Dynamics of transport and social exclusion: Effects of expensive driver's license

This study explores the interface between the theme of “transport-related social exclusion” and resource allocation in a household. The study posits the “license to drive” as a skill which affects the family as a whole. The consequences of expensive driver's license (DL) within the domain of family structure, gender and its implications for the non-western immigrants in Norway are discussed. Further we analyse how decision-making within a family and the tenets of social exclusion are therefore affected both by the availability of public transport and price of procuring a driving license in the Norwegian context. Through assessing the linkages between expensive driver's license and its substitution elasticity by public transport, we arrive at a surprising possibility that for high values on both factors, an additional increase to the substitution elasticity (improved public transport) may lead to further social exclusion for certain groups through a denied access to driver's license.