Dear colleagues,

I would be most grateful if you could draw this to the attention of 
individuals who may be considering studying for a PhD.

Best wishes,

Glenn
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PhD Studentship available in the areas of road pricing and transport 
technologies

The Centre for Transport & Society is pleased to announce that it has a new 
PhD studentship available (part-funded by the Department for Transport).

Fees are paid and the studentship will, as a minimum, equate to the 
standard EPSRC stipend (£12000 for 2005/06). A Research Training Support 
Grant will also be provided.

For further information please contact Professor Glenn Lyons at Centre for 
Transport & Society (CTS), Faculty of the Built Environment, University of 
the West of England BS16 1QY, by email at [log in to unmask], or 
telephone 0117 32 83219. Alternatively contact Jane Newton in the Faculty 
Research Office by email at [log in to unmask], or telephone 0117 32 83102.

If you wish to apply, please visit the CTS website 
(www.transport.uwe.ac.uk) to download and complete an application form 
making sure to include a short statement of around 500 words outlining your 
preferred topic and why this topic is of interest to you and suggesting 
some possible lines of research inquiry you might wish to pursue.

There is a closing date for applications of Wednesday 15 February 2006. 
Shortlisted applicants will subsequently be invited to interview.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and committed individual who wishes to 
contribute to the CTS aim of improving and promoting understanding of the 
inherent links between lifestyles and personal travel in the context of 
continuing social and technological change.

Applicants are welcome to put forward their own ideas for research provided 
that it relates to road pricing and/or transport technologies. However the 
following five research topics have been identified as suitable options:

Understanding public attitudes to road pricing
In 2004 the Centre for Transport & Society conducted an extensive review of 
attitudes to road pricing for the Department for Transport as part of the 
National Road Pricing Feasibility Study. The Study also included new 
qualitative research and findings from an Omnibus survey. Details of this 
work can be found at 
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/divisionhomepage/029790.hcsp 
It is clear that while much research has been done looking at what 
attitudes people hold, much less has been done to examine why people hold 
the attitudes they do. There is also only limited understanding of why 
attitudes differ across the population and how attitudes are shaped and 
reshaped. Such matters remain of key importance to policymakers with the 
Government giving serious attention to the eventual prospects of a national 
road pricing scheme in the UK. Thus as a PhD topic, the understanding of 
public attitudes to road pricing is well grounded in an identified body of 
literature but presents much opportunity for the development of important 
new knowledge.

Understanding public attitudes towards and their use of in-car navigation 
systems
High-street electrical stores and shopping websites have recently seen an 
abundance of adverts for the purchase of a whole range of in-car navigation 
systems. These provide the purchaser with the capacity to be given step by 
step visual and/or audible instructions during their car journey allowing 
them to find their way through unfamiliar territory. The systems are 
capable of re-planning routes if the driver encounters problems and, 
through the use of Global Positioning, the systems are always aware of 
where the driver and their vehicle are located. While the penetration of 
such systems into the population of UK motorists is still only modest it 
appears that access to and use of such systems may be coming increasingly 
commonplace. It therefore becomes timely to better understand what the 
consequences might be of such systems both today and in the future. This 
PhD topic provides the opportunity to lean more about the attitudes of 
people to such systems and to probe in detail how they use such systems and 
how this might be affecting their attitudes towards travel and the travel 
choices they make. From such research it would also be possible to gauge 
the prospects for further future take-up. One particular aspect of any 
research might be to consider the generational differences that may be of 
significance. Drivers from different age groups belong to different 
generations. With increasing age certain basic physiological and cognitive 
functions change; this may affect the responses of the elderly to 
technological systems. The aging process is not only a physiological 
process in which biological systems undergo changes, but it is also a 
social process in which a person changes her involvement in activities and 
obligations.

The importance of social interactions in the design of ATIS (Advanced 
Traveller Information Systems)
In common applications of transport models and traffic simulations, 
travellers are assumed to make 'selfish' decisions to maximise their 
individual utility. On the other hand, cooperation between travellers that 
have a more pro-social value orientation may lead to a situation where 
social utility is shared in a more fair way. The paradigm that selfish 
motives always underlie the making of travel choices may be questioned. 
Recently, there has also been increasing interest in the influence of 
psychological and social aspects on the behaviour of travellers. This 
so-called 'softer' side of transport policy is relatively new in the UK and 
other countries. Social factors (such as communications, personal 
responsibility and group identification) are known to constrain 
selfishness. Currently developed ATIS may have the potential to increase 
the positive effects of these social factors on the pro-social value 
orientation of travellers. The importance of understanding the social 
aspects of travel-choice behaviour is not only in terms of its relevance to 
the measurement and the prediction of such behaviour. It may also be 
important in terms of influencing and changing travel behaviour. In this 
PhD research the characteristics of group behaviour in travel-choice 
situations will be investigated according to some principles of social 
behaviour. Due to the lack of empirical research in this field in the UK, 
there will be a need to form the empirical basis for this work by 
collecting and analysing both field and laboratory data.

Understanding how Britain's cities are embracing the approach of road pricing
In 2005 the Secretary of State for Transport announced a number of awards 
to cities under the Government's Transport Innovation Fund which will allow 
them to examine further whether and how to introduce road pricing. It will 
be potentially valuable to be able to chart and understand the process 
these cities embark upon over the next 2-3 years and to compare and 
contrast both their approaches, findings and intentions. Thus this PhD 
topic would represent a case-study approach working at the forefront of the 
road pricing delivery agenda.

Transitional measures towards road pricing
Can the transition to road pricing be assisted by the testing of other 
demand management measures such as access control, HOV lanes and HOT (high 
occupancy/toll lanes) lanes. HOT lanes, for example, could introduce the 
concept of paying for road use in return for travel time savings while 
still leaving motorists with choice not to pay. The study could review 
international literature, conduct study of relevant TIF initiative and 
include attitudinal/SP research on initiatives. South Glos should be 
excellent test-bed for this with its congestion, HOV lanes and current 
consideration of road pricing/workplace parking levies.
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