§ Mr. David Huntasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many questionnaires, statistical inquiries or investigations have been carried out, either wholly or partly at public expense, on behalf of or by his Department or by any public bodies for which he is responsible in 1976, 1977 and in 1978 to date, specifying their nature and purpose and their estimated total cost.
§ Mr. William RodgersFull and detailed information is not available. It could be collected only with difficulty and at unreasonable cost. However, the464W Department currently carries out nine regular statistical investigations, including the road traffic censuses and the continuing postal survey of long-distance travel. The costs to the Department are estimated to be £1 million in 1977.
The main non-regular surveys carried out on behalf of the Department were as follows:
1976
- National Travel Survey 1975–76—Household interviews.
- Travel surveys in Oxford and London—Household interviews.
- Regional Highway Traffic Model—Household and roadside interviews.
1977
- East Coast Corridor Study—interviews of car drivers and coach passengers.
- Traffic surveys in Dorchester area—Roadside interviews.
- Traffic survey for Darlington By-pass—Roadside interviews.
1978
- London-Bristol-South Wales HST Survey—Roadside interviews and coach passenger interviews.
- National Travel Survey 1978–79—Household interviews begin this week.
- Inland origins and destinations of international freight—Postal questionnaires to companies begin this month.
The cost of these surveys was £1.95 million and £80,000 in 1976 and 1977, respectively. Costs in 1978 will be around £⅓ million.
In addition, there were a number of small ad hoc surveys, mainly carried out by research staff, on goods transport, travel behaviour, pedestrian habits and road safety.