Seamless, accessible travel: users' views of the public transport journey and interchange

Emphasis on the need to reduce the deterrence effects and costs associated with interchange, so that increasingly seamless public transport journeys can be provided, is now a key policy goal. This paper reports the findings from a series of focus groups and in-depth interviews of both public transport users and car users that were undertaken for a Scottish Executive funded study on interchange and travel choice. It explores how interchange is perceived and how this perception deters public transport use amongst car users or limits public transport use amongst public transport users. The paper also provides insights into lifestyles, the decision-making processes and types of considerations that are made at key stages in the journeys of both car users and public transport passengers.