But a closer examination of the U.S. experience over the last few decades does not reveal a natural evolution of telecommunications substituting for travel. Both grow together, one feeding the other. Travel per household is rising, urban congestion is increasing, and latent demand for travel emerges clearly when new road capacity is opened up, even as the NII is expanding. This report provides additional, cautionary perspectives on the idea that telecommunications is a force for reducing the need to travel. As telecommunications volumes build independently of direct substitution for transportation, an opposite effect occurs, namely, travel stimulation.
More money means more travel.
As the economy grows, the use of telecommunications expands the number and geographic scope of economic and social relationships in which people and organizations engage. Telecommunications permits geographic decentralization of residential settlement, and of organizational activity locations. Decentralization leads to higher travel consumption, because trip origins and destinations tend to be farther apart. Telecommunications enables rapid response systems that dispatch customized vehicle trips to meet personal and organizational needs. New telecommunications functionality resulting from digital switching and fiber optics supports population growth and a wider span of economic activity in rural communities, leading to growth in travel.