ABSTRACT
For most adults the journey to work is a necessary part of everyday life undertaken without a great deal of thought. However, commuting can consume a substantial amount of time, and imposes obvious costs on the individual, their families, employers, society and environment. It can be estimated that in 2005 the average working adult in Britain spent some nine days per year travelling to and from work, a figure that has probably changed little since 1900.1 Not only does this commitment reduce the amount of time available for other activities, but commuting itself also creates congestion, pollution and personal stress (Whitelegg, 1992, 1997; Docherty and Shaw, 2003; Adams, 2005). This chapter examines some of the ways in which travelling to work has altered in Britain over the past century, exploring both continuity and change. Overall, it argues that there has been substantial continuity in the ways in which people make decisions about travel to work, even though some aspects of the process have changed radically, and that an historical perspective can usefully inform contemporary transport policy.
