Urban Rhythms and Travel Behaviour : Spatial and Temporal Phenomena of Daily Travel

This analysis of newly available longitudinal data on individual trip making and activity behaviour debates the most suitable methodological tools to represent the structures of long-term travel behaviour. Also discussed is what such data reveals about travellers'' motives, and how planning should translate the findings into forecasting tools and transport strategies. The inquiry reveals the multifaceted character of daily life travel, and the variability that individuals show in activity behaviour.

The recent availability of longitudinal data on individual trip making and activity behaviour has provided analysts with new insights into the structures and motives of daily life travel. Multi-week travel diary data-sets and GPS observations are exciting sources of information for the description and modelling of the variability of individual travel patterns. Through an analysis of these strong new data sets, this book questions what are the most suitable methodological tools to represent the structures of long-term travel behaviour. It also examines what the data tells us about the travellers'' motives and looks at how planning should translate the findings into forecasting tools and transport strategies. In doing so, the multifaceted and ambiguous character of daily life travel is revealed, illustrating how, while sound routines in time and space seem to dominate daily life, individuals show a considerable amount of variability and flexibility in travel and activity behaviour.