Overview
Surveys and analyses on the population's geographical mobility and travel habits provide essential information that is important in the planning of transport and other communal affairs. This form of knowledge is necessary in order to survey the possibilities for making strategic changes and explore the effects of special initiatives to improve transport models and tools for making prognosis.
The objective of this programme is to study the social conditions for travel activity, develop theories and improve methods for collecting data about travel activities and behaviour. The programme includes studies of all transport means and travel purposes, both private and related to business, short and long.
The programme comprises the following areas:
- Methodological development, accomplishing and analysing of national travel behaviour surveys and special studies of air traffic
- Studies of organisation of everyday life and industry production related to travel and mobility
- Market and competition analyses, prognoses, transport statistics and studies of travel quality and perceptual aspects of journeys
- Studies of driving forces concerning travel activity, for instance the use of information- and communication technology, trends in urban development, changes in life-style and demography
- Theoretical studies based on different perspectives to understand/explain travel activity and mobility
The main targets of the 'Travel habits - frameworks for understanding future travel behaviour' programme are:
- Improve the methodical and theoretical basis for examination of travel habits and other investigations within the area
- Further development of the professional reputation that TOI has achieved both nationally and internationally on the topic
- Develop knowledge of social relevance that the government and other user groups may benefit from
- Study the social conditions for travel activity, develop theories and improve methods for collecting data about travel activities and behaviour
- Increase TOI's expertise within the field of travel habits
This programme is a strategic institute programme (SIP), aiming at developing new research areas and render professional activities leading to a deeper understanding. The programme's status is reported to the Norwegian Research Council every year. The initiative to establish the strategic institute programme was made by the institute itself, while the Norwegian Research Council is held responsible for the professional quality of the SIP.
Funding
This programme is financed by earmarked transfers from the Research Council, with a yearly budget of EUR 75 000.