Consult with the community to understand their transport needs

After conducting a community transport audit to identify gaps in services, you should consult with people in your community to understand their transport needs.

Questions for people without access to private transport

Transport services are mainly used by people who do not have access to private transport:

• older people
• children and young adults
• people with disabilities
• low income families
• families with one car that is used for a daily work commute

Questions you could ask people in this group include:

• What transport services do you currently use?
• How often do you use them?
• What do you use the transport services for? (e.g. shopping, school run)
• What destinations do you currently have difficulty accessing? (Ask for details on purpose, frequency, times of day/week/year)
• How much would you pay for a service that met your needs?
• Would you use a service if you couldn't use your concessionary travel pass?
• Do you have any special requirements? (e.g. limited mobility, travelling with children)

Questions for people with private transport

People who do have their own transport can also be included in the consultation. Questions you could ask people in this group include:

• Would you share your transport with other people? (e.g. as a carshare scheme)
• Would you provide a transport service to other people? (e.g. as a volunteer driver)
• If there was a viable transport alternative, would you use it rather than your own vehicle?

Consultation methods

• Consultation methods
• Writing and designing a questionnaire

Feedback

It is important to share the results of your consultation with those who took part and the wider community. This will help people understand:

• the needs of the whole community
• the reasons behind your transport service decisions

Case study

Establishing transport needs in Pamber Heath, Silchester and Mortimer West End

Following a reduction in timetabled bus services to Pamber Heath, Silchester and Mortimer West End, the parishes worked together to establish the transport needs of their communities.

The Parish Councils designed a questionnaire to identify the public transport demand within the communities:

• The frequency of public transport that was needed
• The purpose for which people wished to travel
• The age group and mobility needs of those wanting to travel

A questionnaire was designed and sent to each household in the three parishes: Survey on transport needs from Pamber, Silchester and Mortimer West End Parish Councils.

The questionnaire responses identified:

• a lack of awareness of existing services
• a need to enhance the taxishare service
• a need for lockable bike racks in Tadley so young people could secure their bikes when catching the bus to Basingstoke for work or college

Representatives shared the results with Tadley Town Council to find a way of jointly funding a solution. They plan to survey the community again to identify demand for the proposed transport solutions and to raise awareness of the transport services that are already available.