study of the movement of people module

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1. Introduction
Evidently, the study of the movement of people module has clearly demonstrated that the
increase in the personal mobility, or in other words, the freedom to travel within a region, or
across the cities and countries plays a significant role in improving the quality of life, via
increasing opportunities for finding a suitable accommodation, job and travelling route. Therefore,
personal mobility and quality of transport system is an essential part of leisure and tourism
service industry and requires at least an adequate study. Therefore, for the purpose of
investigation of the studied topics and applying knowledge received during the lectures and
seminars, this report is concerned with the investigation of the suitability of the British network of
public transport for foreign visitors, considering it as a more sustainable choice to renting cars
and domestic airlines. To add, one of three proposed target markets for inbound tourism was
selected, which is namely two young female backpackers aged 20 and 22. So the core principles
of the public transport system which can be considered as integrated or seamless should be
studied first of all, with the analysis of the requirements of the selected target market (young
backpackers), and how their needs and wants are differing from other target audience, including
the preferences in prices, transport type and its convenience. Then, an illustrative journey will be
done, starting from London railway terminus to selected destination, which is Manchester, in
addition to the analysis of the transport system within the destination city.
It is assumed that the travellers start their trip at 14:00 on March 9 (Friday) at Euston
railway station, and want to finish their vocational trip by returning to the same place no later than
16:00 on March 11 (Sunday). The identified destination is Manchester city situated in Greater
Manchester Urban Area. It is also assumed that the two young females are sport fans and their
main purpose of the trip is to see the match of Manchester United on the Old Trafford Stadium,
while also trying to see the sights if the time will be enough. Russian and French are native
languages for first and second person respectively, while both of them are rather fluent in
English. To add, they already bought two tickets for the Match of Manchester United with West
Bromwich Albion on March 10 starting at 3 pm, and booked one double room for two days (March
9 and 10) in very affordably 3-stars Altrincham Lodge Hotel situated in Altrincham, Greater
Manchester for the price of 107€ for two days with free parking and other facilities.

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A is Altrincham Lodge Hotel while B is Old Trafford Stadium.
2. Analysis of the key aspects of an ‘integrated’ public transport system
While Oxford University Press (2012) defines 'integrated' as “with various parts or aspects linked
or coordinated” and uses the term “integrated public transport system” as an example, the
seminar readings and discussions, as well as Yiu Kwok Kin (2005) and Sputnik Project (2007)
show that integrated public system is the public transport system with at least alternative forms of
public transport, including buses trams and different types of rails which work together in order to
provide seamless travel to a passenger, also providing well-developed services connection, in
addition to “reasonable waiting time at interchanges, comprehensive information and an
integrated ticketing between different transport modes”, as Yiu Kwok Kin suggests. Well-
developed and effective public transport system is important since the congestion cannot be
reduced by building more roads because traffic will “fill them up to the same speed as before”,

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instead the introduction of “better public transport facilities which reduce the number of people
who travel by car on the roads” are suggested, as PTUA (2011) cites Professor Martin Mogridge.
So, integrated public transport system need to have at least to different types of transport
available, while working together using compatible routes and timetables, whilst providing good
coverage and access to customers. As Yiu Kwok Kin (2005) says, the cost, connectedness,
availability and frequency of services, variety and travelling time, in addition to public and
government assistance, are the main factors that affect the effectiveness of integrated public
system.
3. Requirements of the particular target market chosen
Obviously, there are particular preferences in any of the components of marketing mix that is
required by chosen target market, which are namely young backpacker tourists. Backpacker
tourists definition usually varies but in general it is acknowledged that the representatives of this
target market are prices conscious, flexible and independent international travellers, who prefer
budget accommodation and transportation and actively use electronic tools (internet booking and
active using of web 2.0 websites and posting their travelling experience into their blogs or social
networks, via using laptop computers and digital cameras) (Anderskov 2002; Adkins and Grant,
2007; Markward. 2008; NSW, 2011).
Therefore it can be concluded that these particular features of the target audience that should be
taken into account, for example, preference of low-cost transportation and preliminary booking of
the tickets through the internet. These factors also distinguishes them from other types of tourists
who also care about other factors, apart from prices, for example parents with young children are
more interested in safety and availability of facilities for child passengers, while seniors travelling
are very interested in comfort and access and facilities for disabled people and usually less
interested in internet booking facilities. So, backpacker tourists may prefer low-cost airline
company transportation instead of more comfortable opportunities. On the other hand, for family
with children under 5 years it will be more convenient to rent a car, instead of using inter-city
buses and railway transportation where children can encumber the parents by inappropriate
behaviour and poor health due to nausea or other illnesses caused by public transportation
conditions.
4. Identification of the city to visit and stay for a short break
There are several reasons why Manchester was chosen for a fictional visit and stay. Firstly,
Manchester is situated far away from central London, which is required by assignment
specifications. Secondly, Manchester is the third popular tourism destination in England, after
London and Edinburgh, as Easy Destination (2011) suggests. Thirdly, despite of a considerable
distance, there is plenty of opportunities to travel from London to Manchester, thus these different
alternatives can be compared and contrasted. The fiction travel starts from Euston railway

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station, a central London railway terminus, which is also connected to Euston tube station at
14:00 on March 9 (Friday) and should be finished at the same place no later at 16:00 on March
11 (Sunday). Thus, different alternatives for transportation will be compared using these given
circumstances.
5. Public transport alternatives available, their main features and comparisons.

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The travel starts from Euston railway station. While being considerably large and ventilated, there
is also the a of the places to eat, the staff there is generally polite and services well. To add, this
is a very good and convenient starting point for travelling to Manchester Piccadilly station via
Virgin trains, which are considered to be speed and reliable in most of the cases. The
underground station is also situated nearby. On the other hand, there is always overcrowding
almost every evening, especially on Friday, that is why is important to leave the station as soon
as possible on Friday, while also try to come back early on Sunday. Virgin ticket machines are
using too complex and annoying procedure of verification, which should be improved. To add, the
poor design, unattractiveness and sometimes complex system of signs, in addition to the low
amount of sit places and poor conditions for pedestrians and paid toilets are evidently decreasing
the value provided to the passengers by the station.
5.1. By train
Travelling from Euston railway station to Manchester by train is the most obvious and probably
the most convenient way of transportation. The transportation is done from Euston London to
Manchester Piccadilly station, which is very convenient starting point for getting to Altrincham
Lodge Hotel by Metrolink. Network Rail (2012) provides information about the live departures and
arrivals from Euston, in addition to other useful information for travellers. Usually, direct trains run
from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly every 20 minutes, and average journey times are
around 2 hours 10 minutes, however, the actual times differs, though not considerably. Different
alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and food are offered to the travellers, as well as free Wi-Fi
(not always reliable). The tickets can be books online using various websites. But, despite of
transportation convenience and time, the prices for tickets are much higher than some other

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alternatives, which is not suitable for backpack tourists. It will require about £120 for two tourists
to departure and return to London Euston.
5.2. By express coach (National Express)
Travelling by express coach is another, more affordable opportunity for travellers. Despite of the
low prices (about £45 for two tourists to departure and return to London), it has three main
drawbacks, which are large amount of time required for transportation, difficulties with
transportation from arrival point to the Hotel and limited availability of the tickets on Sunday. The
service is provided by National Express, the website is rather convenient way for booking the
tickets, though it requires a significant improvement.
5.3. By express coach (Megabus)

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Another UK budget coach service provide tickets for even lower prices, while also providing
better interlink with local transportation and better opportunities to travel on weekends.
Taking into account these factors, Megabus can be considered as probably the best solution for
young backpackers who want to travel from London to Manchester.
However, in order to get to Victoria Coach Station from Euston Railway Station the travellers are
required to go to Euston Underground Station situated nearby and go to Victoria Station by
underground metro and then walk to Victoria Coach station. To add, the costs of metro tickets
and timer required to get to the Coach station should be also considered.

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So, it can be concluded that travelling by express coach is less expensive, while travelling by
train is more convenient for backpackers.
5.4. By car and domestic airlines
One of the main reasons for this research is to study the national network of public transport for
visitors to Britain as a more sustainable alternative to cars or domestic airline services, so it is
also important to evaluate the suitability of these two alternatives to chosen target market.
Using domestic airlines is not a good alternative for backpack coaches because of high prices
offered by airline companies (even low-cost), since travelling from London Euston to Manchester
and the Hotel itself will require more than £250 in total.
On the other hand, renting a car is a good alternative for using national and local networks of
public transport. Using rented car is usually more convenient that using public transport, while
overall expenses on getting to the renting station, renting itself, the cost of petrol and parking will
be about £100, which comparable to the overall expenses on inter-city and in-cities transportation

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using the cheapest alternatives of public transportation.
6. Transportation in Manchester
Transport for Greater Manchester is controlling and coordinating authority of transport city in
Greater Manchester. It offers various tickets that are valid for multiple operators, which is a good
offer for backpacker tourists who want to do a lot of travelling in a day before the match and after
the match, while Metromax day tickets are also convenient because of the possible heavy use of
Metrolink tram network. It also important to mention that Metrolink connects Shudehill bus station
(for travelling by coach expresses), Piccadilly (for travelling by train), as well as the majority of the
city landmarks situated in the centre, in addition to Old Trafford Stadium, and which is the most
important fact, Altrincham, since Altrincham Lodge Hotel is situated nearby.

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So, despite of the fact that bus transportation often offers more convenient and cheaper
solutions, Metrolink is the best alternative in the set circumstances. To add, the trams are going
on the regular basis, every 5-15 minutes, depending on the time. However, backpacker tourists
should remember about the time the last tram goes, since it is the only affordable way to get to
Altrincham. It should be mentioned that the website of Metrolink as well as Transport for Greater
Manchester should be improved, since there are a lot of misleading information, inaccuracies and
missing details.

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One important point should be mentioned is that Altrincham Lodge Hotel is actually situated not
15-20 (as advertisement says) but at least 30-35 minutes of walking to Altrincham station, so,
renting car seems perfect solution to this problem, considering the good value provided by the
hotel (apart from a large distance from the centre) and free parking at the hotel area.
The centre of the city an ideal for combination of walking using pedestrianized streets in the
centre, where the majority of the eating and entertainment places are located and using public
transportation is the tourists are tired or want to go to another part of the big city.

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Taxis are considerably cheaper than in London, within the centre of the city and Manchester City
itself £5-10 to go to any part, but because of local rules using taxi to get to Greater Manchester
would be far more expensive.
Therefore, it can be concluded that using Metrolink while walking in the centre of the city is best
solution for backpackers, if they are not using rented car.
7. Conclusion.
To conclude, while using the national network of public transport is proved to be more sustainable
alternative to cars and domestic airlines, its suitability to some of the target groups, specifically
backpackers, can be questioned because of high costs and inconveniences while comparing to
renting car, especially for short periods.

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