Discovering ‘the sweet spot’

Travel demand is derived from a need or desire to access people, jobs, goods, services and opportunities. It is fundamentally access, not transport per se, that underpins economic prosperity and social wellbeing. We live in the 'Triple Access System' in which access is possible through the transport system (physical mobility), the land use system (spatial proximity) and the telecommunications system (digital connectivity). The latter has rapidly matured and may be considered now as a crucial third leg of the accessibility stool. This article introduces, and makes the case for the need for, Triple Access Planning. This is about moving away from a demand-led supply mentality in transport planning centred upon physical mobility. We need to move towards suppy-led demand centred upon the tripartite contribution to society's fulfilment of its access needs from physical mobility, spatial proximity and digital connectivity . Triple Access Planning aims to consider how the Triple Access System could change and could be changed in the future as we emerge from the global shock of COVID-19 and face the ongoing climate emergency.