ABSTRACT
In transport economics textbooks it is always argued that the demand for travel is a derived demand: that is, travel is not sought for itself but for what it enables people to do. If that is so, then why are ever greater amounts of time devoted to it rather than to trying to minimize the travel undertaken? Although those economics texts recognize tourist and certain types of leisure travel as exceptions, most urban travel is for utilitarian purposes. According to the theory, we should aim to minimize, rather than increase, our consumption of travel. Yet, when faced with an increase in the speed of travel (for example, by the construction of a new rapid transit system), there tends to be a reduction in the gains in terms of longer journeys, thus maintaining the same travel times.
