{"id":5862,"date":"2020-05-04T11:41:41","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T10:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/?p=5862"},"modified":"2021-06-15T16:05:49","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:05:49","slug":"we-are-still-in-lockdown-so-why-is-travel-increasing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/we-are-still-in-lockdown-so-why-is-travel-increasing\/","title":{"rendered":"We are still in lockdown – so why is travel increasing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr Susan Kenyon explains why the government and transport planners need to intervene now to encourage us to continue to reduce our personal travel and to support lasting travel behaviour change.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Government\nstatistics tell us that levels of personal travel are starting to increase\nafter six weeks in lockdown.  Why is\nthis?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without\ntargeted government interventions to address our ability<\/em> and willingness\n<\/em>to change our travel, it is to be expected that people would quickly begin\nto revert to normal patterns of travel behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nlockdown that we are experiencing in the UK as a result of the fight against\nCovid-19 initially led to a rapid decline in travel.  This offered a glimpse\nof a possible alternative world, long\nhypothesised<\/a>, where physical travel to access\nwork, learning, shops, services, social networks and other goods is no longer\nas necessary.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has\nbeen much excitement that this change would last beyond the immediate\ncrisis.  Because a reduction in travel has been proven to be\npossible and positive, surely it is logical to expect that we will continue to\nshun travel: that individuals will rationally assess the benefits of reducing\ntheir travel and choose to maintain this? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately,\nthis is rarely how decisions<\/a>, particularly travel\ndecisions<\/a>, are made.  My research\nsuggests that our travel behaviour is informed by four key types of behavioural\ninfluences[i]<\/a> that, most of the time, we are not\nable to control.  Because of this, we\naren\u2019t able <\/em>to choose our travel behaviour, or to choose to change\nit.  Even when we are able <\/em>to choose to change our\nbehaviour, much of the time, we aren\u2019t willing <\/em>to do so. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\ninfluences haven\u2019t changed during lockdown. \nWe\nhave seen a temporary disruption, which has enforced change.  But everything\nthat we know about travel behaviour\nsuggests that we will see a bounce back to normal travel behaviour as the\nlockdown is lifted: that the activity patterns that cause us to travel will\nsettle back into a built environment that hasn\u2019t changed.  Travel will\nonce again become a social and cultural norm; habits will return; our\nbiological and psychological impetus for movement will be realised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Targeted\nintervention by government and transport authorities is essential now, to\naddress our ability <\/em>and willingness <\/em>to reduce our travel.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n