Space—Time Budgets, Public Transport, and Spatial Choice

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of access to urban facilities for housewives without cars, and the methodology of the Lund School is used to investigate the spatial constraints affecting access to and choice between a selected group of urban facilities in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. To do this, the characteristics of the public transport system are investigated, and time-budget data used to specify typical windows of free time during a housespouse's day. From there the potential action and activity spaces of individuals in four suburbs are delimited, and these are used in assessing the variations in access to and choice between facilities in these suburbs. Finally, the social impact of the current bus provision in the context of the social structure of the city is raised as a policy issue.