The Value of Good Market Research as the Bedrock of a Successful Infrastructure Project

Good Market Research  An Anglo Polish Production! Agnieszka Lukasiewicz MSc, Senior Specialist in Management Systems and Telematics Division, Road & Bridge Research Institute, Poland Tony Francis FCIT, Project Sponsor, Department for Transport, United Kingdom

Good Market Research  Why discuss this issue? Projects are for life and a purpose, not just the construction period  Why a joint presentation? People and trade ignore national boundaries

Good Market Research  The issues described are equally applicable to all modes of transport Whether it be for:  Road - Rail - Water or Air  And the infrastructure

Good Market Research  What kind of information?  Research process  Collecting data – different methods  Pan-European routes - process of harmonisation and standardisation of European travel survey research  Proper data (not too wide, not too narrow, well analysed) – basis of decision making process

Good Market Research data analysis results Environ- ment protection Saving money, energy Stakehol- ders satisfaction

Defining Market Research  Systematic, design collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation, facing the company*  Travel surveys exist in the wider world of marketing research *Kotler P., Marketing

Research Process Define the problem and research objecti- vities Develop the research plan Collect the information Analyse the information Present the findings Make the decision

Defining Good Information In general, raw data that is: (1) verified as being accurate and timely, (2) specific and organised for a purpose, (3) presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and (4) leads to increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty. The value of information lies solely in its ability to affect behaviour, decisions, or outcomes. A piece of information is considered valueless if, after receiving it, things remain unchanged.

What kind of information is collected?  What kind of information do we need? -Vehicle-based survey (households cars, trucks) Households car ownership and use Light commercial vehicles (LCVs) Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) - In every European country, there are different scopes & ways of collecting data

Applicability of Minimum Question Specification TopicCategory TopicCategory HouseholdLocationVehicle Body type Type of buildingYear of production SizeOwnership of vehicle RelationshipsUse of vehicle Income Fuel used in vehicle No of vehiclesActivityStart time Housing tenureActivity of purpose PersonalGenderLocation Year of birth Means of travel, mode sequence Paid jobsGroup size Job classificationGroup membership Driving licenceCost (inc. parking) Non-mobility Education level Handicap (disability) Race Stopher P (et al.) Travel Surveys Method - quality and future directions

Collecting information  Desk top research  Questionnaires  Web Sites  GPS/GPRS terminals  And others

National Travel Surveys (COST 804) Austria Belguim Denmark Finland France Germany Great Britain Greece Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Switzerland Sweden Spain Spain ( Catalunia) United States 1999            

Good Market Research  Intelligence wins battles – both military and business.  And this applies to projects.  Especially big ones!  But intelligence needs to be accurate, consistent in gathering and interpretation.  And standardisation across the whole activity.

Good Market Research  Lessons from the United Kingdom Not so good examples! - Traffic data designed for road building but of no value to revive public transport - BoE interest rates -Light rail schemes making better use of poorly used conventional rail lines but had little business potential

Medway Metro: good idea but….!

Good Market Research  Better examples! - Great Western Main Line Growth clearly identified although needs constantly updating - Managed Motorways Making better use of the existing network

Great Western Main Line Inter City Commuter Freight

Managed Motorways

Travel Survey Research – what for?  Modelling travel behaviour  Everyday route  Business trips  Holidays.  Estimating future trends  Planning of infrastructure  Satisfy stakeholders Evaluation of the effectiveness of different transportation investments

Pan-European routes – Pan-European research problems  Neighbouring countries data is often incomparable  Coordinating international projects a problem,  No standards in planning, scope, collecting and analysis,  Negative influence on decision making.  Cost 804 – trial of harmonisation and archiving comparativeness of data on the European level  In UK local authorities clubbing together to manage data collection “Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense”. Gertrude Stein

Decision making - examples  Data collected may be used to support or oppose planning applications  Assisting traffic or transportation engineers with design aspects  Evaluation of highway schemes  Planning the road network matrix All above are tools for safety, mobility, comfort of end users “Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.” Napoleon

For whom? (target groups)  Infrastructure funding bodies  PPP consortia (highways, tunnels, railways)  Freight and passenger transport operators

Good Market Research  Thank you for listening  Do you have any questions?

Contact details - Tony Francis Project Sponsor, Department for Transport, United Kingdom Agnieszka Lukasiewicz Road & Bridge Research Institute, Poland