Current work

The role of travel time in modal choice processes: from objective to subjective temporality

For several decades – and even nowadays- transport policies have sought to reduce travel time in order to meet the speed expectations of infrastructure users. Nevertheless, and despite important investments to achieve this goal, travel time budget remains globally stable. Furthermore, and even though we have seen a positive behavioural evolution during the last decades in terms of modal shift in Europe, plenty of cities still struggle with nuisances produced by automobile traffic.
In a modal shift perspective, this research project aims to study the qualitative dimension of travel time. Beyond research controversies about the different ways to measure travel-time budgets, the main objective of this research is to evaluate the role of travel time –as it is perceived by individuals- in the modal choice processes, and whether it’s determinant on the final choice of one or several transport means. In order to conduct this research, the project mobilizes notions from the humanist geography school of thought and sociology such as usage, dwelling or “familiarity regimes”.
The perimeter of study is set at the main agglomerations of the Canton de Vaud and also the perimeter of the cross-border area of Grand Genève.