THE IMPACT OF TELECOMMUNICATION AND TRANSPORT ON SPATIAL BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

Telecommunication has not only for the sender but as well for the addressee both mobile and immobile elements. Regarding telecommunication in the interpersonal context with the related traffic behaviour, it becomes clear that telecommunication has so far an unknown influence on our spatial behaviour. Based on these considerations a concept is being developed to demonstrate the influence, the use and the increasing penetration of communication and information media on spatial behaviour of humans. The question, which effects are to be considered from this for the future and in which way it affects planning of interventions in the traffic sector, follows directly. On the basis of empirical results from Germany, Sweden and Korea it is shown that additional communication and information possibilities have no decreasing affect on the physical mobility of humans. Based on this result the advantages of novel communication and information services are being systematised to analyse the impacts on spatial behaviour in detail. For this it is possible to fall back on data-sets ranging from the mega-city Seoul over cities and rural regions in Germany to remote areas in Sweden. So it is to be expected that certain time-consuming, standardise and according to their nature suitable activities/ trips (e. g. telebanking) might be substituted in the every day live. At the same time, however, it is to be expected that far distant destinations can be more easily investigated by better information and communication possibilities, in order to lead afterwards to additional physical mobility - thus an induction of physical transport appears this way. The increases are to be expected fewer in everyday life transport, since the financial and temporal budget restrictions are effective here due to capacity limitations of the traffic system. Rather increases in the weekend and holiday traffic are to be expected, where either by the generated interest via simplified information access or by the decrease of initial trave) thresholds (reduction of uncertainties concerning the selected destination by telecommunications) additional journeys can be performed. Within the leisure area and the global business and service area activities and appropriate journeys are thus generated, which would not have been possible without existence of the electronic media. Finally, it is stated, which (feedback-) effects result on the structure of demand, if more spontaneous acts caused by information and communication technologies provoke critical and on a long-term basis not calculable effects.