Key factors for successful leisure and tourism public transport provision

In the second half of the 20th century, the main focus of transport policy and transport studies was on the reduction of the use of motorised, individual transport, in particular with regard to daily commuter traffic. The main concepts concentrated on creating all attractive public transport supply and, where possible, improving the infrastructure for non-motorized traffic in order to open up alternative forms of travel. Although these concepts produced noticeable effects on everyday travel, they could not cope with steadily rising problems in the field of leisure traffic. Therefore, primarily supply oriented, autocratic desktop transport policies cannot be seen as a promising approach within the leisure context. Consequently, the article focuses oil the necessary key factors for successful leisure and tourism public transport provision. It stresses the need for rethinking transport policy by choosing a demand oriented approach and realising the importance of additional accompanying efforts in the areas of marketing, transparency and quality. Focusing on the demand side, with its individual attitudes and preferences, leads to a new understanding of traffic planning by adopting a bottom up, rather than a top down approach. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.