Walking provides easy access to shops along the way, without having to park a car or lock a bicycle. Catering for daily needs along journeys that include public transport can save an extra trip. On the other hand, purchased items need to be carried. This section investigates how often and under which conditions public transport users access additional destinations along walks to and from stops.
The public transport stop investigations included to some extent instances when pedestrians accessed shops and facilities in buildings along the observed walking route. Of the 444 studied walking trips, only 19 percent led to shops and services in the observed area around investigated stops. As the methodology only allowed observation of pedestrians along a sections of the walk to or from the stop, they may have accessed additional destinations at unobserved locations. The percentage of walkers accessing shops varies between zero and 66 percent between the 14 investigated stops. Supermarkets located close to the stop are most attractive.
The need to carry purchases on public transport vehicles does not lower the percentage of pedestrians that access shops or facilities before the ride. Public transport users access shops where these are available. Saving an extra journey appears to be the most important advantage. Other inconveniences do not dominate this central benefit.
The data from the interviews in Zürich allow a more detailed analysis. Twenty-five percent of the interviewed tram passengers indicated that they accessed additional destinations along the walk to the stop. Figure 72 presents an overview of all accessed locations. Purchasing goods and food appears most important.
Of those that access further destinations while walking to stops, 45 percent undertake the journey regularly more than three times per week (Figure 73). This group consisted of 84 percent of people travelling either for work or education purposes. Regular use of public transport increases the percentage of access to additional destinations.
Of passengers that accessed services, the second largest group (32 percent) makes the journey less than once a week for various
Figure 72: Percentages of different errands from the 24.8% of all pedestrians that performed errands along the walk to the stop
Figure 73: Frequency of undertaken journey with public transport when accessed facilities along the walk to the stop
Figure 74: Evaluation of the walked trip of pedestrians that performed errands and those that did not perform errands
purposes. Interestingly, 73 percent of this group walks four times a week for more than 10 minutes, indicating a positive attitude towards walking. It is to be assumed that a large part of these passengers usually walks but uses public transport once a week when purchasing goods.
Figure 74 shows how pedestrians evaluated the pleasantness of the walking trip to the stop. The figure differentiates between those that accessed facilities and those who did not. Both groups indicate an almost equally pleasant walking experience61. Access to services seems not to reduce the pleasantness of public transport related walking trips.
Figure 75 presents various conditions that influence the percentage of errands before the tram ride. Average access to additional destinations increased by over 40 percent among interviewees aged between 65 and 74, and equally among those aged under 20. In the younger group, 82 percent reported having no access to a car. Fewer mobility options increase the use of facilities. Among those aged between 65 and 74, car availability does not appear lower than in other age groups (between 20 and 64), but 79 percent do not have a regular job. With sufficient available time, public transport and walking appears attractive for running errands for people between 65 and 74 in Zürich.
61 Pedestrians who accessed facilities evaluated the pleasantness of walking at 4.60 on the 6-point Likert scale. The average evaluation of those who did not access further destinations was 4.59 on the scale.
Figure 75: Increase/decrease (in percent) of the average 24.8 percent that accessed facilities.
Variation caused by age, the purpose of the trip, and less passengers that travelled the journey the first time accessed services.
-33%
39%
48%
43%
-40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Travelled journey for first time Purpose of trip: service Age < 20 years Age 65-74
When the main purpose of the travel is to access services such as, for example, doctors, banks, post office, or hairdressers, the average percentage of additional errands along the walk to the stop increases by 39 percent (Figure 75). Among these travellers, 61 percent had no car available. Twenty-three percent consider using a car to be impractical. Rigorous parking restrictions in Zürich clearly show their effect. Independent of these conditions, the main purpose of the journey itself may also increase access to additional destinations. Travelling to doctors, banks, post office, or hairdressers may be necessary, but activities at these locations are less time-consuming than journeys to work, education, or for leisure purposes. Linking further errands to these shorter activities makes leaving the house more rewarding.
When undertaking the journey for the first time, the average amount of travellers that access additional destinations lowers by 33 percent. These people are likely to be less familiar with public transport timetables and routes. Time estimates for the walk to the stop are more difficult with a lack of experience. Accessing additional destinations along these walks appears less attractive. First-time travellers may further have daily routines that exclude the possibilities for errands along walking routes to stops. These people probably cater for their needs along other journeys.
With the help of the eight photographs, interviewees were asked to describe their impression of the environment along the walk to the stop. The chosen pictures illustrate the urban characteristics of the areas where interviewees access facilities before the tram ride.
Average access to additional destinations increases by between 52 and 75 percent with pictures that indicate crowding, social activity, interesting buildings, and shop windows (Figure 76).
The pictures describe the character of central urban areas, for example around the Zürich Main Station or the public transport hub Stadelhofen. More and diverse available facilities in these urban areas are likely to increase the percentage of access. The results may not appear surprising but again show that providing shops
Figure 76: Increase (in percent) of the average 24.8% that accessed facilities with chosen photos that described the environment along the walked trip to the stop
and services around stops caters for a demand. With more options, more people make use of facilities along walking routes to stops.
Figure 77 shows how the percentage of errands increases nearly linear with longer walks to the stop. Three reasons can influence this effect.
Firstly, accessing additional destinations can require walking a more detoured route to the stop.
Secondly, when pedestrians access services such as post boxes, or they purchase food to go, they need to interrupt their walk for a short period. These stops may influence the estimated duration of the walking trip to the stop. Thirdly, those who walk longer distances might pass by more facilities, providing more options to access additional destinations.
Next to the three described factors involved, I consider that the incentive to save an extra journey lengthens acceptable walking distances. Results in Figure 77 appear surprisingly clear. The average estimated time of the walk to the tram stop increased by 30 percent when interviewees accessed additional destinations. I evaluate a rise of between 15 to 25 percent in accepted walking distances as realistic when there is the option to access multiple destinations. Saving an extra trip represents a good compensation for a longer walking distance.
One shortcoming of the interview data was the difficulty of conducting interviews during the rush hour. The analysis shows that 45 percent of regular public transport users access shops and services. There is a high probability that interviews during the afternoon rush hours would have included many more regular travellers. The percentage of those accessing additional destinations would have risen accordingly. The data from interviews shows a bias towards non-rush
Figure 77: Percentage of pedestrians that undertook no errands/errands dependent on the length of the walked trip to the stop
0%
hour travels. The majority of public transport journeys take place during the rush hour.
Interviews indicate only roughly how the availability of shops influences access to these destinations. The methodology disables detailed analyses of the walking environment along routes to tram stops. Results indicate, however, that the amount and diversity of available facilities influences the percentage of access.
Aggregating the data into groups and sub groups can result in small samples that restrict generalisations. The sub groups discussed in this section contained at least 20 interviews. Despite the low number of interviewees, the data aggregation uncovers explicable phenomena. This logic increases the likelihood that larger data sets would also show comparative results.
Hillman and Whalley (1979) find that 50 percent of journeys that include more than one destination are made by walking (p. 50), as Section 2.2 presents. The data from the interviews in Zürich show a much lower percentage of travel chains, on average only 25 percent. Differences can result from different methodologies.
However, travel behaviour may have changed over the last four decades, and it is likely that it differs between the different investigated geographic locations.
Lachapelle et al. (2011) find that frequent public transport users walk more often to destinations close to workplaces and homes (p. 78). The previous section shows, accordingly, a significant increase in accessed facilities to 44 percent among frequent public transport users. The investigation also indicates that those who walk regularly use public transport when purchasing goods.
The analysis of the collected data sheds light on all the questions formulated in Section 2.10. We can summarise seven points for the use of facilities along walking routes to and from public transport stops:
1. More and diverse facilities bear a potential to increase the percentage of multipurpose journeys
2. Quality and type of facilities is likely to influence access; supermarkets are most frequently accessed
3. Accessing more than one destination appears attractive for seniors and those with restricted car availability
4. Pedestrians access additional destinations despite inconvenient detours, street crossings, and increasing walking distances
5. The advantage of catering for additional needs along walking trips exceeds the inconvenience of carrying purchased items on public transport vehicles
6. Regular public transport users access additional destinations more regularly than less frequent travellers
7. Accepted walking distances to stops can increase by between 15 and 25 percent with easy accessible facilities along walking routes to stops Results indicate a cultural difference in the way people purchase goods and groceries needed daily. People either fill up their fridges by buying larger amounts of food for longer time intervals or they cater for their needs along their daily travels. The first option is only possible by car. The second option reduces the required fridge volume and, more importantly, the total demand for car journeys in cities. How people cater for their daily needs is influenced by available transport options but possibly also by attitudes and the number of accessible destinations along journeys between homes and workplaces.
The analysis in this section supports the impression explained by Böesch and Huber (1986, pp. 39–40) that public transport, walking and shopping facilities are symbiotically interlinked. Public transport stops cluster mobility and increases the amount of potential clients for any retail facility. Attractive and diverse facilities open up convenient options for public transport users and make public transport journeys more rewarding.
6 T HE SENSORY EXPERIENCE OF WALKING ENVIRONMENTS
As Section 3.1 points out, the behaviour of pedestrians reflects an environmental experience. This chapter analyses walking behaviour in different urban surroundings and discusses how the experience of walking changes with environmental characteristics. The final two sections estimate the environmental effect on acceptable walking distances and show how environments influence the emotional experience of walking.