RAIL NEEDS SURVEY www.westhighlandcrp.com POTENTIAL RAIL USER SURVEY FINAL REPORT, February 2017 REPORT WRITTEN BY Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research FEBRUARY 2017 Survey carried out with support from: Survey commissioned by: Survey conducted by: West Highland CRP Dr. Steve Taylor PO Box 7061 Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research Fort William University of the Highlands and Islands PH33 9AS West Highland College +44 (0)1397 722295 Fort William, PH33 6FF +44 (0)1397 874000 Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Methodology 1 3. Survey Findings: Locals 3 4. Survey Findings: Tourists 10 5. Discussion and Conclusions 17 Appendix One Verbatim Responses: Locals’ Survey 20 Appendix Two Verbatim Responses: Tourists’ Survey 40 Potential Rail User Survey Report, 2017 1 1 Introduction From March to November 2016 the Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research undertook a research exercise for the West Highland Community Rail Partnership (WHCRP), that aimed to survey, predominantly, locals and tourists who don’t currently use the regional rail services and to determine a more complete picture of the barriers to use. Funding for the exercise was provided by ScotRail, with additional in-kind contributions from members of the WHCRP project team. The WHCRP is a newly established community organization covering the West Highland railway corridor from Mallaig to Crianlarich, as well as its hinterland. With an overall aim of working in partnership with the railway industry to make train travel a more attractive option for locals and visitors alike, it commissioned the survey to identify the issues that constrain use of regional rail services. 2 Methodology As discussed and agreed with the WHCRP a two-stage methodology was adopted and used: a paper and web-based survey of local user needs and an ‘offline’ face-to-face survey of tourists. Local User Needs The locals of the West Highlands were surveyed through two principal means: an online Survey Monkey and a printed questionnaire. The respondents were asked a series of predominantly quantitative, closed questions, with the facility to add comments, along with some open-ended qualitative questions that sought deeper opinions and suggestions, for example. The questions were identical for both surveys. The questionnaires were publicized through the community councils (through which the railway passes – or those nearby), press releases and adverts (such as in West Word, a local monthly newspaper). The Survey Monkey was promoted via social media, through West Highland College and the Nevis Landscape Partnership Facebook pages for example, and through other relevant forums agreed with the CRP. Locals who learned about the survey through their community council were encouraged to complete the online survey, although were made aware of the printed copies being placed in community hubs. Paper copies of the survey were professionally printed by the CRP and placed in 50 key community hubs throughout the region, such as post offices, local shops and cafes. These hubs, identified by the WHCRP, stretched from Crianlarich to the Small Isles. The majority of the hubs were visited by a UHI researcher, who spoke to the proprietor to get his or her agreement to leave behind 20 copies of the questionnaire and a poster to promote the survey, which also included instructions to return completed surveys to the hub. The researcher returned to these hubs approximately three months later to collect completed survey forms. The only community hubs for which this procedure differed were those on the islands, when, for logistical reasons, the identified business was telephoned for their permission to participate by acting as a hub, and the blank surveys and poster were posted out, along with a stamped, addressed envelope for the hubs to return completed surveys to UHI. West Highland CRP 2 Potential Rail User Survey Report, 2017 The survey form was split into three parts. The first nine questions were aimed at those locals who don’t use the railway regularly, while the second set of questions were targeted at those who do regularly use the services. The final five questions were generic questions for both sets of respondents to answer. The questions were collaboratively created in an ongoing iterative process, by the WHCRP and CRTR. Tourist Needs The second stage encompassed face-to-face surveys of visitors to the area. A second questionnaire was developed, again in an iterative collaboration between the WHCRP and CRTR. This survey was split into four parts: Part A was a set of generic questions for all respondents to complete Part B was for completion by tourists who arrived in the West Highlands by a daytime train Part C was for completion by tourists who arrived in the West Highlands by the overnight sleeper Part D was for tourists interviewed who did not arrive in the area by train The survey was created in Survey Monkey. For ease of use in interviewing tourists it was decided to use QuickTap software, which in effect allows Survey Monkey questionnaires to be completed ‘offline’ on an iPad (ie. away from a wifi source) and synced with the QuickTap website when back online. The principal advantage of the system over paper questionnaires is that the data are inputted and analysed automatically when synced rather than having to manually input and analyse data. Face-to-face surveys were carried out at strategic sites across the region, most notably Fort William High Street, but also at Mallaig ferry terminal/High Street and the Green Welly at Tyndrum. The latter proved to be a relatively barren area for survey completion, so efforts were concentrated on Mallaig and, particularly, Fort William. West Highland CRP Potential Rail User Survey Report, 2017 3 3 Survey Findings: Locals In total 143 questionnaires were completed by locals: 116 were undertaken on Survey Monkey and a further 27 were completed on printed versions distributed through the hubs. The disappointing latter response highlighted the difficulties inherent in both leaving surveys to be completed and the logistical issues involved in asking third parties to manage and return the surveys. Responses: Locals Who Don’t Regularly Use the Railway 1. What are your reasons for NOT using the railway? People were asked to name any relevant factors that prohibited them from using the railway, not just the most important. The ‘cost’, ‘infrequence of service’ and ‘not meeting commuting needs’ were the three most common reasons. The aggregated responses are: Cost 51 Infrequence of services 60 Safety concerns 0 Lack of safe walk/cycleway to station 2 Inadequate secure parking for bicycles 0 Inadequate web-based information about services 2 Long distance to station 10 Confusion about bicycle carriage policy 5 Unwelcoming or poorly maintained station 3 Other public transport services are more convenient 18 Lack of comfort 15 Service doesn't suit commuting needs 24 Difficulty of access to or from stations 3 Lack of accessible entrances and facilities 3 Insufficient parking for cars 9 Poor 'other' information about services 1 Lack of integration with other transport services 23 Absence of catering on board 5 I don't use any public transport 4 Respondents were given the opportunity to leave their comments pertaining to their decisions not to use the rail services. These verbatim comments are listed in full in Appendix One on page 20. A wide range of responses were given, and some of these were used to rationalize the quantitative responses above; however, the most popular reasons cited are ‘the frequency of services’ and ‘long journey times’. 2. In terms of commuting by rail, where would you want to travel to and from? AND 3. In terms of commuting by rail, at what time approximately would you want to travel? It was clear from the responses to these two questions, and the parallel responses to questions 11 and 12 that there is a wide range of desired journey permutations, both in terms of locations and times individually and a combination of the two factors. Please note, that in order to try to better identify meaningful indicative patterns for desired train schedules the findings for questions 2 and 3, West Highland CRP 4 Potential Rail User Survey Report, 2017 and 11 and 12 are analysed and discussed collectively. The help of the WHCRP in identifying these patterns is acknowledged here. The full list of responses is appended on pages 22 and 29, which also includes a breakdown of the response patterns into the four principal indicative findings below. Responses were excluded that seemed to simply state the current timetabled times, those that related to respondents wanting a train service between Inverness and Fort William, those who wanted to travel between stations outwith the WHCRP area, and those which gave incomplete or irrelevant answers. The remaining findings suggest that a substantial number of people want to travel southwards to Fort William on the Mallaig Extension in order to get to work for 9am, returning sometime after 5pm. Northwards on the Extension there is a less obvious pattern, with a variety of stops between Glenfinnan and Mallaig desired. There does not appear to be much of a pattern for the Main Line between Fort William and Glasgow, apart from a need for greater frequency, as evidenced by the range of times stated by respondents, and a suggestion that people at the south-end of the line want to travel south to Glasgow and beyond earlier in the day than the first train from Mallaig can possibly get there. Aside from these indicative findings however, the range of possible permutations, as well as incomplete or irrelevant responses, precludes really significant conclusions being drawn. 4. If your desired route could be offered at the times that you wish to travel, how frequently would you travel? Seventy-five people responded to this question.