Travel Behaviour Reconsidered in an Era of Decarbonisation

Makes the case for investment in transport systems in an age of great climate change concern.

Transport systems are central to daily life, but simultaneously have a salient impact on our environment. However, this perspective has little influence on conventional economic analysis and transport investments, creating dissonance between traditional investment goals and the need to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. For fifty years, public road and railway expenditures were justified by claims to improve travel time. On the contrary, the average time of travel never changed. Travel Behaviour Reconsidered in an Era of Decarbonisation argues that this outdated economic analysis is misconceived and that fresh perspectives on transport networks are imperative.

David Metz is an honorary professor in the Centre for Transport Studies at UCL. He was formerly chief scientist at the UK Department for Transport.