Val av färdmedel till externa köpcentra : En studie av Valbo köpcentrum

Sammanfattning: We travel more nowadays. The increasing travel rate generates greenhouse gases which in the long run cause an increasing number of natural disasters over the world. Car traffic is a major contributor to this development. Out-of-town shopping centres have historically good accessibility for car traffic. This study aims to look into what are the factors that influence the choice of transport mode for dwellers in the outskirts of a town when going to out-of-town shopping centres. It also examines how changes in the public transport system influence this choice. More specifically it looks into the effects and attitudes to direct busses and free home deliverance of large articles. The study was made up of two questionnaires and some statistical observations. The first questionnaire was sent out to 400 dwellers in Sätra, an urban district on the outskirts of the town Gävle. The respondents were asked about their attitudes to choice of transport modes. Thereafter a direct bus route was arranged during one Saturday, with free home deliverance of large articles from certain shops. The number of travelers for the direct bus route and for the competing bus routes was surveyed. A survey of the corresponding day the year before was also carried out. The second questionnaire was handed out on the direct busses. The respondents were asked to evaluate the tryout of the direct bus and the free home deliverance. The results of the first questionnaire showed that the supply of different shops was the main argument why respondents traveled to Valbo instead of Gävle or Sätra centrum. The main factors for the respondents to choose to go by bus to Valbo were lower bus ticket price, short travel time and the thought of a better environment. 77 percent did not think that a buss stop nearer their residence would make them go by bus to Valbo more often. A major portion of the respondents considered that a direct bus to Valbo and free home deliverance would make them choose bus as transport mode more often. The observations of the number of bus travelers showed that 152 persons did travel with the direct bus during the tryout-day. It also showed that the competing bus routes had a slightly greater number of travelers on the day of the tryout compared to the corresponding day the year before. The results of the second questionnaire showed that the majority of the respondents got to know about the tryout through a dispatch in their mailboxes. Most of the respondents experienced the tryout direct bus ride as “very good”. If there had been no tryout direct bus that day 22 percent of the respondents reported that they still would have chosen bus as transport mode, 8 percent would have gone by car and another 22 percent would have gone to Gävle centrum instead. A major portion of the respondents wished to travel with the direct bus on either workdays or weekends in the future. Short travel time was considered to be the chief factor for a successful direct bus route. Though there were few respondents who used the free home deliverance of large articles many of them believed that they would use it in the future if more shops would participate. Comfort and safety on the busses and home deliverance of articles were considered to be things that could be improved. When studying choice of transport modes you should consider the starting point of the shopping trip; it is not always the same as the residency but are rather more complex (Ibrahim, 2003). Furthermore a longer period of time could have been considered to carry out the surveys. The car travelers’ positive attitudes to a direct bus route may partly be explained by the short travel time that comes with a direct bus; which also means that the probability increases for car travelers to change transport mode (Nurdeen et al., 2007). Free home deliverance of large articles may work as a “surplus value”, which also may have long-lasting impact on the choice of transport mode (Taniguchi & Fujii, 2006). A co-ordinate system for home deliverance of articles could moreover contribute in counteracting the habit of car travelers to use the car as a “convenient shopping trolley” (Dieleman et al., 2002, s.525) as a purpose of its own. The study has showed that direct bus routes between urban districts on the outskirts of towns and out-of-town shopping centres probably will make more shoppers choose bus as transport mode. This is possible even without affecting the competing bus routes to decrease in number of travelers. However it will be necessary with further surveys on how direct bus routes do affect foot and bicycle traffic to city centres and urban district centres. In additition the study of Valbo showed that free home deliverance of articles could make more shoppers choose bus more often as transport mode.