Evolution of transport systems: Past and future

In this report the authors develop a scenario for future developments in the transport sector and their implications for future demand. In developing a comprehensive mode-space-time coverage of the evolution of transport systems, the analysis indicates that present transport systems are approaching a number of limits: market saturation in leading countries and an increasing awareness of the social and environmental disbenefits associated with a further intensification in the use of present-day oil-based transport systems. The report describes an innovative scenario from a historical perspective, taking into account a number of institutional and physical constraints to significant future increases in the car population and air travel demand at the global level.