Konkurrenskraftiga kollektiva kommunikationer

Sammanfattning: With less than 15 000 inhabitants, Åstorp is a small municipality in the north west of Skåne. In the county there are two train stations and twenty-three bus stops. Despite the good opportunities for public transport, the municipality has high emissions of greenhouse gases from passenger transports if compared with other municipalities in Skåne. By means of a focus group, this paper employs a qualitative method to investigate people’s attitudes towards public transport and what actions they believe may motivate more people to use public transport. In addition, a small literature study on attitudes towards public transport and travel patterns is carried out. The literature study shows that more than 70 percent of the trips that residents of the municipality of Åstorp take are done by car. This is well above average for Skåne. The study shows that many of the arguments for travelling with both public transports and cars are egocentric, which means that they promote the individual's self-interest. Not all attitudes can be changed but by promoting the benefits of public transport the chance of getting people to utilize it is increased. To make public transport more competitive against the car, the journey must become more time-efficient. Public transport also has to improve in a more general sense. One way of making the public transport more attractive is by making the station area safer and more enjoyable. The municipality can also try to conduct information campaigns with the purpose of helping more people to discover the benefits of public transport. This study is important since it will hopefully be used as a basis for municipal actions and political decisions. The results of those actions may make public transport more attractive and competitive against the car, which will lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from passenger transport.