Intra-Urban Mobility_pooley_view From Past

8/13/2019 Intra-Urban Mobility_pooley_view From Past

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The impact of new transport technologies on intra-urban mobility:

a view from the past.

Colin Pooley, Jean Turnbull and Mags Adams,

Department of Geography

Lancaster UniersityLancaster

LA! "#$

%!&'" &()*)+

cpooley-lancasteracu.

Paper presented to the Alternatie Mobility /utures conference, Lancaster Uniersity,January '%%"

Introduction

The t0enty1first century has been characterised as a period in 0hich ne0 forms of

mobility both produce and change societies 2Thrift, !((34 Urry, '%%%5 Lo01cost airlines,0idespread car o0nership and ne0 mobile communications allo0 people to trael

further, more 6uic.ly and more fre6uently and enable transactions that preiously

re6uired face to face contact to be underta.en at a distance or een on the moe Theseprocesses of time1space compression and time space conergence 2Pred, !(*)4 7arey,

!(+(4 !((%4 Thrift, !((%4 Gregory, !(("5, it is argued, are producing ne0 challenges at

both the societal and indiidual leels as people, organisations and goernments ad8ust to

the conse6uences of a ne0 mobility 2Cairncross, !((*4 Adams, !(((4 Urry, '%%%5 Thispaper does not challenge these arguments, but it does suggest that fe0 of these processes

are ne0 9ery generation has had to cope 0ith ne0 forms of transport technology, andto negotiate the impacts of ne0 mobilities on society

This paper focuses on intra1urban mobility: the most common form of eeryday mobility

for most people ;t is argued, first, that oer the past century or so there has been fre6uentchange in eeryday mobility in cities both through the introduction of ne0 transport

technologies, and through the spread of e


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Changing mobility experiences

;t is easy to demonstrate the ehereas in the !+(%s some &(? of all 8ourneys to 0or.

0ere underta.en on foot by the !((%s barely +? of commuters 0al.ed to 0or. Trael

by bicycle pea.ed in the !("%s 0hen it accounted for almost '%? of 8ourneys to 0or.,but had fallen to only 3? in the !((%s4 trael by tram accounted for some !3? of

commuting 8ourneys in the period !+(%1!('%, but 0as negligible after !(3%4 trael by bus

pea.ed at around ')? of all commuting trips in the !("%s and @&%s, but had dropped to

!%? in the !((%s and, of course, commuting by car increased from ero in the late1nineteenth century to !3? of commuting trips in the !(&%s and oer &'? in the !((%s

2Pooley and Turnbull, '%%%a5 All trael modes 0ere also differentiated by gender 0ith

0omen more li.ely than men to 0al. and use buses or trams in all time periods, 0hilst

both cycling and car use 0ere dominated by men 2Table !5 Throughout the last centurycommuters and other urban traellers hae been faced 0ith ne0 transport technologies

2the bicycle, tram, trolley bus, motor bus, car5 and hae had to ma.e decisions about0hether and ho0 to incorporate ne0 transport opportunities into their daily trael

patterns

Although the modes of transport aailable to urban traellers hae changed substantially

oer time, it can be suggested that the decision1ma.ing process that has structured

transport choice has changed relatiely little >hilst the changes in transport technology

outlined aboe can be characterised as a transition from mobility forms that 0ere not onlyrelatiely slo0 but 0hich also re6uired a degree of communal trael and e


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Im afraid I never liked travelling on trams they were never very comfortable and if

you went on the top deck it was very uncomfortable because there was smoking I

would sooner ride a bike.2)' Manchester Male, !()%s5

=uch attitudes to0ards trael by bicycle in the !()%s are not dissimilar to the reasons that

respondents gae for using a car in the late1t0entieth century >hereas in the !(&%s thecar 0as still seen primarily as a form of transport used for leisure and pleasure, 0ith

public transport utilied for mundane 8ourneys around to0n, by the !((%s most

commuters 0ere deoted to the conenience, comfort and priacy offered by the car:

If you had access to a car at that stage you would have used that for leisure only. It

would not have occurred to you to use it for work.2%" Manchester male !(&%s5

I think once you start using it !the car" I find thats the trouble, the thing seduces you.

2*3 Glasgo0, /emale, !((%s5

Ive used it !the car" for $% odd years of having one you know . The thing aboutpublic transport is the public its not always a pleasant e&perience sharing it withsome folk you know.2*% Glasgo0, Male, !((%s5

;n the conte


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;t can thus be suggested that transport modes that minimise personal control oer the

8ourney hae al0ays been ie0ed as second best >hat has changed is not indiidualconceptualisations of mobility, but rather the technological and economic factors that

constrained transport choice for many Thus as soon as bicycles became relatiely cheap

and 0idely aailable in the !()%s, many men gae up 0al.ing to 0or. or abandoned thetram in faour of a mode of transport 0hich they perceied as combining a high degree of

independence and control 0ith reasonable speed in urban areas As more and more

people hae been able to afford to o0n a car, the mobility alues and perceptions of therich became more firmly established in all classes, leading to the decline in use of public

transport in the second half of the '%thcentury Thus it is suggested that the changing

e


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span of the diary her father o0ned a horse and @dogcart 2a t0o10heeled driing cart 0ith

cross seats bac. to bac.5 and, from !+++, t0o =hetland ponies and trap, 0hilst her brother

o0ned a bicycle A horse1dra0n tram 0ent from nearby her home into $ir.enhead,horse1dra0n buses ran in $ir.enhead and Lierpool, cabs could be hired 0ith ease, the

Mersey could be crossed by ferry from $ir.enhead or oc. /erry or 2from !++35 by rail,

and a net0or. of suburban rail0ay lines proided transport further afield 7o0eer,9liabeth did not hae e6ual access to all these forms of transport, not all 0ere e6ually

conenient, and her use of the Merseyside transport net0or. changed oer time

The tram from $ir.enhead to Prenton 0as used regularly throughout the diary, though as

it stopped running at !!%% most eenings it could not be used 0hen returning home late

at night from dances or parties 20hen 9liabeth often 0al.ed5 7o0eer, a form of

transport that 0as routine for much of the period 0as initially noel to a !* year old girlusing the tram alone for the first time:

I went down to the shop tonight to help them in serving. 'rs. (ope was there. I came

home by myself in the tram, as )apa was not coming till later. Sissy *allions brotherwas in the tram. 29L diary, !*&+"5

The significance of being able to moe safely around a familiar community is also

emphasied in this entry as although 9liabeth 0as using the tram alone for the first time,

there 0as at least one other passenger that she .ne0 ;n this sense it can be suggested thatlocal public transport can be ie0ed as an integral part of a local community, and its

acceptability and use is in part at least related to 0ho else 0as using the transport at a

particular point in time

Bne of the most significant transport innoations on Merseyside during the period

coered by the diary 0as the opening of the Mersey rail tunnel in !++3: prior to that the8ourney to Lierpool 2underta.en regularly for shopping, entertainment and to isitfriends5 had to be ta.en by boat ;n the Lee household celebration of the official opening

of the tunnel 0as an all male affair: 9liabeths father and a male friend 8oined the

cro0ds 0ho 0atched the Prince of >ales officially open the @Mersey ail0ay Tunnel on'%thJanuary !++3, and 0ith some !%,%%% others 0al.ed through the ne0 tunnel

7o0eer, as soon as the line 0as open for traffic 9liabeth too. herself alone on the train

to Lierpool =he appeared most impressed by the lift and the olume of people, and ery

6uic.ly the rail0ay became her normal means of trael to Lierpool This 0as a trip shedid fre6uently both alone and 0ith friends

+ine day. The railway under the Tunnel was opened for traffic today and I went topool by it. I went up in the -lift when I got to pool and there was such afrightful crush to get it. (ad a good look round pool and came back by train. Such

a lot of gentleman in the station. It was so /olly but I got nearly s0uashed to death.

29L diary, !'+35

7o0eer, the train 0as not used for all 8ourneys to Lierpool /or instance she often used

the ferry 0hen she had isitors: the rier crossing 2as today5 being seen as a tourist

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attraction proiding an impressie ie0 of the Lierpool 0aterfront The rail0ay also

stopped running at night 0hereas the boats proided '"hr operation, and thus 9liabeth

continued to use the boat 0hen returning in the early hours from dances and otherentertainment in Lierpool These trips 0ere usually underta.en in the company of

friends, 0ith the 8ourney from $ir.enhead bac. to Prenton sometimes ta.en on foot and,

more occasionally, in a cab 2usually 0hen a male friend paid5:

Tonight -'r. 1ragg took me to a ball at the #ity (all, iverpool. 'r. 2immington

took 'iss (omes. 3f course we all went together. 4n/oyed myself immensely. Wecaught the 5.a.m. boat and came home 6all the lot of us7 in a hansom 6which is only

made for two. 29L diary, '*"++5

The trap and dogcart 0ere used for family outings, though the constraints of a largeHictorian family 29liabeth eentually had + younger brothers alie and the trap 0as

bought specifically to transport a gro0ing family5 also restricted the e


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Conflicts between old and new forms of intra-urban transport

The mid1t0entieth century sa0 an increasing degree of competition bet0een different

forms of intra1urban transport Commuters and other traellers in most cities had the

choice of 0al.ing, cycling, traelling by tram, trolley bus or motor bus, or of using apriate car 9idence relating to the 8ourney to 0or. in Manchester and Glasgo0 is no0

used to assess the nature of competition bet0een these forms of transport, to ealuate the

0ays in 0hich commuters reacted to ne0 forms of transport technology, and to assess thee


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control5, and the tram0ay dominated Glasgo0s urban transport system from the !(!%s,

0hen lines 0ere ehilst they 0ere aailable trams 0ere ie0ed as a popular,cheap and conenient means of transport in both cities:

Well, there was only one way in those days and that was by tram which was e&cellent,

it were always, there was one along every ten minutes into the city centre. = very

good service.2%", Manchester, male, !()%s5

I mean the trams were very very fre0uent, all from =ltrincham through to

'anchester. I mean it was a tremendous tram service. There was one every two to

three minutes. 2!", Manchester, male, !()%s5

!%


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We used to get a lot of fog in those days and the buses would maybe be off, but the

trams used to still run cause they were on rails you see so it was easier for them to

you know 2'!, Glasgo0, female, !("%s5

7o0eer, 0hen the tram serice 0as either partially or totally replaced by trolley buses

and motor buses, commuters adapted 6uic.ly to these changes and rapidly incorporatedthese ne0 forms of transport into their eeryday 8ourneys Adance notice about the

demise of the trams allo0ed commuters to get used to the change and trolley buses in

particular 0ere deemed to be faster, smoother and 6uieter than trams, though their routes0ere more restricted Commuters 0ho had preiously used trams appeared to s0itch

effortlessly to motor buses 0hich could match the trams for fre6uency and, in some

cases, 0ere seen as more fle


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I did think of learning, I think I did try at some point, but I /ust really, really

hated it and /ust didnt want to do it. @ust, /ust didnt like driving.23*,

Manchester, female, !(3%s5

Well, I thought about learning to drive, but I thought if my car breaks down and I

dont know anything about cars, and if I got a big bill how am I going to pay it,so that put me right off.2'!, Glasgo0, female, !(3%s5

Took on driving and one morning it was icy, and the car did /ust a little skate,

and I lost my nerve completely, fortunately near home. 3nly got into the caronce about three months later and got out within a short time.2'&, Manchester,

female, !(*%s5

0ome conclusions and implications

There are thus many similarities bet0een eidence from the !++%s and the mid1t0entieth

century ;n both periods ne0 transport technologies 0ere made aailable 2the Mersey railcrossing, trolley buses, motor buses5 and by and large these 0ere assimilated 6uic.ly and

easily into commuting and traelling patterns People 0ere able to utilie these forms of

transport 0ith little change to their eeryday routine and they did not fundamentallychange patterns of eeryday actiity ;n both periods there is also eidence of moement

to0ards the increased use of indiidual and fle


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t0entieth century, it can be suggested that the e


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more effectie solutions As in the past, more significant change may be achieed 0hen

old forms of transport are redeeloped, and made more conenient or accessible for a

larger number of people Again, dra0ing lessons from the past, it can be suggested thatthis can only be achieed by ensuring that both ne0 and old transport technologies are

proided in such a 0ay that they also ta.e into account the changing structure of cities

This is clearly illustrated by the introduction of the ne0 tram system in Manchester Asoutlined aboe, Manchesters trams 0ere remoed in the late !("%s, accused of being old

fashioned, e


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current tram net0or. does not ade6uately reflect either the e


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Intra-Urban Mobility_pooley_view From Past

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