ancient cities

418 Journey to Work
These results support the Dutch so-called ABC
principle for workplace location, according to
which workplaces (apart from local service facilities)
attracting a high number of employees or visitors
per area unit should be located in areas easily
accessible by public and nonmotorized transport
but less easily accessible by car. Blue-collar workplaces,
which often generate considerable goods
transport, should be located in areas with high
accessibility for trucks.
Transport Infrastructure
Commuting travel patterns are also influenced by the
provision of transport infrastructure. Although the
phenomenon of induced traffic has been heavily disputed,
there is growing evidence that road capacity
increases in congested urban areas tend to attract
more drivers to the new, less congested roads, thus
making improved traveling speeds a short-lived relief.
Conversely, faster and more frequent public transport
improves the competitive power of the transit
mode and can make some previous car travelers leave
their car in the garage. Empirical studies in Oslo and
Copenhagen show that the choices of travel modes
among a considerable proportion of commuters is
influenced by the ratio of door-to-door travel times
between car and transit (and also between car and
bike). Building larger urban expressways is thus a
counterproductive way of dealing with congestion in
situations where transport policy goals aim at curbing
the growth in car commuting. In the United
Kingdom, national transport authorities have since
the late 1990s acknowledged these mechanisms.
In the United States, campaigns for carpooling
have been an important policy measure to limit
peak-period car travel in congested urban regions.
In spite of this, the proportion of car commuters
driving alone increased between 1990 and 2001.
Among the 20 percent or so of car commuters who
did not travel alone, three out of four traveled with
members of the same household.
Many transport researchers have pointed to
road pricing as a powerful instrument to reduce
congestion in urban areas. Fear of negative voter
response has prevented most governments from
implementing such schemes. A few examples still
exist, including Singapore’s tolls introduced in
1975 and toll rings introduced in the 1990s around
four Norwegian cities. In London, a toll ring established
in 2003 around the inner city has reduced
the number of cars and minicabs crossing the cordon
by 35 percent to 40 percent while improving
traffic flows within the affected area. In Stockholm,
Sweden, an experiment that included a toll ring
around the inner city improved transit services,
and increased park-and-ride facilities were carried
out in 2005/2006. This package of policy measures
resulted in a reduction of car traffic across the toll
ring by 20 percent to 25 percent, considerably less
congestion on the arterial roads and in the downtown
area, reduced air pollution in the inner city,
and a gradually increasing public support of the
policy measures.
See also Streetcars; Suburbanization; Subway;
Transportation; Urban Planning
Further Readings
Petter Næss
McGuckin, N. and N. Srinivasan. 2005. “The Journeyto-Work
in the Context of Daily Travel.” Paper for
the Census Data for Transportation Planning
Conference, Federal Highway Administration,
Washington, DC.
Næss, P. 2006. Urban Structure Matters: Residential
Location, Car Dependence, and Travel Behavior.
London: Routledge.
Noland R. B. and L. L. Lem. 2002. “A Review of the
Evidence for Induced Travel and Changes in
Transportation and Environmental Policy in the U.S.
and the U.K.” Transportation Research Part D
7:1–26.