Devil's Advocate: The internet traveller

We may complain about it but there is something that compels us to travel. And Martin Brampton can't see advances in communications changing that...

A lot of people are very excited about broadband. If only everyone can be persuaded to use it, so they say, Britain will lead the electronic revolution. The latest claim is that heavy use of broadband in London will reduce travel, just in case Mayor Ken's congestion charging fails to do the trick.

There is a snag. People have always travelled, no matter how difficult it may have been. The Roman legions managed without the modern logistical support of trucks and aeroplanes. They simply walked. Admittedly, they did use ships to cross water but mostly they just walked. That was good enough to build a pretty impressive empire.

In fact, people have walked all over Europe. Monks used to travel from one monastery to another, frequently crossing half the continent on the way. Jean Jacques Rousseau recorded, in his 'Confessions', his enjoyment of long walks into different countries. For centuries, only the privileged had the benefit of transport using horses.

What happens when transport gets easier? Do people find life is easier and free time more plentiful? No, of course, not. They travel further and more frequently until they are again spending a great deal of time and effort just getting from one place to another. And despite all the grumbling about how awful it is, what do people do when they have a holiday? Why, they travel to some remote spot.

Roads are congested. But how would they ever be otherwise - we drive more as soon as a new road is built? At one time, a winter journey from Yorkshire to Lancashire was an adventure, which was not always achievable. The AA and RAC would report on which of the Pennine passes, if any, were passable. The passes even had evocative names like Nont Sarah's, Stannage and Blubberhouses. Since the M62 was built, people have committed to what would once have been unthinkable: they commute between Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Just like everyone else, I am affected by the relative ease of transport. Because it is feasible and just about affordable, I regularly take the train from North Yorkshire to London and back again. Not so long ago, nobody would have contemplated having a home in Yorkshire and working regularly in London, yet now it is not at all unusual. No amount of broadband would be likely to stop me, as so much is still achieved through face-to-face interaction.

In fact, another illustration of how difficult it is to suppress travel is the history of video conferencing. Although it can be very valuable, especially where top quality equipment is available, it has grown only slowly. It fills a relatively small niche. For many human interactions, either a telephone conversation is good enough or else people much prefer to meet in person. Between these two extremes is a quite small area of compromise where a videoconference will be satisfying.

Home working has developed significantly and broadband is a useful tool for its support. Increasing numbers of people are able to work effectively at home, at least some of the time. Electronic support is often a vital factor. And some of the home workers will actually reduce their travel substantially below the norm. Most, though, will just change the pattern of travel, trading gains in one kind of journey for new opportunities to get about.

So even if Ken Livingstone could persuade BT to make broadband free throughout London, we would be unlikely to find the streets devoid of traffic. The buses and tubes will not empty in the brave new internet world. People simply have an inbuilt tendency to travel and will always push the boundary to the point where more travel is intolerable. Where are you going for next year's holiday?

** Martin Brampton is a director and founder of Black Sheep Research (www.black-sheep-research.co.uk ), an independent consultancy providing research, writing and speaking services on a wide range of business and technology subjects. Martin was previously a director at Bloor Research, and has worked with IT as a user and analyst for over 20 years. He has been a frequent contributor to silicon.com's Behind the Headlines TV programme and can be contacted at silicon@black-sheep-research.co.uk .