Future Transport Zones evaluation: focus groups

This information on the Future Transport Zones evaluation is for members of the public who have been invited to take part in focus groups.

About the study

We have been commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) to carry out the national evaluation of the Future Transport Zones (FTZ) programme. The FTZ programme involves innovative transport interventions being trialled in four areas of the country: the West Midlands, Derby and Nottingham, the West of England and the Solent area (Southampton, Portsmouth and Hampshire).

The national evaluation aims to bring together cross-cutting insights from each FTZ area about the new successful travel interventions. As part of this, we’re interested in exploring the experiences of the general public about specific transport services that have been introduced in these four areas as part of the FTZ programme. 

The schemes that are being explored with members of the public are:

  • Breeze app (MaaS) – Solent
  • Mobility credits – Solent
  • Mobility hubs – Derby 
  • Bike share - Solent
  • Dynamic demand-responsive transport (DDRT) – Solent, West of England, West Midlands

Taking part in the research

What will taking part involve?

Taking part in the research will involve two parts, a travel diary and a focus group. 

Firstly, you will be asked to complete a two-week online-travel diary. This will ask you to reflect on your experiences of using public transport and the specific transport service in your local area over a two-week period. The online travel diary will occur sometime between late November to early December 2024.

After completing the travel diary, you will be asked to participate in a focus group to discuss your views and experiences. The focus group will be with other users of the service from your local area or from the other FTZ areas and the discussion will be led a NatCen researcher. It will last up to 90 minutes, and it will be via Microsoft Teams. It will be scheduled to take place outside of working hours in December 2024.

How to take part

If you wish to opt-in to the research directly, or have any questions about the research, please contact us by emailing: FTZevaluation@natcen.ac.uk. 

Why have I been selected to take part? 

As part of the study, we will be carrying out online travel diaries and focus groups with members of the public in each FTZ area. You have been selected because you use a specific service in one of the FTZ areas or live near to new infrastructure. 

Although you have been identified, your participation is completely voluntary. If you agree to take part, you will be free to skip any questions you do not wish to discuss, or to withdraw at any stage of the travel diary or focus group. 

What will happen to any information I give?

We will provide the DfT with a report summarising our findings about how the well interventions are working and why. We will not name any individuals and will anonymise the findings as far as possible. 

Please read our privacy notice for more details about how we will process your data.

Find out more:

For anything not covered on here, please email FTZevaluation@natcen.ac.u . One of the research team will get back to you to answer your query as soon as possible.