ARE TAXIS PUBLIC TRANSPORT

A random household survey has been conducted in Greater Manchester. As a part of this study respondents were asked to detail the travel which they had undertaken the day before. Using this information it is possible to compare the use of taxis with other modes of transport. The results suggest that: (i) within Greater Manchester the taxi accounts for as many trips as the local train service; (ii) perception of the taxi as a luxury mode of transport are false - it is predominantly used by people with mobility problems and people who do not own cars to perform trips which would have otherwise been impossible. The argument is made that taxis play an important role in public transport provision - effectively plugging the gaps that are left by bus and train provision. The taxi should not be viewed as antagonistic to public transport, people who use taxis are in general 'public transport users' not 'car users'. Any improvement in the taxi service should therefore be viewed as an important improvement in public transport provision. Any improvement in the provision of taxi services will be very valuable for people with mobility problems since they rely on the taxi for a significant amount of their travel due to the door to door nature of the taxi service. (A) For the covering abstract of the seminar see IRRD 859670.