Traffic, its impacts and public attitudes - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 59

Panel members were asked to describe what they thought the most important
things were which they wanted the transport system to do for them. The initial report
(GfK Consumer Services 2008) comments that although members were not asked
explicitly to reflect on whether the proposed goals were the right ones, 'reassuringly'
the feedback does not suggest that the Department has missed anything which is
uppermost in people's minds. In line with previous evidence the researchers note
that the responses received indicated a 'hierarchy of transport needs' which can be
represented in a pyramid consisting of six levels (a design based on Maslow's hierarchy
of human needs proposed in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Needs) (see Figure
3.13).
The most basic need is shown at the bottom of the pyramid - a reliable, regular
and timely transport system. The higher needs in the pyramid only come into
focus when the lower needs are satisfied, so that once an individual has moved
upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritised.
However, if a lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will re-
prioritise these needs by focusing attention again on the unfulfilled level.
Perhaps the most striking feature from all the evidence reviewed is the low priority
given by the public to improving journey times (even on public transport, which is
slower than car for most journeys). And yet, as we shall see, this is the attribute which
assumes the most importance in the Government's assessments of investment in
transport!