ABSTRACT
Based on the National Travel Survey definition of a trip over 50 miles (80 km), ‘long distance’ travel forms a very small proportion of the annual total trips for most users, but is significant in terms of total distance travelled and user expenditure. The different mix of trip purposes leads to a much more elastic demand than that for intra-urban movement. Overall trends, and the specific roles of air, rail, coach and car are examined, in particular the recent decline in domestic air use, in contrast to strong growth in rail. The case for high-speed rail service is reviewed, and the impacts of deregulation in the coach sector.
