University of London Centre for Transport Studies Working Paper
On Mobility
by Nick Tyler and Natasha Brown
Abstract
This paper considers the question of mobility in the sense of the ease
of reaching activities and distinguishes this from the concept of physical
movement. This is highlighted by the plight of people with mobility problems,
whether these are due to long-standing medical conditions or to temporary
encumbrance. The issue is raised of the concept of a level of mobility
and accessibility which could be defined as a basis for society as a whole.
The case is argued that planning has all too often been in favour of car-based
transport - often on the basis of the perception of enhanced mobility that
cars provide. However, increasing mobility for cars can often increase
accessibility problems for people - crossings are moved, barriers erected
and so on. The role played by public transport in this is important because
it provides the motorised mobility for those people for whom a car is not
available. It is therefore public transport which should be used to define
the bas for mobility assessment. It woudl be useful to consider the basis
on which planning decisions are made with respect to mobility questions.
Attempts to regenerate town centres (as recommended by current planning
policy guidance) are welcome, but they must be combined with accessibility
enhancements for public transport services. A very simple conceptual model
is suggested which illustrates, for different modes, how the ease of reaching
an activity changes as the distance to the activity increases. this suggests
that public transport measures designed to increase speeds are only likely
to deliver mobility benefits for longer distance journeys. on the other
hand, attention to the accessibility of the public transport system would
provide benefits for more local journeys.
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