Travel activities of employees. An analysis of factors influencing car arrangements, parking conditions, fraquency of business travel and modal choice for commuting

From a social point of view it is especially important to reduce the volume of car traffic in peak hours. Even though the proportion of business travelling in peak situations is not insignificant, a turning of the transport policy towards a more "optimal" direction will hardly reduce the volumes of this type of traffic. Favourable car arrangements and free parking give strong incentives for car use for all kinds of travelling. Favourable car arrangements is not of great quantitative importance for the efficiency of peak hours travel to and in the course of work. Free and reliable parking is significantly more important, both because of its high valuation by the employees, and because of its high dissemination. Free parking is very common also in the more central areas of Oslo, where one could argue that such parking conditions should be taxed as a fringe benefit. An alternative transport policy in areas where space for parking has little or no alternative value, should be founded on a "second best" idea, based on the admission of the fact that the car use is underpriced and not the parking as such.