A shift from private motorised transport to more active transportation can, among other things, deliver significant health benefits. The main disadvantage of active transport (in particular walking) for most people compared to private motorised transport is the limited range. Public transport (PT) can complement the use of active modes and extend their range. Therefore, there might be potential to increase physical activity through an increase in PT use. This article takes a closer look at how walking relates to the use of PT by examining existing literature on the topic. It aims to study how far people walk to and from PT and what key factors influence this. Scopus, Transport Research International Documentation and Web of Science have been searched systematically for relevant articles, conference papers and books. After screening of titles and abstracts, 41 relevant publications were identified. Studies were included if they quantified the amount of walking (measured as either distance or time) that is directly related to the use of PT. Studies that quantified walking using general measures of daily physical activity or daily walking or that used stated preference designs were excluded. The PT systems considered in this paper are mass transport systems in urban areas, either road- or rail-based, with fixed schedules and stops. Demand responsive transport services, which can offer door-to-door travel, are not considered, as these systems can to a large extent eliminate the need to walk. In the identified publications, a large variety of walking distances and times have been reported, and these seem to be highly context-specific. The paper establishes the evidence for the wide range of factors that influence walking related to PT, which have been categorised as personal, PT-related, environmental, and journey-related. The different methods that have been used are discussed by critically analysing their advantages and limitations. Only a limited number of these methods used allow for an accurate assessment of the walking distances to and from PT. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research, such as a need for more accurate measurement of walking and research in different geographical areas to shed light on underlying influences of culture and climate.

Over the past fifty years a growing body of work has sought to address the problem of planning for transportation in the long-term future through scenario building. Such thinking has generally been restricted to issues concerned with environmental sustainability and the ‘images’ of future transport so created are usually weak in terms of their social sustainability content, either treating social issues superficially, or ignoring them entirely, or even creating images that are socially undesirable. At the same time, there has generally been a marked decrease over the past twenty years in socially oriented Utopian thinking. As a direct result of these two factors, hardly any consideration has been given recently to imagining socially sustainable views of transport in a future utopia. The key underlying aim of this paper is to provide some background thinking about how this lack might be addressed. To do so, it examines concepts about utopia in terms of their form, content, and function, and considers possible reasons for the recent decline in Utopian thinking and their ‘replacement’ by a type of futures-thinking that is referred to as dystopian avoidance. It then examines transport characteristics of Utopian thinking in urban planning in the 20th century and considers various ‘antinomies of transport’ with respect to future Utopias. Based upon the insights gained, the paper comments on two existing ‘practical’ sets of transport-related scenarios in terms of their Utopian and dystopian characteristics. One particular result is that the Utopian aspects of these scenario sets in terms of their social content are relatively weak, in line with the hypothesised recent general decline in (social) Utopian thinking. Various conclusions are made which emphasise the usefulness of Utopian thinking in transport planning, particularly in participatory approaches. It is suggested that three elements of the transport system should be separately ‘utopianised’: The mobility of people and goods; physical aspects that facilitate or inhibit such mobility; and the system of governance with respect to formulating and implementing transport policy.

Recent research related to transport gerontology argues that the autonomy, flexibility and independence provided by the car are fundamental in fulfilling travel needs in later life. Statistics show that in the western world the car is the most used mode of travel among the older population. Despite the importance of promoting transport policies to incentivize people to switch to more sustainable forms of transportation, alternatives to the car are still underused by older people. The aim of this scoping review is to analyze the transport barriers affecting the use of alternative modes to the car in later life. The paper investigates how issues related to personal security, health impairments, service provision, affordability, comfort, attitude, built environment, information and awareness of all transport modes influence modal choice. The analysis of the literature shows that despite the benefits provided by public transport, flexible transport services, taxis, walking and cycling, there are still several factors that negatively affect the use of these modes. The paper concludes by reflecting on potential solutions that might help to create a transport system less reliant on the car and which is able to meet the mobility needs of the older population.

The continuous increases in the numbers of road traffic crashes (RTC) over the years, especially in developing countries, have been a source of worry. The majority of the RTC are attributed to road user behaviours exhibited by the drivers. This study sets out to investigate the road user attitudes and behaviours in Abuja, Nigeria. A total of 1526 questionnaires were distributed, of which 321 questionnaires were completed and returned. The questionnaires tried to understand four major road user behaviours, namely use of seatbelts, drink driving, use of mobile phone while driving, and use of child restraints. The results after analysing the questionnaires showed that the majority of the road users in Abuja showed high non-compliance with the use of seatbelts, either when driving or when being driven. About 64% of the respondents admitted to not using seatbelts. Results from the cross-tabulation process showed that the high non-compliance to seatbelt usage was statistically associated with young, single road users. Around one-third of Abuja road users admitted to drink driving. Road users who were married engaged in more frequent drink driving than road users who were single, and the association was statistically significant. A high percentage of Abuja road users admitted to using mobile phones while driving and 55.8% of the total respondents admitted to not using child restraints while driving. A lack of child restraints was statistically associated more with male road users than female road users. It is recommended that stricter enforcement of road safety laws should be undertaken and that the government should provide road safety agents with the right equipment (e.g., speed guns, breathalyzers) that would aid road safety agents to perform their duties effectively in order to curb the excessive bad road user behaviours in Abuja.