Edinburgh Napier University

  Respondents living close to a Quality Bus Corridor indicated which of 68 items were ‘Things I dislike or things that discourage me
from using the bus in Edinburgh’. Eight underlying factors are reported: feeling unsafe (e.g., ‘Drunk people put me off travelling by bus
at night’); preference for walking or cycling (e.g., ‘I prefer to walk’); problems with service provision (e.g., ‘No direct route’); unwanted
arousal (e.g., ‘The buses are too crowded’); preference for car use (e.g., ‘I feel more in control when I drive’); cost (e.g., ‘The fares are too
expensive’); disability and discomfort (e.g., ‘There are not enough hand rails inside the bus’); and self-image (e.g., ‘Travelling by bus does
not create the right impression’). The influence of age, gender, household income, car availability and frequency of bus use on factor
scores is reported. Analysis of write-in responses extended interpretation to include travelling by bus as a social behaviour in an exchange
space and a formulation of the ideal, ‘hassle-free’, urban bus journey as pleasant/deactivated.
r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.