Business attitudes to transport: knowledge review of the existing evidence

As part of wider goal to better understand and take account of the views of businesses, DfT commissioned a review of existing UK research evidence on private sector business attitudes to transport. The review will also help determine the future needs of the transport system. The evidence reviewed consisted of reports and studies from 1994-2008.

Some notable conclusions include:

• the relatively low importance to businesses of transport compared to other concerns
• the uncommon influence transport considerations have on businesses’ decision to relocate
• the prominent levels of concern regarding congestion and reliability of the transport system
• the support for policy measures to improve road capacity and public transport
• the considerable variation in attitudes to road pricing
• the growing proportion of businesses considering the introduction of travel plans
• and the (growing) importance of telecommunications in business, alongside growing use of rail and air for business travel

The full report can be found here:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/scienceresearch/social/businessattitudes/summary