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Table 1 Vignettes used to elicit discussion in the interviews

From: From the concrete to the intangible: understanding the diverse experiences and impacts of new transport infrastructure

Vignette 1. Decreasing car use

I mean it’s really in the last five years my attitude’s changed to public transport. There’s a very good bus route, coming into the centre of Cambridge so I either take the bus or cycle in to work, depending on how the weather is. When the weather is not nice, the bus that I take leaves at about five past nine and arrives here at half past nine-ish, depending on the traffic. And I do that so that I can take my son to school for nine o’clock and then take that bus. It was a real change in my behaviour when they introduced these buses. The old buses were a lot less comfortable, they didn’t have any air conditioning, so I often felt sick when I was reading on the bus, these buses have air conditioning, they’re very well kitted out. They’ve got lots of leg space and plug sockets for you to plug your laptop in. And by having access to the internet, I basically start work as soon as I get on the bus. I opt for the bike in the Summer because I’ve always enjoyed cycling. I'm not someone who will exercise for the sake of exercising, I don't enjoy it and don’t tend to stick to it so doing it this way, as the commute to work, it means that I’m doing exercise consistently for a reason and I’ll stick to it.

Vignette 2. Continuation of car use

The last few years I’ve been driving and I love driving, I drive everywhere. Having the car gives you much more freedom, especially with a child. One reason for driving is a lack of ideal public transport. Deciding between driving and other options is like a balance between the convenience of a car which can literally get you from door to door, with trying to do the green thing and taking public transport or cycling. I didn’t always drive everywhere, I used to cycle to work from a park-and-ride, until a few years back when I fell off my bicycle and now my wife won’t let me cycle in town. Comparatively cycling is not actually much different to the car because I’d still leave the same time and I’d probably arrive at the same time because of that last bit coming into Cambridge the traffic is probably comparable. It’s just the slight inconvenience of cycling and having to change when you come to work.