Evaluation

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To a great extent, the success of Transport Direct will be determined by the quality and attractiveness of the transport services that it recommends to the user of the site. It is proposed, however, that the following measures be adopted to assess the effectiveness of Transport Direct:

  • Initial achievement of one million unique visitor sessions in the first year of operation to confirm visibility and usage.  This was achieved in June 2005.
  • A goal of ten million unique visitor sessions by 2006 to establish Transport Direct as a major source of information   This was achieved on 1st December 2006.
  • A referral rate of 2-3% of site users to retailing sites as a measure of the effectiveness of the encouragement to purchase tickets on-line. 
  • Achievement of modal change requires delivery of wider transport objectives (e.g. improving the quality of public transport provision), but a 2-3 percentage point change would represent a 15-20% increase in the use of public transport.
  • Questioning of “habitual” choice indicated by research into site-users’ behaviour showing that 10% reconsidered their choice of mode, based on information provided, prior to making their final journey planning decision. 
  • Use of real-time information to make an informed modal choice, shown by 10% of real-time users agreeing that they re-considered their original intended solution. 
  • User benefit measured by research, but as a minimum assessed as being greater than the cost of accessing the information.

The Evaluation Project aimed to assess the impact of the Transport Direct Programme. The three questions it ask were:
1. What contribution has the Programme made to the Government's objective of making better use of existing rail and road infrastructure?
2. Does the overall level of travel information in the UK meet traveller's needs and expectations?
3. What is the public's attitude to Transport Direct and how satisfied are its customers with the service?

The first phase of the Project (Nov 02 - Oct 03) developed an initial evaluation framework covering the full term of Transport Direct, to 2011, while focusing mainly on the first phase of the programme (2000 to 2004).

The second phase of this Project established the key baseline information that will be used to quantify the Programme's outcomes and impacts.

The third phase carried out a regular set of reviews to calibrate where and how the programme is performing against this baseline. The first of these reviews was completed in May 2006 - nearly 18 months after the public launch of the Portal.

The Project is being led by AEA Technology, with support from Transport & Travel Research (TTR) Ltd.

Further evaluation conducted by VIPRE has looked at the challenges in monitoring and evaluating the public's feedback concerning the travel information workplace.