Durham County Council – TRANSPORT INFORMATION IN COUNTY DURHAM 1985

Description

This 1985 Durham County Council survey assessed roadside bus timetable cases installed since 1978 (339 sites by mid-1985). The Council assumed full responsibility for purchasing, siting and maintaining cases from 1981, inspecting them quarterly and renewing displays annually; vandalism (~15% loss per year) is managed by rapid maintenance. A statistically robust postal survey (942 sampled, 716 valid replies) estimated usage, travel generated and revenue. Key findings: 51.8% of adults use buses; first information sources are telephone enquiries (27.7%), friends/relatives (22.8%) and timetable cases (14.7%). About 34% can identify their local case and 141,800 people have referred to cases; County Council cases receive ~307,900 monthly references (≈900 per case). Some 15.4% reported being encouraged to catch a bus in the past three months, yielding ~33,600 annual journeys attributed to Council cases and estimated gross revenue of £161,400—likely exceeding costs. Darlington, with far fewer cases, shows much lower awareness and generated trips. Overall public satisfaction is mostly adequate or good, though a quarter judge information inadequate or poor.