§ Miss Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been paid to research organisations in each of the years 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 313W 1977 for the purpose of carrying out travel surveys for his Department; what is the estimated cost of the travel survey currently being carried out by the Opinion Research Centre; whether travel facilities in general have been improved as a result of the surveys; and whether, in particular, the 1976 sample survey affected London travel facilities.
§ Mr. Horam:The cost of carrying out household travel surveys for our Department was as follows:
The estimated cost to the Department of the travel survey, currently being carried out by ORC is £72,000.
Year £000 1973 50 1974 50 1975 220 1976 1,000 1977 140 Household travel surveys combined with data from roadside interviews and traffic censuses contribute to improvements in the planning and management of both highways and public passenger transport. I regret that it is not possible to make an assessment of their specific contribution to these improvements. The 1976 survey in London was not related directly to improving travel facilities. It was a research project into the ways that people's journeys were affected by an increase in fares on public transport.