Liepmann Kate K. The Journey to Work: Its Significance for Industrial and Community Life

Routledge, 2002. — 219 p. — (The International Library of Sociology : The Sociology of Work and Organization). — ISBN: 0-203-00157-5.There are only a few inventions of which it can be said that they have brought nothing but blessings. Concerning some, indeed, a case can be made out for holding that they have proved to be little else than curses; but most inventions, it is clear, have had both good and evil results. Such is the position of the invention of mechanical transport. On the one hand, it is to the good that men can move easily and so enlarge their opportunities and experiences. On the other hand, it is mechanical transport that has made possible the rise of huge cities; had it not been for railways, trams, buses and tubes, traffic would have seized up long ago in the centre of
these cities and this would have brought their growth to an end. It is now acknowledged that on account of their mere size our larger towns are faced by difficult social, economic, and administrative problems; evidently the origin of many of these troubles must be sought in the use made of the new transport facilities.
Dr. Liepmann is concerned with one aspect of this matter, namely the journey to and from work, and with its results, good and bad. Many people say that the time and money spent on these journeys are wasted, and it is certainly true that, other things being equal, the situation of the man who lives close to his work and can walk or bicycle to it is far happier than that of the man who must travel. Less attention is perhaps paid to the positive evils ar ising from daily travel. It is not merely that time is wasted; it is not just that so many hours are lost from the day. To many, daily travel is a cause of nervous fatigue; the zest of a new day is worn off before it has begun. More than that, no faculty can be properly exercised while travelling in crowds; it is difficult to read, to observe, to concentrate or to contemplate with any profit. The necessity of passing so much time each day during which profitable activity is difficult or impossible encourages the habit of passing all leisure time in this way. The daily journey to work is one of the features of modern life making for depersonalisation and accounts in some degree for the inability of men now-a-days to enjoy themselves in creative activity or, indeed, in any fashion which demands more than passive response.