PhD projects
TITLE: Moving towards Sustainable Transport - is public acceptability of the required measures important, and if so how can this acceptability be increased?
RESEARCHER: Alison Pridmore
START DATE: January 2010
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Jillian Anable and Dr Appollonia Miola (JRC)SUMMARY: The transport sector makes a significant contribution to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions - 28% . It is the third largest, and the fastest growing source of emissions in the EU . To date, other sectors of the economy have borne the brunt of GHG emission reduction, in part, because it is more cost effective to do so. However, in the future, given the stringent reductions required to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the transport sector is expected to play an increasing role in reducing emissions.
This PhD will explore key issues relating to this role. Firstly, existing and emerging research on GHG mitigation measures for the transport sector will be reviewed. This will inform a position on the key policy measures required to achieve emission reductions in this sector. Then, public attitudes and acceptance of these measures will be considered. The impact of this acceptability on the likely adoption of measures, by members of the public and policy makers, will be assessed in the short and longer term. Following on from this, the role that community based initiatives could play in increasing acceptability and adoption will be explored. This existing evidence base will be complemented by interviews relating to public acceptance and adoption of measures in a community context. As a result, the project will, hopefully, help identify steps which could be taken to ensure that the measures required for carbon reduction in transport sector are successfully implemented and adopted.
The PhD student is a European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Grantholder.
TITLE: Accelerating the demand for low carbon vehicles: a demand-led perspective
RESEARCHER: Craig Morton
START DATE: October 2009
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Jillian Anable, Professor John Nelson and Dr Christian Brand (University of Oxford)SUMMARY: Personal vehicle transport accounts for a substantial proportion of the greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. This sector is becoming more dependent on foreign oil imports as North Sea oil production peaks and enters decline. Personal vehicle transport is fundamental to the operation of our socioeconomic structure. This situation presents a significant challenge to the UK society. Diversification of fuel source and increasing the energy efficiency whilst reducing the carbon intensity of personal vehicle transport is an objective the UK Government has set. This objective can be reached by research, development, demonstration and deployment of technologies designed to address these challenges but this would only be a partial solution. An understanding of how consumers and users are likely to respond to the introduction of these technologies will be essential for the success of any initiative.
This research project is aimed at achieving a deeper understanding of consumer reaction to and acceptance of new personal vehicle technologies specifically designed to address the challenges outlined. Previous research has provided us with a partial picture of the likely consumer response however this has been highly focused on the functional aspects of the vehicles such as performance and range. Issues relating to symbolism and emotion have yet to be fully investigated. Furthermore, a consumer “map” detailing the likely consumer market segments is still lacking. This research project will focus on firstly understanding the market and the likely position of consumers within it. Once this understanding has been established this research project will progress to determining consumer response to symbolic and affective aspects of personal vehicles and attempt to identify possible mechanisms of increasing consumer preference towards these vehicles.
TITLE: Comparing the lived experience to objective measures of accessibility
RESEARCHER: Angela Curl
START DATE: September 2008
SUPERVISOR: Professor John Nelson and Dr. Jillian AnableSUMMARY: This research critically appraises dominant approaches to accessibility planning, reviewing current approaches based upon their practicality, data requirements and outcomes, before presenting a mixed methods, case study approach to understand how perceived or “lived” accessibility differs from currently used objective measures. Accessibility has been framed in the context of social exclusion within UK Transport Planning, focussing on the ability of people to participate fully in society, which is seen as being limited by poor accessibility. Despite the policy recognition of multiple barriers to accessibility such as information, cost, safety and security, travel horizons, provision of services and journey times, measures used in accessibility planning are dominated by “easily” quantifiable time/distance measures, and therefore do not necessarily reflect the complex interactions, perceptions and behaviours of individuals which influence travel and ultimately the ability of people to access destinations. If measures used do not accurately reflect individuals’ perceptions of their accessibility then the cross sector, social inclusion objectives of Accessibility Planning, such as reduction of unemployment, missed appointments or those not in education or training, may not be realised.
Aims and objectives To critically review the international literature to develop a deeper insight into understandings of and approaches to measuring accessibility; the role of accessibility in addressing transport - related social exclusion; the development of accessibility in transport planning in the UK and elsewhere; the potential value of accessibility improvements to individuals and groups.
To critically assess the current approach to accessibility planning, and the tools available for this - and in doing so to identify gaps between current objective measures and perceptions of accessibility in order to gain insight into how current modelled accessibility relates to ‘lived experience’ and therefore how measures can be improved
To develop, through use of appropriate case studies, a deeper understanding of the relationship between objective and subjective accessibility and therefore to understand for whom accessibility is important, and what is important, therefore identifying who will benefit from transport and non-transport improvements
To provide recommendations for enhancing current accessibility modelling techniques by including factors that are most important for different trip types/individuals. For example by weighting time/distance/cost and other factors based on their relative importance, so that interventions can be targeted at those who will benefit most in accessibility terms.