A visitor from another planet might well regard the human transport system, and the things we do with it, as crazy. From our point of view however, the system has developed in a more-or-less natural way, responding to economic forces and satisfying our desire for movement. Transport is now the largest single industry in many countries. It also absorbs a great deal ofresources, and perhaps affects the quality of life more than any other human activity. The changes have been incremental: there is no master plan. Notwithstanding that in 1993 we have the technology to accomplish many goals, we have not solved the transport problem, and in many respects it seems to be getting worse. Although transport is an economic necessity and brings pleasure to many, our system has undesirable side-effects. Depending on one's point of view, these can be broken down into four main areas: (i) the social and physical environment; (ii) accidents; (iii) congestion; and (iv) the decline of public transport. These problems all arise in some sense from our growing dependence on the automobile, which itself has health implications as we walk less. Except perhaps for road accidents, all the side-effects are becoming appreciably worse each year. Towns and cities are experiencing frequent jams. Motorways grind to halt with the pressure of traffic. And it will get worse. In the UK, the number of vehicles will have approximately doubled over the period 1989 to 2025. Moreover, transport problems are beginning to emerge on an even larger scale in the developing world. (Author/publisher)
Abstract