Commuting

Eurofound — European Foundation For The Improvement Of Living And Working Conditions

Description

The European dimension
Land transport (road, rail)
Working conditions

Sujets

• Commuting
• Road
• Member state of the European Union
• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: EUROFOUND-EUROPEAN-FOUNDATION-FOR-THE-IMPROVEMENT-OF-LIVING-AND-WORKING-CONDITIO
• Nombre de lectures: 11
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

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Commuting:
the European
Dimension
European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions Commuting:
the European
Dimension
European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions COMMUTING STUDIES CARRIED OUT BY THE FOUNDATION INCLUDE:
Commuting in the European Community (1987)
Information booklet
Available in EN/FR/DE/IT/DA/NL/EL/ES/PT
Commuting - The European dimension (1987)
Summary report of the research findings
Available in EN/FR
A bibliography
Available in EN only
Commuter Transport: Experiences in Participation (1986)
Consolidated report
Available in EN/FR/DE/IT/DA/NL/EL
National reports
Denmark only DA
France FR only
Ireland EN only
Italy IT only
U.K. EN only
The journey between home and work: the effects of commuting on
health and safety of commuters/workers (1984)
Consolidated report
Available in EN/FR/DE/IT/DA/NL
National reports
- Italy : EN/IT
- Netherlands : EN/NL
A European study of commuting and its consequences (1983)
Available in EN/FR/DE/IT/DA/NL/EL
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of
the European Communities
ISBN: 92-825-6762-1
Catalogue number: SY-50-87-194-EN-C
Printed by the European Foundation
© Copyright: THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS, 1987 Fur rights of translation or
reproduction, application should be made to the Director, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Loughlinstown House, Shankill
County Dublin, Ireland. PREFACE
As part of its four-year programme 1981-1984, the European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
carried out a broadly-based comparative research programme on
commuting. This topic was chosen as a good vantage-point for
analysing and studying a set of themes which are significantly related
to each other, and are increasingly important in the European
context.
We therefore decided to observe the dynamics of commuter movement
within the general problem of transport, but also, in a broader
perspective, we looked at the themes of regional planning, residential
choice, and the development of urban and rural.
The research also extended to a study of links between commuting,
health and the quality of the environment; the development of
information technology; new trends in time use; alternatives in the
decision-making process between centralisation and decentralisation,
and between imposed choices and "participatory" choices; the
marginalisation of disadvantaged groups in society.
The findings of these researches were then used to produce three
publications, one of which is the present booklet. The three are
designed to satisfy different requirements, as follows:
Commuting - the European dimension
Summary report on the research findings
Commuting - the European dimension
A bibliography
Commuting in the European Community
General information booklet
The final results of these activities carried out by the European
Foundation were examined at an evaluation meeting, held in Brussels on 13 March 1987, with the participation of government, employer and
trade union representatives.
They unanimously expressed their appreciation of the quality and
usefulness of these results, and recommended that they should be
published.
Commenting on the detailed findings, worker and employer
representatives stressed that, in their opinion, there is more
co-operation between the social partners than the report shows, and
the same applies to the interest of these same parties in securing the
development of suitable policies in this area.
The trade union representatives then emphasised the need for more
investment in public transport, and for increased attention to be paid
to the health and safety of commuting workers, especially female
commuting workers. Workers and trade unions should not only be
informed and consulted, but should become an active and decisive
party in the decision-making processes and the formulation of policies
on commuting.
The employer representatives, for their part, stressed the hazards
associated with putting too much emphasis on the rôle of public
transport; in their view, private transport still has an essential part to
play.
The government representatives, finally, pointed out the need for
further research on this topic, especially in the areas of land use and
the impact of commuting on workers' health.
Vittorio Di Martino
Research Manager
26 March 1987 COMMUTING - THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION
- A CONSOLIDATED REPORT OF RESEARCH
FINDINGS
by
L. Pickup - Transport Studies Unit, Oxford University for
Transpotech Ltd.
V. Di Martino - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
and working conditions
November 1986
A report prepared for the European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions, - Shankill, Co. Dublin, Ireland
(Contract no. 85-1.1.2 - 3030 - 9) (i)
CONTENTS
Page
Contents (i)
List of tables (ili
List of figures (iv
Preface (v
Contributors to the research programme (v
Background to the report - The European Foundation' s
research programme (vii
1 COMMUTING TRENDS IN EC MEMBER STATES - PATTERNS, ISSUES AND POLICIES 1
1.1 Home and workplace 2
1.1.1 The Population
1.1.2 Jobs 3
1.1.3 The rural periphery of the European Community 4
1.2 The pattern of commuting 5
1.2.1 Commuting distance, journey durations and travel modes 5
1.2.2 Settlement patterns and commuting patterns 9
1.3 Commuting times - the peak hours 12
1.4 Planning, operations and finance5
1.5 Commuting issues8
1.5.1 Cars 1
1.5.2 Public transport 20
1.6 Commuting policies3
1.6.1 Transport and land use policies
1.6.2 Policies to assist workers with commuting costs 29
1.6.3s of trades unions and employers 3
1.6.4 International policies 3
2. EFFECTS - COMMUTING AND THE WELL-BEING OF WORKERS
2.1 The effects on health and safety 34
2.1.1 Health and safety in the commuting environment 34
Loss of time
Poor travelling conditions6
The impact on health8
The effect on safety : commuting accidents 42
2.1.2 The well-being of the wider comunity 2
2.2 Improving health and safety 44 (ii)
Page
3. OPTIONS IN COMMUTING 47
3.1 Commuting and travel choice
3.1.1 Social and economic considerations 48
3.1.2 Realistic options in choice 50
3.1.3 Cost considerations1
3.1.4 Qualitys3
3.1.5 The effect of changes on living and working conditions 59
54
3.2 Commuting and residential choice
54
3.2.1 Social and housing consideration
55
3.2.2 Commuting as a factor in residential choice
56
3.3 Commuting and job choice
59
4. INFLUENCE - HAVE COMMUTERS GOT A VOICE?
60
4.1 The commuter's influence in transport decisions
61
61
4.2 Participation issues
63
4.2.1 Deciding when to initiate participation
63
4.2.2g who to participate with
64
4.2.3 Active or passive participation
65
4.2.4 The resolution of conflict
65
4.2.5 Devising permanent channels for commuter participation
4.2.6 Using technical information
66
4.3 The commuter's problem
67
4.4 Who represents the commuter interest?
67
4.4.1 Commuter action groups
68
4.4.2 Permanent transport pressure groups
68
4.4.3 Trades unions
69
4.4.4 Employers
70
4.5 Wider issues
COMMUTING - THE WIDER CONTEXT 73
5.1 Patterns of employment and unemployment 3
5.2 Changing the pattern of working hours
74 5.3 Telework
74 5.4 Social and demographic trends
5.5 The housing market5
76 5.6 Energy consumption
76 5.7 Urban and regional development
6. CONCLUSIONS 79
83 BIBLIOGRAPHY