Chapter 9: Integrated Transport Systems: Public-Private Interfaces

In the sense that is normally used in transport, integration allows components of a system to perform well together; that is, to have small transition costs when the user of one component moves to another component. Accepting this concept of integration leads, however, to discussion one level upstream, to the integration between social activities, developed in different locations, that are connected by the transport system.

Integration between land use and transport is especially important because the lowest transition costs between activities occur when there is little or no need to travel from the location of one activity to that of the next one undertaken by the same person or using the same material goods. There are clear advantages in such situations, both for the individual – less time and cost spent on relocating oneself – and for society – less allocation of space to support transport activity and less environmental impact.