The way we travel, like many of our life choices, is a mixture of habit, decision and intuition.
Computer models assume that travel behaviour choices are rational and based on copious knowledge, but the reality is that many of us choose to travel based on limited and imperfect information – or we may not realise that we’re “choosing” at all.
Our travel behaviour choices are built on a mixture of where we are travelling, what options are available at the time we want to go, and what the purpose of our journey is; but are also affected by a range of personal characteristics including socio-economic status, gender, age, disability, ethnicity and geography.
These factors vary from person to person, but also from journey to journey. For example, somebody who commutes to the office on a Thursday and takes their family to the park on Saturday is likely to think about those journeys differently.
