The gift of travel time

Jain, Juliet; Lyons, Glenn

Abstract

The interpretation of travel time in economic terms has played a fundamental part in shaping our transport systems. The time consumed in order to travel to a destination has been seen as the price paid for fulfilling the purpose of reaching that destination. By interpreting travel time as a disutility or burden, transport policy has been driven by the goal of quicker journeys. Drawing upon multidisciplinary literature and new qualitative research, this paper articulates an alternative perspective. It suggests that travel time, at least for the individual, can (sometimes) be perceived and experienced as a gift rather than a burden. This is examined in the context of (co-present) participation in social networks and in terms of two forms of travel time experience from which positive utility can be derived: transition time and time out - both facilitated or supported by a third notion, namely equipped time. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Jain, J., & Lyons, G. (2008). The gift of travel time. Journal of Transport Geography, 16(2), 81-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2007.05.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2008
• Journal: Journal of Transport Geography
• Print ISSN: 0966-6923
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 81-89
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2007.05.001
• Keywords: gift relationships, travel time use, co-presence, value of time
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1011817
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2007.05.001
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Developed theoretical debates of 'gift' in a novel context of travel time, using primary data from the EPSRC funded project 'Travel Time Use in the Information Age'.