HSL is launching a series of studies to assess the impacts of the Ring Rail Line and West Metro on people’s travel behavior in the Helsinki region. In the first phase, three surveys are conducted during the fall: Travel Survey, Traffic Survey and Park & Ride Survey.
“Our goal is to get reliable and comprehensive information about the travel behavior of the region’s residents both now and after these significant rail projects are completed," says HSL Transport Analyst Pekka Räty.
Travel Survey
The Travel Survey 2014 studies journeys in the Ring Rail Line catchment area made at least partly by public transport as well as all journeys starting or ending at the Airport.
“We study journeys made by people over 15 years of age prior to the opening of the Ring Rail Line. The Travel Survey will be conducted again in the catchment areas of the Ring Rail Line and West Metro when the Ring Rail Line has been opened but the West Metro is not yet in operation,” tells Pekka Räty.
Respondents are recruited on public transport vehicles and at the Airport by distributing invitation cards with a web link or QR code. Those willing to participate in the survey can do so already during their journeys e.g. by mobile phone. The invitation cards are distributed from 1 September onwards on buses operating in the Ring Rail Line catchment area in conjunction with HSL’s customer satisfaction survey and from 8 September on commuter trains in conjunction with a ticket survey as well as later on some U line buses and at the Airport.
Traffic Survey
“In the Traffic Survey we collect information about residents’ travel habits and background factors affecting them before the Ring Rail Line and West Metro are opened. All weekday journeys are included in the survey, regardless of the mode of transport used,” explains Räty.
The Traffic Survey is conducted through an online questionnaire with the exception of respondents under 15 years of age, who need parental consent to participate, and people over 65 years of age. These two groups are interview by phone. All respondents are provided with background material to facilitate responding to the survey.
The survey period runs from mid-September to the end of November. A total of some 40,000 respondents will take part in the survey in the 14 Helsinki region municipalities. The survey will be conducted again when both the Ring Rail Line and West Metro have been in operation for some time.
Park & Ride Survey
The Park & Ride Survey examines how and why Park & Ride is used in the Helsinki region and how people travel to/from Park & Ride sites. Also this survey will be conducted again once the Ring Rail Line and West Metro are in operation.
The survey is conducted by distributing survey questionnaires at Park & Ride sites. The questionnaires are placed on cars and bicycles. A total of 12,000 questionnaires are distributed, half of them placed on cars and half on bicycles. People can respond to the survey online or by returning the questionnaire by post. Field work will be completed by the end of September.