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

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

2. 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

3. 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

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

5. 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

6. Good Market Research Environ-mentprotection Savingmoney, energy Stakehol-derssatisfaction

8. 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

9. Research Process Make the decision

10. 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 understandingand 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. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/information.html

11. 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

12. Applicability of Minimum Question Specification Stopher P (et al.) TravelSurveysMethod - quality and futuredirections

13. Collecting information • Desk top research • Questionnaires • Web Sites • GPS/GPRS terminals • And others

14. National Travel Surveys (COST 804)

15. 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.

16. 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

17. Medway Metro: good idea but….!

19. Good Market Research • Better examples! - Great Western Main Line Growth clearly identified although needsconstantly updating - Managed Motorways Making better use of the existing network

20. Great Western Main Line Inter City Commuter Freight

21. Managed Motorways

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

23. Pan-European routes – Pan-European research problems • Neighbouring countries data is often incomparable • Coordinating international projects a problem, • No standards in planning, scope, collecting andanalysis, • Negative influence ondecision 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

24. 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

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

26. Good Market Research • Thank you for listening • Do you have any questions?

27. Contact details - Tony Francis Project Sponsor, Department for Transport, United Kingdom tony.francis@dft.gsi.gov.uk Agnieszka Lukasiewicz Road & Bridge Research Institute, Poland alukas@ibdim.edu.pl