Wired's Study Suggests We've Hit 'Peak Travel" covers research that suggests demand for travel and automobile ownership in the developed world may have reached a saturation point.
The study authors looked at travel patterns for a number of countries between 1970 and 2008. They found a strong correlation between rising prosperity and travel. But the trend flattened starting in 2003. Key quote:
“Since 2003, motorized travel demand has leveled out or even declined in most of the countries studied, and travel in private vehicles has declined,” the authors wrote in their study. “Car ownership has continued to rise, but these cars are being driven less.”
The article suggest several potential reasons for this - rising fuel prices, aging populations, traffic congestion - but doesn't mention the Internet or telecommuting (these may be mentioned in the study, I haven't read it yet).
Based on our research, it seems quite clear that distributed work, telecommuting, online shopping and other connective technologies are fundamentally changing transportation patterns.
While more research is required to connect all these dots, I'm confident that the Internet and related technologies are reducing travel.
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