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Travel Time - Variable or Constant?

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  • David Metz

Abstract

Empirically, travel time averaged across a population is invariant at close to one hour per person per day. Nevertheless, standard transport analysis treats travel time as a variable, scoring the value of time savings in cost-benefit analysis of proposed new infrastructure, and minimising generalised travel time in transport modelling. This paper argues that the invariance of travel time needs to be explained, and that such an explanation might involve a marginal approach to travel time, as well as the possibility of there being an intrinsic utility to travel. These concepts are consistent with economic principles but not with the current practice of transport economics. It is further argued that the benefits of transport system improvement are to be found in the additional access afforded, not in notional travel time savings; and that conventional transport models that pay no regard to the invariance of aggregate travel time may mislead. It is suggested that in transport analysis, aggregate travel time should be treated as a constant, not a variable. © 2004 LSE and the University of Bath

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  • David Metz, 2004. "Travel Time - Variable or Constant?," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 38(3), pages 333-344, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpe:jtecpo:v:38:y:2004:i:3:p:333-344
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    Cited by:

    1. Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2020. "Wenn die Telekommunikation den Verkehr so gut ersetzen kann, warum gibt es dann immer mehr Staus?," Forschungsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Reutter, Ulrike & Holz-Rau, Christian & Albrecht, Janna & Hülz, Martina (ed.), Wechselwirkungen von Mobilität und Raumentwicklung im Kontext gesellschaftlichen Wandels, volume 14, pages 167-195, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    2. Metz, David, 2021. "Economic benefits of road widening: Discrepancy between outturn and forecast," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 312-319.
    3. Holz-Rau, Christian & Scheiner, Joachim, 2019. "Land-use and transport planning – A field of complex cause-impact relationships. Thoughts on transport growth, greenhouse gas emissions and the built environment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 127-137.
    4. Chen, Cynthia, 2005. "Feasible Activity and Travel Time Allocations with a Discrete Choice Model: An Exploratory Study," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 44(2).
    5. Holz-Rau, Christian & Scheiner, Joachim, 2011. "Safety and travel time in cost-benefit analysis: A sensitivity analysis for North Rhine-Westphalia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 336-346, March.
    6. David S Vale & Mauro Pereira, 2017. "The influence of the impedance function on gravity-based pedestrian accessibility measures: A comparative analysis," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 44(4), pages 740-763, July.
    7. Kuhnimhof, Tobias & Buehler, Ralph & Wirtz, Matthias & Kalinowska, Dominika, 2012. "Travel trends among young adults in Germany: increasing multimodality and declining car use for men," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 443-450.
    8. Vale, David S., 2013. "Does commuting time tolerance impede sustainable urban mobility? Analysing the impacts on commuting behaviour as a result of workplace relocation to a mixed-use centre in Lisbon," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 38-48.
    9. Holz-Rau, Christian & Scheiner, Joachim, 2020. "Raum und Verkehr - ein Feld komplexer Wirkungsbeziehungen: Können Interventionen in die gebaute Umwelt klimawirksame Verkehrsemissionen wirklich senken?," Forschungsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Reutter, Ulrike & Holz-Rau, Christian & Albrecht, Janna & Hülz, Martina (ed.), Wechselwirkungen von Mobilität und Raumentwicklung im Kontext gesellschaftlichen Wandels, volume 14, pages 76-101, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    10. José Manuel Viegas, 2012. "The urban mobility system and regional competitiveness," Chapters, in: Roberta Capello & Tomaz Ponce Dentinho (ed.), Networks, Space and Competitiveness, chapter 2, pages 35-55, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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