Accessibility and public transport in Sheffield: Case studies of policy implementation

The planning policies of South Yorkshire County Council are based on the philosophy of helping the "have-nots". From these policies a number of hypotheses concerning accessibility to and by public transport have been defined and tested in the Sheffield study area to gauge the extent to which the policies have been implemented. The literature on accessibility is reviewed with attention to recent work concerning accessibility by public transport. The Sheffield study area is described and the Structure Plan and other planning documents of South Yorkshire County Council are assessed with regard to policies relating to accessibility and public transport. Recent changes in the level of bus service provision in the study area are summarised. Access to bus services is investigated in terms of walking and waiting times for 170 sampling points. Overall the route density - service frequency trade-off is found to be optimal. The spatial variation in the walking and waiting times is such that areas with high proportions of people dependent on public transport do not have more accessible bus services than other areas. Access to bus services is investigated further in the Mosborough area with the relationship between the introduction and improvement of bus services and the occupation of new housing being studied. Accessibility by public transport to specific facilities is investigated. In spite of Structure Plan policies little improvement in the accessibility of five district shopping centres in Sheffield has taken place. Areas with poor access by bus to sports centres and public libraries are defined and possible locations for new facilities evaluated. In the first ten years of its existence South Yorkshire County Council has supported policies relating to improvements in accessibility and public transport. The work reported in this thesis indicates that the implementation of such policies has not always been achieved.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

The Open University

Year dc:date.issued

1986

Author dc:creator

• Workman, Helen Mary

Language dc:language

en