Some economic contributions to transport demand modelling and forecasting with special reference to trip generation and car ownership

This thesis is concerned with the contributions economic theory and methods have made and may, in the future, make to the modelling and forecasting of transport demand. It emphasises that person movements are essentially determined by economic forces and thus require examination within an economic framework. While many of the arguments presented and points made are of general applicability within the transport field, particular attention is focused on the modelling of car ownership and, to a slightly lesser extent, of trip generation. In addition to the basic idea that economics should play a major role in transport demand analysis—which is possibly a more widely held view now than when much of the ground work for this study was conducted—the thesis pursues a number of other arguments. [Continues.