ABSTRACT
Transport and communications have seen huge advances in technology over the last half century. At the same time, on average, people in western Europe have become much better off. As their income rises people tend to spend a higher proportion on transport, travel and keeping in touch. For example, the proportion of national income spent on travel and transport alone in western European countries roughly doubled between 1946 and the late 1980s. This has meant radical changes in who uses such services and for what purposes, so much so that some commentators have suggested that manufacturing is of decreasing importance whereas services, which include transport and communications, are the growth sector. This chapter examines the changes in the demand for and technology affecting transport and communications, and analyses their social and economic impact.
