Use of ecological footprinting to explore alternative transport policy scenarios in an Irish city-region

The objective of this paper is to compare the ecological footprint for travel-commuting patterns for the residents of an Irish city-region, that is Limerick city-region, in 1996 and 2002. Scenario building, based on ecological footprint analysis, is used to estimate the impact of different policy choices for 2010. The optimal policy mix for sustainable travel is proposed and consists of a mix of reduced demand through travel demand measures, better spatial planning and technological improvements in fuel economy.