photographist

“At university I discovered the joys of the complexity of ideas. I wrote a thesis on the history of econometrics to steer myself towards this complexity. Then I became interested in the economy of transport. Transport is an asset which is not required in itself. It is used for other reasons, it is the fact of a derived demand. I wanted to understand how this demand works and how we could help people to live better day-to-day, by using a transport system at once efficient and respectful of sustainable development.
Being recruited by the Ifsttar (French Institute of transport science and technology) – previously INRETS (Transport Research Institute) was the opportunity of a lifetime! I work on understanding mobility and its externalities; on the consequences of the movement of people and goods – both on the environment and also on what we call human capital, health and economic growth.

Transport is indicative of an area's organisation, of people's lives, of their choices. Why does someone drive their car instead of taking a train? There are cultural and social factors. The strikes of 1995 pushed people to be innovative. Gaining an awareness of our area on foot and by bicycle allows us to know it better. Our work is to look deeper into these factors to evaluate trends, identify them and from there, sometimes, to suggest solutions in terms of the organisation of transport systems and mobility. Local action must be articulated on national and European scales so that important initiatives at a local level are not undermined by peripheral activity. In terms of users – women in particular – we want to explore the link between journeys and the evolution of exchanges within a couple; in other words, taking care of children, older people, etc.”

Ariane Dupont
Research Manager, Ifsttar

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