Enhancing transport technologies to support personal security in travel by public transport
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Aberdeen
Department Name: Geography and Environment
Abstract
Amongst the advantages that private transport is perceived to hold over public transport is that it is inherently safer in terms of supporting personal security in travel. This perception is linked to notions of public and private space and the extent to which environments can be controlled. Travelling on public transport significantly increases the degree of potential exposure to crime and anti-social behaviour compared to private transport. In addition to these general perceptions, major terrorist attacks on public transport systems such as in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 have highlighted the vulnerability of public transport to major threats to personal security. Though rare, these events can significantly impact on public perceptions of personal security in travel.
Negative perceptions (and experiences) of personal security in travelling by public transport can impact upon travel behaviour with consequences for both individuals and society. They can deter travel by public transport with associated impacts on modal split and the knock-on congestion and pollution impacts that the dominance of private motorised transport entails. A Crime Concern study found that the number of UK public transport trips could rise by up to 10% if passengers felt more secure and that most of this increase would be at off-peak times. Increasing patronage levels, particularly at off-peak times, can make a significant positive contribution to perceptions of personal security in travel by public transport. There can also be significant social exclusion consequences if issues of personal security deter travel by public transport, particularly if private transport options are not available. In economic terms, the Home Office estimated that in 2006/7 the total costs of crime on public transport equated to some £822 million.
Transport and transport-related technologies have an important role to play in supporting personal security in travel by public transport. This support ranges from underpinning the operation of transport systems and services to facilitating individual travel choices. These technologies range from applications specifically designed to address security issues, such as CCTV, to technologies with more general applications that may incorporate personal security features e.g. journey planning services. However, research undertaken in the ASSURED project has suggested that the 'hearts and minds' of public transport users are not yet won over to the benefits of technological solutions and this is likely to be a significant barrier to successful implementation. This view has been supported by a recent Department for Transport qualitative study into public perceptions of measures (both technological and non-technological) introduced to enhance personal security while travelling on public transport.
The role of technology and its interaction with user needs and perceptions in supporting personal security in travel by public transport is the fundamental theme of this research. The key aim of the research is to develop fundamental understandings relating to this interaction and as a consequence to enable transport technologies to better support personal security in travel by public transport.
The research will sequentially address five specific application areas: 1.Provision for public transport traveller information; 2. Provision for contingency planning to support travel by public transport; 3. Automated public transport services; 4. Demand responsive transport services; 5. Secondary effects of security technology solutions in public transport. It will seek to develop understandings of current and potential future personal security issues in these application areas through the deployment of the following methodological tools; literature review, expert interviews, focus groups, scenario planning; and final reporting, which will distil the key findings from the research activities into policy recommendations for decision makers.
Negative perceptions (and experiences) of personal security in travelling by public transport can impact upon travel behaviour with consequences for both individuals and society. They can deter travel by public transport with associated impacts on modal split and the knock-on congestion and pollution impacts that the dominance of private motorised transport entails. A Crime Concern study found that the number of UK public transport trips could rise by up to 10% if passengers felt more secure and that most of this increase would be at off-peak times. Increasing patronage levels, particularly at off-peak times, can make a significant positive contribution to perceptions of personal security in travel by public transport. There can also be significant social exclusion consequences if issues of personal security deter travel by public transport, particularly if private transport options are not available. In economic terms, the Home Office estimated that in 2006/7 the total costs of crime on public transport equated to some £822 million.
Transport and transport-related technologies have an important role to play in supporting personal security in travel by public transport. This support ranges from underpinning the operation of transport systems and services to facilitating individual travel choices. These technologies range from applications specifically designed to address security issues, such as CCTV, to technologies with more general applications that may incorporate personal security features e.g. journey planning services. However, research undertaken in the ASSURED project has suggested that the 'hearts and minds' of public transport users are not yet won over to the benefits of technological solutions and this is likely to be a significant barrier to successful implementation. This view has been supported by a recent Department for Transport qualitative study into public perceptions of measures (both technological and non-technological) introduced to enhance personal security while travelling on public transport.
The role of technology and its interaction with user needs and perceptions in supporting personal security in travel by public transport is the fundamental theme of this research. The key aim of the research is to develop fundamental understandings relating to this interaction and as a consequence to enable transport technologies to better support personal security in travel by public transport.
The research will sequentially address five specific application areas: 1.Provision for public transport traveller information; 2. Provision for contingency planning to support travel by public transport; 3. Automated public transport services; 4. Demand responsive transport services; 5. Secondary effects of security technology solutions in public transport. It will seek to develop understandings of current and potential future personal security issues in these application areas through the deployment of the following methodological tools; literature review, expert interviews, focus groups, scenario planning; and final reporting, which will distil the key findings from the research activities into policy recommendations for decision makers.
Planned Impact
The role of technology and its interaction with user needs and perceptions in supporting personal security in travel by public transport is the fundamental theme of this research. The key aim of the research is to develop fundamental understandings relating to this interaction and as a consequence to enable transport technologies to better support personal security in travel by public transport. There is a wide range of potential non-academic users and beneficiaries from this research and these include: public transport operators; automated transport service providers; demand responsive transport service providers; transport and transport related technology developers and service providers; those responsible for public transport service provision e.g. local authorities and passenger transport executives; those responsible for public transport information provision; security authorities e.g. Police, British Transport Police; National Government e.g. Department for Transport and devolved UK transport agencies; public transport user groups e.g. Passenger Focus; and other user needs groups e.g. charities and campaign groups.
The primary means by which these potential users and beneficiaries will be impacted by the research will be through their involvement as project participants. The direct engagement of selected representatives from these communities in the research activities within this project offers the prospect of generating significant commitment to the research aims and objectives. This engagement will involve participation in literature review (through consultation), expert interviews, focus groups, scenario planning exercises and final reporting activities for each application area.
The involvement of participants in all stages of the research in each application area will also contribute to buy-in by participants. In particular, their engagement in expert interviews, focus groups and scenario planning exercises and in the final reporting of research in terms of membership of the Editorial Board for the final reports will ensure that participants are not just the subjects of the research, but are active participants in shaping, delivering and communicating the research.
It is recognised that not all potential users and beneficiaries of the research will be able to be actively involved in the research as participants. In each research application area the literature review activity will include the development of a contacts database where details of known organisations with a potential interest in the research will be entered. A link to the final report in each application area will then be sent to organisations on the relevant contacts database.
During the course of the project appropriate opportunities will be taken to disseminate outputs to a range of audiences including potential users and beneficiaries of the research through publications in academic and popular journals and presentations at international, national and local conferences and events. Appropriate journals for research in this area include: IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transport Systems, IET Intelligent Transport Systems, Journal of Transport Geography, Transport Policy, Transport Reviews, Crime and Justice. Appropriate conferences for presenting the research include: Universities Transport Studies Group (Aberdeen, Jan 2012) and the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (Washington D.C., January 2012).
The final research activity, a Key Findings Seminar will also provide an opportunity for the engagement of potential users and beneficiaries of the research. Representatives from all bodies who were involved in the project will be invited to participate alongside a broader invitation to representatives from the academic community and transport industry.
The primary means by which these potential users and beneficiaries will be impacted by the research will be through their involvement as project participants. The direct engagement of selected representatives from these communities in the research activities within this project offers the prospect of generating significant commitment to the research aims and objectives. This engagement will involve participation in literature review (through consultation), expert interviews, focus groups, scenario planning exercises and final reporting activities for each application area.
The involvement of participants in all stages of the research in each application area will also contribute to buy-in by participants. In particular, their engagement in expert interviews, focus groups and scenario planning exercises and in the final reporting of research in terms of membership of the Editorial Board for the final reports will ensure that participants are not just the subjects of the research, but are active participants in shaping, delivering and communicating the research.
It is recognised that not all potential users and beneficiaries of the research will be able to be actively involved in the research as participants. In each research application area the literature review activity will include the development of a contacts database where details of known organisations with a potential interest in the research will be entered. A link to the final report in each application area will then be sent to organisations on the relevant contacts database.
During the course of the project appropriate opportunities will be taken to disseminate outputs to a range of audiences including potential users and beneficiaries of the research through publications in academic and popular journals and presentations at international, national and local conferences and events. Appropriate journals for research in this area include: IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transport Systems, IET Intelligent Transport Systems, Journal of Transport Geography, Transport Policy, Transport Reviews, Crime and Justice. Appropriate conferences for presenting the research include: Universities Transport Studies Group (Aberdeen, Jan 2012) and the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (Washington D.C., January 2012).
The final research activity, a Key Findings Seminar will also provide an opportunity for the engagement of potential users and beneficiaries of the research. Representatives from all bodies who were involved in the project will be invited to participate alongside a broader invitation to representatives from the academic community and transport industry.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Mark Beecroft (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Beecroft M
(2015)
Personal security in travel by public transport: the role of traveller information and associated technologies
in IET Intelligent Transport Systems
Beecroft M
(2014)
Future prospects for personal security in travel by public transport
in Transportation Planning and Technology
Papangelis K
(2016)
Exploring the rural passenger experience, information needs and decision making during public transport disruption
in Research in Transportation Business & Management
Papangelis K
(2015)
The effects of mobile real-time information on rural passengers
in Transportation Planning and Technology
| Description | The project focused on understanding the interaction between transport technologies and user needs and perceptions in supporting personal security in travel by public transport. The research engaged over 60 experts from across the UK transport sector in a combination of interviews, workshops and scenario planning activities to address a set of four application areas in relation to secure travel. These areas were information provision, travel disruption, automated transport services and flexible transport services. Four future scenario narratives (to a 2040 time horizon) were developed for each application area. A final workshop consolidated and reviewed the narrative scenarios and pulled out key themes and priority issues for policy, practice and research for the near term. Consequently a set of policy recommendations, operator and business opportunities, knowledge gaps and research priorities were identified to enhance provision for personal security in travel by public transport. Key policy recommendations For transport authorities: more and better collaboration was the identified watchword with clear links from this to other key priorities such as resilience planning and data sharing. For national government: regulation and standards require priority attention and this relates to the inevitable lag between the pace of technological innovation and our ability to respond to the associated social, political, economic and transport impacts. Government also has a proactive role with investment and education offering the greatest opportunities to align the policy agendas of government and the wider transport sector. Some significant issues, particularly around data and cyber security, will require supra-national co-ordination. Operator and business opportunities The move from mode-specific transport companies to multi-modal, information-led transport service providers was identified as a likely development across several scenarios. The ability to provide personalised information (and marketing) through intuitive interfaces is likely to be key to yielding competitive advantages in this field. Knowledge gaps and research priorities Simply knowing and understanding the customer is a major challenge for the whole transport industry, government and academia. The exponential surge in the ability to gather data (particularly through mobile platforms) to support greater understanding offers great potential in this area. However success will be dependent upon having the skills and capacity to analyse and utilise this data effectively. The limited understanding of user and (critically) non-user perceptions of perosnal security in public transport, and the relationship between perception and actual practice remain crucial issues. Addressing these issues is fundamental to enhance secure and confident travel by PT going forward. |
| Exploitation Route | The project findings have been categorized under the following headings: policy recommendations, operator and business opportunities, knowledge gaps and research priorities. In this way, they have been structured to engage key stakeholder communities of government (local and national) in the form of policy recommendations; transport operators and service providers in the form of operator and business opportunities; and interest groups and academics in the form of research priorities. |
| Sectors | Transport |
| Description | Findings have been used to promote awareness of developments in understanding regarding personal security in travel by public transport that have arisen form this research. The sixty + stakeholder participants who were engaged by the research received work package reports commensurate with their involvement. In November 2017 I was funded by the Government Office for Science to undertake a review of the security of future mobility under their Foresight programme. A key factor in this award was my prior track record of research in this area as evidenced (in part) by publications from the EPSRC project. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy,Transport |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | Government Office for Science Foresight Future of Mobility |
| Amount | £4,333 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RG14334 |
| Organisation | Government of the UK |
| Department | Government Office for Science |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2017 |
| End | 01/2018 |