Rural Accessibility and Public Transport in Northen Ireland

Abstract

The public transport system of Northern Ireland (primarily the Ulsterbus network) is analysed in terms of its ability to provide suitable levels of accessibility for the car-less populations of rural areas. The technique used permits a high-resolution coverage of the entire province, testing whether each village has suitable access, under defined conditions, to urban centres for a range of journey purposes. Results are displayed in a series of maps, and are then aggregated to produce a "composite access index'. This isqualified by variations in car ownership, expressed in terms of public transport dependence. Accessibility levels are highly variable, but there are no large zones of serious deprivation visible at this scale.

Keywords:

• Accessibility
• rural areas
• public transport
• bus services