this: that an amount equivalent to the price of that piece of road use is charged to the account for that car. However, disputes are likely to arise, for example where image recognition has resulted in the wrong car being identified, or where another vehicle exists with false number plates, copying the identity of the one charged. In order to resolve such disputes, information of where and how charges were made to the account would have to be recorded. The possibility of privacy infringements of this method are so severe as to warrant its rejection.
The third method is for motorists to pre-pay for road use, using smart cards that are within the car, where charges can be automatically made to the card as the car passes charging points. We suspect that there may be strong resistance to the introduction of smart cards, especially if drivers see their privacy as being threatened. To maintain privacy, we would urge that absolutely all that is recorded on the card is validation data and the value that is stored on it, with in-car microprocessors being used to conduct the transaction as the vehicle passes charging points. Such in-car microprocessors should have no means of recording transactions once they have been complete. However, even with these safeguards re-payment can only be enforced if there is a technique for recording the identity of vehicles that pass payment points without a pre-payment card. This will be a greater concern if, as we suspect, there is resistance to the idea of introducing smart cards, and large numbers of cars pass payment points without a pre-payment card. Under all circumstances, it is to be expected that a proportion of vehicles will, legitimately, be from outside areas where there is road pricing, and thus will not have pre-payment cards, and will have their identity recorded. Such recording again raises the issues of privacy of the second method, and we would therefore urge the rejection of this third method too.
If the Government decides that more revenue should be raised from motoring, so revenue more closely matches total social costs, we would urge that technological methods are rejected in favour of increased fuel prices [see footnote].
Fairweather, N Ben, 1997 "Moral Dilemmas and Issues of Providing Telework for Disabled People" Paper delivered to the ACM SIGCAS Conference CEPE'97, at held at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. Abstract available at http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/pubs/papers/distwpa1.html
Hamer, R; Kroes, E & van Oostroom, H, 1991 Teleworking in the Netherlands - An Evaluation of Changes in Travel Behavior pp365-382 in Transportation 18(4)
Huws, U, undated, A Managers Guide to Teleworking (London: Employment Department).
Koenig, BE; Henderson, DK; & Mokhtarian, PL 1996 The Travel and Emissions Impacts of Telecommuting for the State of California Telecommuting Pilot Project, pp 13-32 in Transportation Research C, 4 (1)
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, 1995 Eighteenth Report: Transport and the Environment Presented to Parliament by Command of Her Majesty October 1994: New Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
We recognise that increased fuel prices will particularly disadvantage rural areas and those disabled people who have no possibility of switching to other modes of transport, and would urge that a fixed proportion of any revenue arising should be allocated for additional support for rural areas and disabled people to offset this.