Stockholmarnas resvanor - mellan trängselskatt och klimatdebatt

than her transport of children, which is organised by mobile phone and
at short notice. The mother’s diary also lists early morning transport of a
teenage child to a temporary job as a preschool supply teacher, showing
that some children’s activities, such as jobs and school, have a high priority.
Some trips and activities are thus improvised for various reasons, while
others are routine or are planned well in advance.
Another example of unscheduled and non-habitual journeys was a 23-
year old girl being phoned by her cousin and aunt, who had bought clothes
from a famous designer collection at a major store and who invited
the girl and her mother to come and see the clothes. They also wanted to
show off the aunt’s new studio. Whithin an hour or so, the girl and her
mother travelled by train and underground from the suburbs to the aunt’s
house in the city centre. This trip was possible because none of the four
had other commitments that morning. It was a case of short-term planning
and instant choices, of seizing an opportunity. But from a longer-term
perspective, a trip and meeting of this kind will probably happen sooner
or later. In the background, family relationships between two siblings and
their daughters, needs, desires and expectations are continually changing
and are manifested occasionally in shared activities. This shows that it is
not easy to consistently divide trips into those planned in the short- and
long-term, since planning expectations act on different levels. There is a
level of fundamental values and reasons for travel, e.g. to maintain social
contact with family and friends, and a level where temporary circumstances
apply. From the interplay of these levels, a decision arises on whether
to make a particular trip.
It was difficult to detect any influence of traffic policy instruments on
travel by the car-owning families (prior to congestion charges). However,
parking regulations seemed to influence their trips to the city centre, as
did the risk of congestion and other inconveniences particular to the city
centre and its approaches. For some informants, the perceived complicated
conditions for driving in the inner city made them refrain from this almost
totally, although they drove a lot outside town.
The study of the car-free families showed that circumstances at certain
points in life, e.g. parental leave or study, dictated their choice of being
car-free and mainly using public transport and bicycle. Another important
circumstance was place of residence. Two of the families studied lived in
the inner city, which was expressed as a goal in itself but also constituted
a barrier to car ownership. In a clear parallel with the previous study, the
inconveniencies that hindered the car families from driving in the inner
city, e.g. parking congestion, etc., hindered the families living there from
Summary 179