The survey looks at how Londoners and users of the London Underground responded to the terrorist attacks on the London public transport network in July 2005, and their attitudes to the potential introduction of higher security measures on the transport network.

It identifies three categories of behavioural change, and examines perceptions of the likely effectiveness of additional security measures including:

The survey was commissioned by the Department of Transport several months after the bombings which took place on London Underground trains and a bus in July 2005. Its purpose was to assess attitudes to travelling on public transport and the introduction of higher security measures.

The findings were gathered from a module of questions in an Access Omnibus Survey. 1945 people were surveyed over a five week period, in a sample which was weighted so that its demographic profile was similar to that of the population under investigation.

At the time of the survey only 6 per cent of the respondents had changed their travel behaviour.

The majority of respondents were not worried about travelling in London in general since the July attacks, and a majority also agreed that the introduction of additional security measures on the London Underground would greatly reduce the threat of a terrorist attack. There was support for the use of body searches and mixed reactions to the possibility of time delays because of additional security measures.

The idea of higher travel fares to cover additional security costs was generally unpopular.

Department for Transport
Phone: +44 20 7944 8300
transec@dft.gsi.gov.uk

15/12/2006

Department for Transport

research

Urban Policy > Transport and infrastructure

Public transport