Research project MD/DD/08 (Research action MD)
Research objectives
The global objective of this project is to develop all the tools, all the framework necessary for a national households surveys on belgian mobility behaviours. Thus, the primary finality of this research is to serve as a springboard for the realization of such a survey during the second phase of this scientific support program for sustainable mobility. Even if this study is useful by itself through its methodological researches and through the results that would be obtained in the pilot-survey, it would only be totally exploited by the use of the here developped solutions for the realization and the exploitation of a national households survey.
Methodology
Firstly, we will have to develop the whole methodogical framework about how to conduct a households survey on mobility behaviours. For this, we base our researches on existing studies and we take into account the coherence with projects conducted at european level. We will elaborate the type of surveys (interviews, mailing or phone surveys, ...) and the approach to be followed (e.g. basing the survey on travels or on activities).
Then, we will determine which are the informations we want to collect with this survey. Following this, we will design the appropriate questionaire for this collection. We focus on the writing of a understandable questionnaire without ambiguity. This one has to be written into the two main national languages (dutch and french) in such a way that the questions are understood similary by the two linguistic communities. We also have to settle all the statistical methods to construct a sample of the population to be interrogated which would be representative.
A small scale (less than thousand households) pilot-survey will then be realized. This will let us learn the encountered problems in the management of such a survey. We will have to choose the consultant that will subcontract the survey and to supervise its work. One of the prime purposes of this pilot-survey will be to test the methodologies and the questionnaire, results from the first part of this study. It can also, if needed, to compare several methods. This pilot-survey will also provide data about mobility behaviours. Even it these are at small scale, they can already be exploited.
Secondly, we will develop all the necessary framework for a large national households survey on mobility behaviours. This work will be based on the methods developped during the first year of researches and on the pilot-survey. The methodologies and the writing of a bilingual questionnaire will be refined using the feedback from the pilot-survey. Procedures for data encoding, validating and correcting will be developped. They can be tested on results collected during the pilot-survey.
Finally, we want to facilitate the diffusion of the survey data. These would be placed to the disposal of the users and of the decisions makers on the Internet network. The access would be make possible with the World Wide Web (WWW). To do so, procedures for remote consultation and interrogation will be written. Once more, results from the pilot-survey will be used for the tests. This way, they will also be communicated to concerned people.
During all this study, we will be careful for a coordination with european programs (as MEST and TEST). A kind of « users group » will also be settled. In this group, we will bring together the searchers concerned with this kind of problems but also the decisions makers interested by these studies. Within this group, we can share experiences and discuss on methodologies and data. These meetings would be useful for our researches. Also, this way, the authorities in charge of politics for sustainable mobility will be informed of the progresses of our work.
Potential users
The best way the results from the researchs achieved in this project can be used is their utilization for the realization of a nationale households survey on belgian behaviours about mobility during the second phase of this scientific support program for sustainable mobility. Such an extension of the work done in this project would allow to fully employ the methodological and computing tools developped with this objective. So, Belgium could be endowed with a data collection needed for a better understanding of mobility behaviours. This will be a great benefit for analyzing the impacts of mobility on environment but also for elaborating politics aiming at a sustainable mobility. The pilot-survey achieved for this project also provided a first data collection to interested people and, in particular, to decicisions makers. Even if this collection stays at small scale, early conclusions about belgian behaviours about mobility can be drawn.
The « users group » settled during this study will serve to inform potential users of data collected during national households survey on belgian behaviours about mobility of the progresses of our work. So, they can become aware of the importance and the usefulness of such a survey. Indeed, data collected in this survey could be employed as by regional authorities (in charge of infrastructure, public transports, , environment, area planning, …) as by the federal authorities (in charge of communications, railway, road safety, etc). They will also be useful for public transports firms or for organizations interested in mobility, environment, area planning or road safety. Belgian research teams involved in either of these domains could also take benefit not only from the collected data but also from the know how developped for households surveys realization.
Moreover, all these researches will be conducted in collaboration with TEST and MEST european programs. So, the results will be compatible at european level and comparable with data from other countries. This will be an advantage for the insertion of Belgium in concerted politcs.
Finally, the data diffusion on Internet network with, in particular, procedures for remote consultations and interrogations through the WWW will allow a valorization of obtained results as so we put them at disposal of people that would like to exploit them. This exploitation is made easier by resorting to modern technics.
Link to Sustainable Development
The collection of data through a national households survey on belgian behaviours about mobility can also be used for the development of « Indicators of Sustainable Development » that are recommended by the UN Council for Sustainable Development.
Préparation et enquête-pilote pour une enquête ménages nationale sur la mobilité: rapport final
Bruxelles: SSTC, 2001 (SP0862)
[To download]
Préparation et enquête-pilote pour une enquête ménages nationale sur la mobilité: résumé
Bruxelles: SSTC, 2001 (SP0863)
[To download]
Preparation and pilot survey for a national household survey on mobility: summary report
Brussels: OSTC, 2001 (SP0864)
[To download]
