Our modern transport system has developed over the past 200 years. Enormous investment in infrastructure has changed the landscape, both the roads and railways themselves, and the growth of towns and cities they made possible. All these structures have long lives, and most of the corridors are effectively permanent. The transport system and the travel it permits have shaped our lives and enlarged our horizons.

Yet potentially substantial changes are underway in why and how we travel. These began at the end of the twentieth century and are destined to continue. We are seeing important developments in attitudes towards the car; in size, age and location of populations; and in new technologies, both transport and wider digital. So the future of travel and transport could be very different from the past.

I start Part 1 with a review of the transport system as it is at present and the travel behaviour that has resulted from it. I then discuss how the present situation has developed. The focus of the analysis will be on travel and transport in Britain, both because its travel and transport statistics are world-leading in scope and extent, and because interpretation of such data requires a deep understanding of the societal context, which is most readily gained by residence. The book will also address what is happening in other high-income countries, particularly in Europe and North America, and will note some developments elsewhere, mainly in China. While there are significant differences between countries as regards demography and governance, there are many underlying similarities in respect of travel behaviour and the influence of new technologies.