Little Milton
Transport Needs Survey
Results
for and on behalf of
Little
Milton Parish Council
By
Emily Lewis – Oxfordshire Rural Community Council
November
2010
Oxfordshire
Rural Community Council is registered in England as a company limited by
guarantee (no.2461552) and as a charity (no.900560).
Its registered office is Jericho Farm, Worton, Witney, Oxfordshire,
OX29 4S
Little
Milton
Transport
Needs Survey Results (2010)
Introduction
This survey
was carried out by Little Milton Parish Council in order to consult with
members of their local community on the issue of transport and bus services.
The purpose
of the consultation was for the Parish Council to obtain more detailed
information on the transport needs and practices of local residents, with the
aim of using this to influence decisions taken on the current re-tendering of
subsidised services in the Witney area.
Oxfordshire
County Council (OCC) has set a deadline
of 24 December 2010 by which time responses to the Review must be
received from Parishes.
The
bus services under review in this parish are the 103 and 111
36
households responded out of 195 households, a response rate of 18.5%.
These
resulted in a total of 76 individual responses.
NB:
Respondents were able to indicate more than one mode/location for destinations
and transport used in respect of journeys to Work, School, GP, Shopping and
Social/Leisure.
All
percentages illustrated are based on Individual Responses.
Summary
·
The return rate for
this survey was a little above average (being that the average return rate is
approximately 14%). There is a relatively good representation of the age
groups. As expected there is a greater representation from the older age
ranges of 46-60 and 61-75.
·
9.2% (7) of
respondents have mobility impairments and 1 respondent cannot drive. This is
lower that the average number of people living in South Oxfordshire with a
“limiting long term illness” which is 13.1% (Census 2001).
·
As expected the
majority of respondents can drive (67.1%: 51) and a minority of mostly younger
respondents cannot drive (25%: 19). 47.4% (36) of the respondents own 2 cars
and 19.7% (15) own 1 car. 7 respondents do not own a car; 4 of who are in the
three older age groups.
·
35 respondents
cited the 103 as the most used service. A
further 5 respondents cited the 111 as either the first or second most used.
·
A small proportion
of respondents regularly use the bus services. 15.7% (12) respondents are
daily or weekly bus users and all of the regular service users travel on the
103. Out of the 12 regular users, 8 cannot drive.
·
The common reason
affecting respondents’ use of buses is because the car is more convenient
(52.6%: 40). The second cited reasons are owing to services being wrongly
timed (23.7%: 18) and the lack of evening and weekend services (22.4%: 17). A
further 11.8% (9) state that the wrong destinations add to poor usage. 5
respondents cite the cost of fares as being too high.
·
52.6% (40)
respondents think publicity of services is adequate in the parish opposed to
34.2% (26) respondents who think there is a lack of publicity.
·
25% (19) of
respondents also use taxis and 21.1% (16) use the train as alternative modes
of transport.
·
13 of the 45
respondents that answered the workplace question cited Oxford as the main
location for work. All other respondents work dispersedly in and around the
county. Although most respondents self drive to work, a small proportion of
workers use the bus as their main transport method. 0f the 9 bus users, 8 go
to Oxford and 1 goes to Wheatley.
·
6 respondents go to
school in Wheatley, 2 in Thame, 1 in Watlington and 1 in Oxford. 7 respondents
use the (school) bus (5 go to Wheatley) as part of or the entire journey.
·
Surprisingly few
respondents answered the GP question. However, out of the 32 responses, all
but 1 respondent use Morland House. Over half of respondents (57.9%: 44) drive
to their GP, 17.1% (13) get lifts and 10.5% (8) use the bus. The 8 bus users
fall into all age group ranges.
·
Oxford is by far
the most popular shopping destination (31.6%: 24), Wheatley is the second
(13.2%: 10) and 8 respondents prefer Thame. The bulk of respondents self drive
(60.5%: 46), however, a good proportion of respondents (36.8%: 28) use the
bus. 18 of the bus users go to Oxford and the age of user falls into lower and
upper age ranges.
·
For social and
leisure trips most respondents go to Oxford (32.9%: 25) and 6 respondents cite
various destinations. Again, respondents predominately drive (57.9%: 44) for
this purpose of trip. A reasonable proportion of respondents use the bus
(27.6%: 21); 16 of the bus users go to Oxford. Lifts are also relied on by 18
mostly young respondents.
·
44.7% (34)
respondents are aware of the local car scheme and only 7 respondents did not
know about the service. Of the 7 respondents who have mobility impairments,
only 4 were aware of the car scheme.
·
The comments made
by respondents largely centre on bus services not being frequent enough and
therefore cannot use the bus to access necessary services such as doctor’s
appointments. A number of comments point to the problem of long journey times,
which are off putting and increase concern if you miss the last bus in Oxford
and have to wait a 2 hours for the next one. 5 comments note that the 103 is
essential to a quality of life in Little Milton, though many would appreciate
weekend and evening service too. 3 respondents would like a better service so
that they can access Thame.
Bus
Service Issues
·
The current service
contracts will expire on 4 June 2011 and the review process is underway.
·
For residents in
Little Milton it is Oxford which is the most important destination for all
services, though Wheatley and Thame are important destinations for shopping
needs and school access.
Action
Points for Little Milton Parish Council
The survey
indicates that publicity of bus services in this parish is adequate.
However, ongoing efforts could be enhanced by publishing bus times in
the local newsletter or parish notice-board. Little Milton does have a
community transport scheme, which is shared with two other parishes.
Continuing promotion of this scheme is important to increase residents’
awareness both in using the service and volunteering. The Community Transport
Adviser at ORCC can offer further support with this.
The
respondent that showed interest in volunteer driving will be contacted by the
Community transport Adviser to follow up their interest.
|
Data
produced by the survey |
|
Q1 Age |
|
Under
16 |
13.2%
(10) |
|
|
17-24 |
10.5%
(8) |
|
|
25-45 |
9.2%
(7) |
|
|
46-60 |
27.6%
(21) |
|
|
61-75 |
26.3%
(20) |
|
|
75+ |
10.5%
(8) |
Q1 Gender
|
|
Male |
51.3% |
39 |
|
Female |
44.7% |
34 |
|
Not
answered |
3.9% |
3 |
Q2 Mobility
|
|
Mobility not affected |
26.3% |
20 |
|
Unable
to walk/walk far |
9.2% |
7 |
|
Unable
to drive |
1.3% |
1 |
|
Not
answered |
63.2% |
48 |
Q3
Driving
|
|
Can
drive |
67.1% |
51 |
|
Cannot
drive |
25% |
19 |
Age
and Driving
|
|
|
Do
they drive? |
Total |
||
|
|
|
Can drive |
Cannot drive |
Not answered |
|
|
Age
of Resident |
Under 16 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
10 |
|
17-24 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
8 |
|
|
25-45 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
|
|
46-60 |
18 |
1 |
2 |
21 |
|
|
61-75 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
|
|
75+ |
4 |
4 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
Total |
49 |
19 |
6 |
74 |
|
Q3
Number of Cars in Household
|
|
No car |
9.2% |
7 |
|
1
|
19.7% |
15 |
|
2 |
47.4% |
36 |
|
3 |
10.5% |
8 |
|
4 |
5.3% |
4 |
Age and
car ownership
|
|
|
How
many cars? |
Total |
|||||
|
|
|
no car |
one car |
two cars |
three cars |
four cars |
Not answered |
|
|
Age
of Resident |
Under 16 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
17-24 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
25-45 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
|
|
46-60 |
1 |
4 |
12 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
21 |
|
|
61-75 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
20 |
|
|
75+ |
1 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
|
|
Total |
7 |
15 |
34 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
74 |
|
Q4
Bus services used
|
First
Response
|
LM
to Oxford (103) |
46.1% |
35 |
|
Chalgrove to Thame (111) |
2.6% |
2 |
|
Not answered |
51.3% |
39 |
Second
Response
|
Chalgrove to Thame (111) |
3.9% |
3 |
|
Not answered |
96.1% |
73 |
|
Q5
Usage of local bus services: |
|
Daily |
3.9% |
3 |
|
Weekly |
11.8% |
9 |
|
Fortnightly |
5.3% |
4 |
|
Monthly |
14.5% |
11 |
|
rarely |
23.7% |
18 |
|
Never |
35.5% |
27 |
|
Not answered |
5.3% |
4 |
Bus services used and how often