« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Annex 4 Long distance commuters discussion guide
INTRODUCTION
My name is _________________, I work for a transport research company called MVA. MVA has been commissioned by the Scottish Executive to produce a topic report on Long Distance Commuting in Scotland (Long distance commuting involves a single journey over 15km)
A central part of the study is understanding the circumstances, characteristics, behaviour and attitudes of long distance commuters. We are holding 5 Focus groups to explore this in more depth.
I'll be recording the discussion to help me with the write-up, but no names will be attached to any comments in the final report and anything you say will be viewed as completely confidential.
If we could start by going round the table and if you could introduce yourself and tell me a bit about your journey between work and home. Here are some cards showing the things we're interested in:
First Name
Where you live
Where you work
Whether you travel by car/ PT? Mixed or simple? Whether use different modes on different days and why?
PROBE FURTHER:
How long have you've lived at your current address?
How long have you've worked at your current workplace and what is the nature of your work
How long does it take you to make the journey?
How far do you travel?
Time of travel (peak/off-peak)
Frequency (week days per week/weekends)
How long you have been a long distance commuter?
GENERAL ISSUES
Thinking about your average journey to/from work, are there things you dislike about it?
-Time it takes, cost, congestion, never sure how long its going to take etc
- What do you dislike most?
-If one thing could be changed to improve it, what would that be?
Thinking about your average journey to/from work, are there things you like about it?
-What are the benefits of a long commute?
-If you stopped doing it, what if anything would you miss about it?
Do you take any measures to make the journey more enjoyable/tolerable?
e.g. avoid the morning rush hour, listen to music, read the paper, plan your day/evening, think about things
What are the negative/positive consequences to being a long distance commuter?
e.g. less time to spend with family /leave work to catch train on time
e.g. Does your commute affect how/where you socialise if so is this a positive or negative?
e.g. Health impacts? Stress, time for exercise
e.g. live in more affordable housing/better amenities and environment
e.g. Social separation between work/home life
How did you become a long distance commuter?
e.g. moved house and continued work in the same place (reasons for house move)
e.g. place of work changed ( e.g. new job, existing job relocated) and stayed
e.g. to accommodate change in employment of other members of household
explore whether any transport change influenced decision - new rail service, road improvement
Have you experienced a change in commuting over time?
-worse/better (how?)
-any adjustments?
Mode Choice
What would be your preferred mode of travel between work and home?
If not using preferred mode what are the reasons? Ideally, what would you choose and why?
What would have to change to let them use it - given where you live and where you work?
Car users: Would it be possible to make the journey to work by public transport? Or part of the journey?
Have you looked into it / considered it?
If NO why not?
If YES: Why do you decide not to travel to work by public transport ( e.g. frequency, interchange, overcrowding, cost, reliability, lack of information, facilities, quality of vehicles, on-board safety, etc)
Car users: would you consider switching to different transport arrangements e.g.car sharing or working from home?
What would need to change/happen for you to do so?
PT users: Why do you not travel by car to work? Would you consider switching to different transport arrangements (Car, working from home)
What are the benefits of PT? What are the problems of car?
Home
What are the best and worst aspects about where you live?
e.g. House prices, always lived there, family/friends, school catchment area
What do you like about it? good and bad points? PROBE Did you know this before you moved?
What are the reasons that you choose to live where you do?
What other places have you considered?
How much freedom did you have in your choice, particularly in relation to length of journey to work?
Would you consider moving home to be closer to your work?
How important was the location of your job in your decision to live there?
Work
Thinking about the location of your workplace, what are the best/worst things about it?
Why did you choose to work where you do etc
Would you consider changing jobs so that you don't have to commute such a long distance to work?
How important was the location of your home to your choice of job?
Looking at this showcard overall, which are the most important in relation to where you live or work.
What are the practicalities?
What factors would you consider?
Is there anything missed out?
SHOWCARD
Length of commute
Living somewhere close to work
Choice of schools
Local amenities
Partners work
Desire to live in a rural location
Desire to live in a particular town/city
Job opportunities - type/number
Housing size/cost
Near family/friends
The Future
Looking to the future, do you think you'll continue long distance commuting?
How much is commuting part of your life?
Do you expect your experience of commuting to change in the future?
What would trigger/prompt you to reduce your long distance commuting?
Thank you and close
The full long distance commuting topic report will be finished around April time and then the final draft will be published online by the Scottish Executive - if you would like me to send you the web-link when the report comes out then you can give me your email addresses
« Previous | Contents | Next »