§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to disseminate findings from market research to support Transport Direct. [76487]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe current programme of market research to support Transport Direct is being completed. The results of these will be published by the within 2 months and will be available on the department's website. (http://www.dft.gov.uk/itwp/transdirect/index.htm)
A further research project is planned which will look at usability aspects. The usability of a website can be judged by looking at whether the content is useful to the website user; and whether it is easy to use the website, in terms of how the content is presented and how the information is structured
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the research projects which have been, are being, and are planned to be conducted by and for his Department related to Transport Direct. [75612]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere are two main themes to the research being carried out by Transport Direct, those that directly support the Transport Direct programme, and others where we provide a supporting role to other organisations, which will help provide the ambitions of Transport Direct.
We are currently undertaking a programme of market research to support Transport Direct. This will inform us on what features and specific characteristics the service should possess from the point of view of the public. The results of these will be published within the next 2 months and will be available on the department's website. A further research project is planned which will look at usability aspects. The usability of a website can be judged by looking at whether the content is useful to the website user; and whether it is easy to use the website, in terms of how the content is presented and how the information is structured
The results of previous research can be found on the Department's website http://www.dft.gov.uk/itwp/ transdirect/index.htm. These include a review of existing traveller information system and a project looking at how cycling can be incorporated into journey planners.
The work on providing a business case for bus real-time is continuing, the business case will quantify the benefit of such systems. Recommendations for the business case are due for completion within the next 2 months.
Transport Direct also has research work to support traveline and Journey Solutions. Work done by these organisations will contribute towards the goals of Transport Direct.
163WCurrent Research
Traveline: Customer research into current and future service specifications
This research project is assessing issues that traveline may need to address to ensure effective delivery to the customer. This includes an assessment of extending the future minimum opening hours for traveline; identifying the requirements for existing traveline customers; and establishing the extent of information that needs to be given by traveline if we to encourage greater use of public transport, among public transport users and non-public transport users.
Planned Research
Standard of Trunk Journey Solutions provided by traveline and associated costs.
The Department for Transport wishes to assess the extent to which the national requirements placed on traveline for the provision of trunk service information (i.e. data about the national rail and coach network) have been achieved. The requirements state that the traveline system must provide answers that are consistent with the information provided by the respective national trunk service information providers (i.e. Go By Coach, Scottish Citylink and National Rail Enquiry Service).
PlusBus Integrated Ticketing
Train and bus companies have been working together (under the umbrella of an organisation called Journey Solutions) to deliver a national integrated rail/bus ticket, known as the Plusbus Scheme. The principal aim of the research will be to measure awareness of PlusBus; examine customer satisfaction with the product; critically review each step of the PlusBus journey; test effectiveness of promotional components; confirm target market; and measure impact on travel patterns. The work will contribute to the Department for Transport understanding about multi-modal ticketing—one of the Transport Direct strategic objectives.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what work has been undertaken on the Transport Direct business plan. [76198]
§ Mr. JamiesonSufficient background work on the travel information and retailing internet service Business Plan has been undertaken to enable preliminary discussions to be held with stakeholders, including transport providers, existing information providers and representative groups. These discussions are now underway.