Research and analysis

Cross-modal transport statistics user feedback summary

Published 27 October 2022

Introduction

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Department for Transport (DfT) published a weekly cross-modal table covering transport usage across modes. Since its first publication in 2020, this table has consistently been the most downloaded statistics table from DfT, suggesting there may be an appetite for more timely indicators of transport activity outside of the context of the coronavirus pandemic. DfT wanted to investigate statistics users’ preference for timelier cross-modal statistics and what this would mean for the annual cross-modal statistics product, Transport Statistics Great Britain (TSGB).

Cross-modal: covering more than one mode of transport, such as buses and rail.

External user engagement activities were carried out in 2022 to understand:

• the scale of interest for more timely statistics
• what set of core indicators would users prioritise for inclusion
• why the higher frequency was needed

This consisted of:

• a short online survey posted on publication collection pages and promoted on twitter
• a series of twitter polls to engage with general users and promote the survey
• a feedback session with expert users via the transport statistics user group (TSUG)
• user research with 9 users covering different Office for National Statistics’ user personas

Survey results

63 respondents took part in the cross-modal transport statistics online survey. Most respondents came from GOV.UK and Twitter.

The results found that respondents mainly engaged with our cross-modal transport statistics outputs for their own personal use, and to identify main stories and trends. Respondents used cross-modal statistics to gather information on a specific mode, for real time information, and to perform modal comparisons.

In terms of publication frequency, timelier data was generally favoured by respondents. However, for statistical commentary, annual commentary was preferable to more frequent commentary. For data, while timelier data options were more popular, the release of more detailed annual datasets were still seen to be useful.

Monthly was the most favourable frequency for timelier releases, followed by quarterly, then annual. When asked which publication topics they would like to see published more frequently, domestic transport topics were the most popular. International transport topics were some of the least popular topics.

DfT domestic transport topics include, but not limited to, road traffic, walking and cycling, buses, rail, road congestion and road accidents. DfT International transport topics include aviation and maritime workforce, freight and passenger volumes.

The survey results suggest that there is an appetite and preference for timely data (monthly) but that users would still value annual datasets with accompanying commentary.

Twitter poll results

70 Twitter users responded to a poll asking about how respondents engage with DfT statistical outputs. 64% of Twitter respondents indicated they used both reports and tables, with 14% using the tables only and 7% using the reports only.

55 Twitter users responded to a poll asking about preferences for presenting transport statistics. 60% of Twitter respondents opted for a combination of charts, commentary and tables.

117 Twitter users responded to a poll asking about the frequency of publications. Respondents indicated that publications released more frequently, compared to annual publications, were preferable. Monthly was the most popular frequency (39%), followed by quarterly (29%) and weekly (27%). Annual releases were the least popular option (6%).

The poll results suggest, like the overall results in the online survey, that there is an appetite for timelier statistics.

Expert user results

A feedback session was run with users via the TSUG forum.

Expert users in the TSUG forum had similar opinions to those in the general survey, they expressed preferences for more timely data at a monthly frequency. However still wanted annual data as well when given the option. In terms of outputs, expert users mainly used data tables.

User research results

The user research found that the annual TSGB release is still seen as a must, especially for quick reference or for casual users. Commentary was seen as valuable but only if brief, and always with the possibility to simply access the data source.  When presented with mock-up examples, users did not find a quarterly narrative on cross-modal indicators to be useful, preferring more regular releases of data (monthly) and annual reports.

For TSGB, a release with short cross-modal commentary with clear signposting to tables and other statistics (such as a table catalogue dashboard) was the most popular option among users. The other options presented were the current TSGB release; a release with shorter commentary but with no signposting; and a table-only release with no commentary. They wanted this to be easier to navigate, contain clear descriptions of content and conform to accessibility standards.

For the daily usage statistics which are currently released weekly, users were keen to see a continuation of monthly data. Users liked the idea of very short monthly commentary however; it was not clear if they would seek out this kind of update if it was placed online.

Conclusion and proposed actions

The results from the user engagement activities show a clear preference for the continuation of timely data provision (monthly or more frequently), but little appetite for commentary to accompany it. More casual users did, however, want to see annual commentary as well to provide context for statistics and trends, in a short format. In terms of preferences for topic areas for more timely data, domestic transport use topics were the most popular, with very little appetite for more timely international transport use topics.

Transport usage table

The results of the user engagement activities suggest that for external users, there may be an interest in moving to a monthly release schedule instead of weekly, as well as scope to explore other products such as data released in machine-readable flat file format, and short automated commentary. Therefore, the proposed plans to implement these changes are to:

• explore scaling the publication down to a less frequent release in line with user needs
• explore the potential for the use of this publication as a vehicle for trials of new data products
• monitor the use of such products to ensure that the results of the user engagement scale up to their wider audience

Transport Statistics Great Britain, annual release

It is proposed that TSGB will focus on cross-modal and topical content only. The proposed content would therefore be summaries of domestic travel, international travel and freight trends, which would be published as separate articles to allow users to navigate content easily. Modal-specific content will be signposted in the report rather than duplicating content that is available in other DfT publications.

The tables included in TSGB will reflect the changes being made to the publication also: only cross-modal tables will be updated and published when TSGB is released. Other tables will be published with the appropriate release, while the information will still be signposted in TSGB.

As well as signposting to related content in the TSGB report, a refresh of the TSGB table catalogue and Statistics at DfT webpage will be developed to improve signposting. The table catalogue dashboard will be updated to list all tables, the latest statistical reports across all collections, and any other statistical outputs, such as dashboards, published by DfT. This will allow users to find any DfT output and access the relevant content from the tool. The Statistics at DfT webpage will be updated to have improved navigation so users can find the relevant statistical content and data easier.

These improvements will be made to the next TSGB release in December 2022 where we will ask for users’ feedback on the improvements.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on the proposed changes to our cross-modal statistics, and whether this meets your needs. If you wish to provide feedback, please contact transport statistics.