Peak Car - The Future of Travel

 

Travel is central to our lives. Decisions about where and how we live and work depend crucially on the possibilities for daily travel. Over the past two centuries, the development of transport technologies has transformed our lives by allowing us to travel faster than walking pace. But this era of ever-faster travel has come to an end. Car use has reached its peak and is indeed declining in the most dynamic large cities, where digital technologies seem more attractive than clunky cars. This book offers a comprehensive account, based on the author’s research, of why and how we travel, and what is changing as populations grow and technologies develop.

 

 

David Metz is a visiting professor at the Centre for Transport Studies, University College London, where he is engaged in analysis of travel behaviour and the transport system. He has had a varied career as research scientist and civil servant, which included five years as Chief Scientist at the UK Department for Transport. 

 

 

Donald Sassoon, Emeritus Professor of Comparative European History, Queen Mary, University of London

 

Peter Jones, Professor of Transport and Sustainable Development Centre