Borders Railway Baseline Study - Final Report

Borders Railway Baseline Study: main findings

Transport Research Summary
2016

The Borders Railway reopened on Sunday 6th September 2015. In line with Transport Scotland’s best practice appraisal and monitoring / evaluation guidance, the impact of the new rail line will be evaluated. To inform this evaluation, this research aimed to develop a baseline of the travel behaviour patterns and the socio economic characteristics of the area prior to the reopening of the line.

Main Findings

There was a high degree of awareness of the scheduled reopening of the rail line amongst both residents and businesses in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian.
Anticipated use of the rail line amongst residents in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian was also high, with 84% (n=2,826) of respondents in these areas anticipating that they would use the new railway in the first 12 months.
Anticipated use amongst residents in Edinburgh, East Lothian and West Lothian was low for leisure and commuting purposes but relatively high for leisure travel, with 53% of respondents in Edinburgh, 48% in East Lothian and 42% in West Lothian stating that they anticipated using the service for leisure trips.
Of those residents of the Scottish Borders and Midlothian who had moved to the area within the last 5 years, 15% stated that the reopening of the line had been a main factor or one of a number of important factors in their decision to move to the area. In contrast, none of the businesses who had recently moved to the two local authority areas stated that the rail line had been a factor in their decision to relocate.
Overall, 50% of respondents in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian stated that they commute to work in Edinburgh, with rates higher amongst those in Midlothian (69.9%) compared to the Scottish Borders (21.7%). The frequency of leisure travel to the city from the two local authority areas was also high, with shopping being the most commonly cited journey purpose.
Car ownership and dependency levels were high amongst residents of the Scottish Borders and Midlothian, with the car being the dominant mode of travel for all journey purposes.
The majority of respondents from Edinburgh and the Lothians indicated that they currently never commute or travel to the Scottish Borders or Midlothian for business purposes. Leisure trips to the area were more common and there was general agreement that both areas were attractive places to visit. However, there was evidence that transport connections were seen as a limiting factor for trips to the Scottish Borders.
Amongst the businesses surveyed, the most common disadvantage of operating in the Scottish Borders was poor transport links, with 27% of businesses citing this issue.

Aims of the Research

The aim of this research was to develop a baseline of the travel behaviour patterns and the socio economic characteristics of the area prior to the reopening of the line.

Research Approach

The research approach consisted of:

A Household Survey: this aimed to gather information on the current travel choices, patterns and behaviour of residents in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian ahead of the reopening. The survey included questions on the frequency of commuting, leisure and business travel as well as a one day travel diary and was undertaken online and supplemented by a phonebased booster survey.
A Business Survey: this aimed to determine business conditions and business use of the transport network prior to the opening of the Railway. The survey collected information on a number of business metrics including turnover, employment and access to markets (e.g. suppliers and customers) and was conducted primarily by phone.
A Control Area Survey: Control Area Surveys were undertaken in East Lothian and Dumfries and Galloway. These were intended to help isolate the impacts of the new rail line. The surveys were based on the Household Survey and shared many of the same questions on household characteristics and travel patterns.
A Panel Survey: this was directed at residents in Edinburgh, East Lothian and West Lothian and aimed to capture the potential inbound effects of the rail line as a result of the greater access to the Scottish Borders and Midlothian.

Sample Identification

TRACC accessibility planning software was used at the Census Output Area level to determine three distinct geographies (‘Tiers’) for the purpose of devising sample targets for the Household Survey. The three geographies identified were as follows:

Tier 1: areas where walkin access to the new stations is possible (<15minutes);
Tier 2: excluding Tier 1, areas where reasonable busbased public transport access is possible; and
Tier 3: excluding Tiers 1 and 2, areas where only carbased access to stations is realistic (within 20 minutes), and the new stations will become the closest P&R option for accessing Edinburgh.

Household Survey Results

Overall, a total of 3,641 responses were received to the household survey. The key findings from the survey were as follows:

96% of respondents from Midlothian and the Scottish Borders were aware of the scheduled opening of the rail line prior to receiving the survey.
84% (n=2,826) anticipated that they would use the new railway in the first 12 months.
15% of people from the Scottish Borders and Midlothian who had moved address in the last 5 years considered the reopening of the line to be a main factor or one of a number of important factors.
Residents in Midlothian were more satisfied with public transport services than those in Scottish Borders, with 64.6% of Midlothian respondents very satisfied or satisfied as opposed to only 35.2% in Scottish Borders.
Car ownership levels were relatively high, with just 9.2% (n=121) of surveyed households in the Borders and 10% (n=155) in Midlothian not having access to a car or van. The results also show a high level of car dependency with 48% (n=2,846) of respondents indicating that a car was essential for their household’s everyday needs.
50% of respondents in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian commute to work in Edinburgh of which 70% currently drive.
A high proportion of people in Midlothian and the Scottish Borders travel to Edinburgh for shopping and leisure purposes, with the car being the main mode used for these journeys.
The total number of single journeys reported in the travel diary was 3,793, of which 59% were undertaken by respondents from Midlothian.
In the travel diary, the most popular travel origins and destination for respondents from Midlothian were Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh City Centre and Gorebridge whilst for respondents from Borders the most popular origins and destinations were Galashiels, Melrose and Selkirk.
78% of all travel diary journeys (n=3,793) were by car and almost a quarter of all journeys (n=2,818) were for commuting purposes.

Control Area Survey Results

A total of 472 responses were received to the Control Area Surveys, with 68% of these from Dumfries and Galloway and 32% from East Lothian. The key findings from the surveys were as follows:

Dumfries and Galloway:

23% (n=323) of surveyed households did not have access to a car or van.
18.9% regularly commute to work, mainly to Dumfries (49.2%) and Castle Douglas (11.9%).
the majority rely on the car to get to work either as a driver (83.3%) or a passenger (1.7%).
67% of respondents make between 0 and 2 return trips per month for leisure purposes (cinema/theatre/eating out/nights out) or sport (participation and spectating);
the car is the dominant mode of travel for all other purposes, with car use particularly high for business travel.

East Lothian:

28% (n=149) of surveyed households do not have access to a car or van.
From a total of 149 respondents, 27% regularly commute to work, mainly to Edinburgh City Centre (52.5%) and Dunbar (12.5%). The majority rely on the car to get to work either as a driver (72%) or a passenger (2%).
65% of respondents make between 0 and 2 return trips per month to Edinburgh for leisure purposes (cinema/theatre/eating out/nights out) or sport (participation and spectating), with the car being the dominant mode of travel for other purpose trips.

Business Survey

Overall 100 businesses responded to the business survey. The key findings from the surveys were as follows:

All of the businesses based in the Scottish Borders and 90% of those in Midlothian were aware of the reopening of the rail line prior to receiving notification of the survey.
Of those business that had moved to the Scottish Borders or Midlothian recently, none cited the new rail line as a factor in the decision to locate in the area.
The most common disadvantage cited by businesses of being located in the Scottish Borders was poor transport links, with 27% of businesses citing this issue.
The majority of employees based at the businesses surveyed travelled to work by car, with working from home also popular within the Scottish Borders.
The customers and competitors of the Scottish Borders businesses surveyed tended to be more locally based than that of Midlothian. While suppliers come from a broader area, the Edinburgh supplier market amongst the businesses surveyed is less important for the Scottish Borders compared to Midlothian.
Business travel in Midlothian tended to have a much more widely dispersed destination set than the businesses in the Scottish Borders, with the car again being the dominant travel to mode for business travel.
The main issues affecting business performance identified included competition in the Midlothian market and the availability of labour and the perception of remoteness in the Scottish Borders.

Panel Survey

In total 212 individuals from across Edinburgh, East Lothian and West Lothian completed the panel survey. The key findings from the surveys were as follows:

Travel to Midlothian for commuting, leisure and business purposes was more common than that of the Scottish Borders.
Respondents generally agreed there were lots of things to do in both local authority areas and that both were attractive places to visit. However, transport connections were more commonly cited as a limiting factor for the Scottish Borders.
The majority of respondents from each location did not anticipate using the rail service for either commuting or business purposes. However, anticipated use of the railway for leisure purposes was far higher, with 53% of respondents in Edinburgh, 48% in East Lothian and 42% in West Lothian stating that they anticipated using the service for leisure trips