ABSTRACT
In the modern city, stepping out of the home often means getting into the car. The private car is more than a convenience. It both symbolises and realises the freedom to move in comfort and security. This is a freedom at the very heart of modern life. Car ownership is also a symbol of success. Advertisements associate buying a car with finding attractive friends, having lovely families, getting rich, or just getting away. There is much exaggerated gloss here, but also more than a little truth. As any teenager knows, a car is a major social advantage. Much the same applies to trucking goods. Suppliers like to be able to deliver goods whenever and wherever they are wanted. They don't want to tie up a lot of land in storage space, and they don't want distance or time to separate them from their customers. Consumer patience has diminished over the years - we want things now, not soon. For both personal and freight travel, great expectations therefore come to be placed on the transport system. What is expected is nothing less than perfect freedom of movement.
