Modelling the joint access mode and railway station choice

This study models the choices of Dutch railway users. We find a steeper negative distance effect on the utility of departure stations accessed by the non-motorized modes of walking and bicycle as compared to the motorized modes of car and public transport. Availability of parking places and bicycle standing areas have a positive effect on the choice of departure railway stations accessed by car and bicycle, respectively. Public transport frequency has a positive whereas travel time has a negative effect on the choice of departure stations accessed by public transport. The derived rail service quality index (RSQI), which provides a measure of rail accessibility to all other stations, has a significant and positive effect on the choice of departure stations accessed by all modes. The outcome of this paper can be used to develop a comprehensive railway accessibility indicator for neighbourhoods, for hedonic pricing studies.     

Interrelations between travel mode choice and trip distance: trends in Germany 1976–2002

In recent decades, trends in travel behaviour have been characterised by increasing trip distances and a modal shift towards the private car. This paper reports findings from longitudinal analyses of the German nation-wide travel survey KONTIV for the period 1976–2002. It focuses on travel mode choice, subdivided by distance categories, and also takes car availability and city size into account. In addition, trends in car availability itself are examined by city size categories. The results indicate that even within the same distance categories car use has considerably increased. In some cases bicycle use has increased as well. Gains in the use of the private car are mainly at the expense of trips on foot and by public transport. Accordingly, the shift in modal split towards the car is not (only) caused by increasing trip distances but took place even within distance classes. Once car availability is taken into account, the modal shifts appear to be considerably weaker. This suggests that once car availability is held constant the decision rationales of mode choice for a certain trip distance have remained relatively stable. The increase in motorisation over the study period was considerably weaker in large cities than in small towns, although the cities started from a lower level in the 1970s. Thus, the motorisation divide between cities on the one hand, and suburban and rural areas on the other hand has become ever wider. For travel mode choice, the picture is similar. What is more, the results suggest that even car owners are more inclined to walk a given distance in the cities than in small towns, even more so if they live in a central urban area. The built environment, thus, appears to have a strong impact on whether an available car is used or not.     

Residential location and daily travel distances: the influence of trip purpose

This paper investigates the extent to which residential location influences daily distance travelled if travel purposes are differentiated. Statistical multilevel models are applied to Swedish National Travel Survey data from 2005–2006. Travel purposes are categorized by considering time–spatial constraints and hypothesized factors of personal freedom of choice. Results indicate that the influence of residential location on daily distance travelled is highly conditional on trip purpose in a nationwide Swedish context. Although statistically significant proportions of the variation in daily distance travelled to work, on service errands, and on weekdays were dependent on residential location, daily travel distances for leisure activities and on weekends varied greatly among people living in the same neighbourhood. From a policy perspective, these results suggest that measures intended to alter the built environment to reduce the volume of travel will be most efficient as regards work trips, while trips taken during free time are unlikely to be much affected. In addition, the multilevel models applied reveal several important interactions between the variation in travel distances across residential locations and individual characteristics of which researchers should be aware, especially when examining service trips.     

The indirect effect of the built environment on travel mode choice: A focus on recent movers

Many studies have demonstrated that the built environment has a strong impact on people's travel mode choice. However, the built environment also influences elements such as travel distance and car ownership, which might be the true predictors of which travel modes are chosen. In this study, we analyse the effects of changes in residential neighbourhood on changes in travel mode (for commute trips and leisure trips), both directly and indirectly through changes in car ownership, travel distances and travel attitudes. This study applies a structural equation modelling approach using quasi-longitudinal data from 1650 recently relocated residents in the city of Ghent, Belgium. Results indicate that the built environment has strong direct effects on active leisure trips and car use. However, distance (for car use) and attitudes (for active travel) were found to be important mediating variables. In sum, the effect of the built environment on travel mode choice might be more complex than commonly assumed as it partly seems mediated by travel distance and travel attitudes.     

Determinants of transport mode choice in metropolitan areas the case of the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico

The following paper examines the determinants of transport mode choice for trips in the Metropolitan Area of the Mexican Valley. Using a data set from the Mexican household travel survey (Encuesta Origen - Destino) conducted in 2017 and multinomial logistic regression, the influence of transportation supply, spatial characteristics and socio-economic factors on individual mode choice is estimated. To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of mobility behaviour in the Metropolitan Area of the Mexican Valley with this newly developed data set.The main findings show that a better Mass Rapid Transit infrastructure is not consistently positively associated with the likelihood of using this service. While a better road infrastructure is promoting the use of Mass Rapid Transit services over driving, it is negatively linked with the likelihood of walking and bicycling. These slow modes are mainly interfered with the distance to the city centre: the further away from the centre, the higher the likelihood of walking and bicycling instead of using the car.With respect to socio-economic characteristics of individuals, women and the young found to have a higher likelihood of using public transport than the car. In contrast, having children is negatively associated with the likelihood of using public transport. Moreover, a higher education of individuals is found to be positively associated with car use, while car availability is negatively associated with all other transport mode options.     

Structures of commitment in mode use: a comparison of Switzerland, Germany and Great Britain

Travellers commit themselves to particular behaviours through the ownership of cars and season tickets. They trade a large one-off payment for low or zero marginal cost at the point of use. It can be assumed that these commitments influence travel behaviour. To the knowledge of the authors there is no literature which addresses the choice between the commitment to the one or the other mode and its impacts on travel behaviour.The paper presents models using structural equation modelling to test a-priori hypotheses on the paths linking car-availability, season-ticket-ownership and modal usage. Modal usage is operationalised as the number of trips by car, public transport, or as the distances travelled by car or public transport. The models are based on three different surveys: Switzerland, Germany and Great Britain. The results confirm the dominance of car-availability, which drives the other variables, but the relationships are more complicated than generally assumed.     

Public bicycle as a feeder mode to rail transit in China: The role of gender,age, income,trip purpose,and bicycle theft experience

A marriage between public bicycle and rail transit presents new opportunities for sustainable transportation in Chinese cities. To examine determinants of public bicycle usage for rail transit access, an intercept survey of feeder mode choice among rail transit users was conducted near rail stations in Nanjing, China. Mode choice models were estimated with five feeder mode alternatives, including car, bus, walk, private bike, and public bike. By differentiating between public and private bicycle modes in the mode choice models, the study reveals the effects of personal demographics, trip characteristics, and station environments on public bicycle usage for rail transit access. Results show that female, older, and low-income rail commuters are less likely to use public bicycle to access rail transit. Rail commuters with bicycle theft experience and making school- or work-related trips are more likely to use public bicycle to access rail transit. Land use variables are largely insignificant in this study except that density shows a positive relationship with walking to rail transit. The results on demographic differences raise equity concerns when it comes to investing in public bicycle systems. Policy implications are discussed for Chinese cities to equitably boost public bicycle integration with rail transit.     

Home-end and activity-end preferences for access to and egress from train stations in the Copenhagen region

Increasing public transport use with the aim of improving the sustainability of cities should focus not only on enhancing level and quality of the service offered, but also on understanding determinants of the choice of access and egress modes to and from the railway network. This study analyzes the difference in preferences at the home-end and activity-end for travelers who have chosen train as their main travel mode while investigating the effect of policy variables such as car parking availability, bicycle parking availability and type, and bicycle on train possibility. Specifically, this study analyzes the choices between five transport modes (i.e., “walk,” “bicycle,” “car driver,” “car passenger,” “bus”) for 2921 home-end and 3658 activity-end trips. Joint mixed logit models are specified and estimated to account for heteroscedasticity and correlation across alternative modes as well as taste heterogeneity across travelers. Model estimates and pseudo-elasticities uncover the importance of travel time and underline how the improvement of walkability, bikeability, and bus service would contribute significantly to the increase in the probability of choosing sustainable modes to and from train stations. Moreover, model results emphasize the role of bicycle parking in terms of the sheer number of spaces to be increased as well as covered places to be offered at the activity end, de facto giving the possibility to leave a bicycle at that end during the night. Lastly, model results show that it is a matter of not only time and trip characteristics, but also traveler characteristics, occupation, and purpose.     

Role of user's socio-economic and travel characteristics in mode choice between city bus and informal transit services: Lessons from household surveys in Visakhapatnam,India

Informally operated paratransit or Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) systems provide demand responsive transit in many developing countries, often competing with formal public transport systems. Literature on the relative user characteristics of the two modes and their choice behaviour between the systems is limited. This article addresses the gap by presenting a methodology to derive a comprehensive understanding of socio-economic and travel demand characteristics of all transit users in a city. The household survey based data collection and analysis framework is demonstrated for the case of Visakhapatnam, a medium sized Indian city. The variables impacting users' choice between the formal and informal modes were derived through binary logistic regression. It was observed that gender, income and travel time have a significant influence on users' choice between the modes, with waiting time having the maximum impact on mode choice. Therefore, the high frequency services offered by paratransit attract users making shorter trips.     

Understanding attitudes towards public transport and private car: A qualitative study

This paper presents the results of a qualitative study of public transport users and car users in order to obtain a deeper understanding of travellers’ attitudes towards transport and to explore perceptions of public transport service quality. The key findings indicate that in order to increase public transport usage, the service should be designed in a way that accommodates the levels of service required by customers and by doing so, attract potential users. Furthermore, the choice of transport is influenced by several factors, such as individual characteristics and lifestyle, the type of journey, the perceived service performance of each transport mode and situational variables. This suggests the need for segmentation taking into account travel attitudes and behaviours. Policies which aim to influence car usage should be targeted at the market segments that are most motivated to change and willing to reduce frequency of car use.     

Transport mode choice in South East Asia: Investigating the relationship between transport users’ perception and travel behaviour in Johor Bahru,Malaysia

The worldwide increase in private car dependency poses a set of significant environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges that continue to undermine the urban quality of life. Rapid motorisation, particularly in South East Asia (SEA), has emerged as a global concern given the region’s cumulative population, rate of industrialisation, and large-scale urbanisation. Thus, there is a compelling need to enhance our understanding of the underlying dynamics of how people perceive and use transportation such that transport planning is better placed to address the current, unsustainable travel patterns in SEA. Despite this need, there has been relatively limited SEA-based research that has endeavoured to examine travel perceptions and transport mode choice from a non-instrumental perspective. This research redresses this deficit by investigating the relationship between transport users’ perceptions and travel behaviours within SEA, with a particular focus on psychosocial drivers of transport mode choice interfaced with more traditional instrumental measures.Spatially stratified survey data have been collected in a case study area, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, comprising users from different transport user groups. Employing regression modelling, drivers of individual’s travel behaviour are examined. Results highlight the merit in recognising the role of non-instrumental motives alongside instrumental motives to explain transport mode choice. We conclude by highlighting that transport mode choices are motivated by a range of locational, socio-demographic, psychological and cultural determinants. The current research has contributed to a better understanding of transport mode choice in Johor Bahru and provides a foundation for future SEA-based travel behaviour research. Studies in this area can inform more sustainable travel behaviour in the SEA region.     

Disentangling the behavioural side of the first and last mile problem: the role of modality style and the built environment

The first and last mile (FLM) problem, namely the poor connection between trip origins or destination and public transport stations, is a significant obstacle to sustainable transportation as it is likely to encourage the use of cars for FLM travel, if not for the entire trip. This study examines the role of modality style and built environment in FLM mode choice behaviour, in order to identify the key features that might invoke a travel mode shift from cars to more sustainable travel options for both mandatory and discretionary trips. More specifically, this study draws on disaggregate data from the South East Queensland household travel survey and presents a latent class choice model to unravel modality style groups. Results reveal two distinct individual-level modality style groups: (1) driving and walking oriented; (2) multimodal travellers. Individuals in the second modality style group were found to be relatively inelastic to FLM travel time for mandatory trips, while individuals in the first group were largely unaffected by built environment characteristics and highly habitual in their mode choice behaviour for both mandatory and discretionary trips. Home residence environments with high road intersection density and public transport accessibility, and home residence environments with diverse land use mix, respectively encourage individuals within the second modality style to walk for mandatory trips, and discretionary trips. To this end, when place-based policies seek to change certain built environment features, individuals in the second modality style are more likely to shift their preference from cars to more sustainable modes. Finally, our findings have practical planning implications in targeting mode shift through highlighting the importance of considering the intersection of individual modality style in a given locale and mode choice behaviour. More specifically, our findings advocate for place-based policies that seek to target particular locales with the certain modality style deemed to be more predisposed to adopting a mode shift.     

Walking,cycling, and public transport for commuting and non-commuting travels across 5 European urban regions: Modal choice correlates and motivations

The objective of this study was to explore individual and contextual-level characteristics associated with active (walking and cycling) and public transport as main travel modes for both non-commuting and commuting purposes, in residents of five European urban regions. We also described participant-reported motivations for modal choice for each journey purpose. The study used multilevel models to investigate cross-sectional associations of individual (i.e. age, gender, educational level) and contextual (defined by a combination of residential neighbourhood characteristics in typologies) characteristics with the choice of active and public transport as outcome. Based on an online survey of 6037 residents of Ghent and suburbs (Belgium), Paris and inner suburbs (France), Budapest and suburbs (Hungary), the Randstad (including the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht in the Netherlands) and Greater London (United Kingdom), we observed associations with both individual and contextual characteristics.Results of the multilevel modelling show that the probability of using active or public transport as main mode varies depending on both individual and contextual characteristics. At individual level, relations with gender, age, education, weight status and having at least one child varied according to main transport mode and/or purpose. For example, overweight participants reported lower level of cycling for commuting and non-commuting travels than normal-weight participants. In the context of non-commuting travels, participants with one or more child reported less public transport use and more walking (vs participants without children). Among contextual-level variables, urban characteristics of the residential neighbourhood defined by four clusters (according to food environment, recreational facilities and active mobility opportunities) were associated with public transport and walking but not with cycling. For active transport the most important reasons were “I like to travel (on foot or by bike)” and “I want to be physically active” for both travel purposes. “Public transport facilities nearby” was indicated as the most important reason for public transport (for both trip purposes) – the second was “Journey time”.Our findings highlight the importance of exploring a combination of multiple correlates at individual and contextual level according to journey purposes and suggest that the role of health-related individual characteristics such as weight status need further exploration.     

“Cycling was never so easy!” An analysis of e-bike commuters' motives,travel behaviour and experiences using GPS-tracking and interviews

The market for electrically-assisted cycling is growing fast. When substituting motorized travel, it could play an important role in the development of sustainable transport systems. This study aimed to assess the potential of e-bikes for low-carbon commuting by analysing e-bike commuters' motives, travel behaviour and experiences. We GPS-tracked outdoor movements of 24 e-bike users in the Netherlands for two weeks and used their mapped travel behaviour as input for follow-up in-depth interviews. Most participants commuted by e-bike, alternated with car use. E-bike use was highest in work-related, single-destination journeys. It gave participants the benefits of conventional cycling over motorized transport (physical, outdoor activity) while mitigating relative disadvantages (longer travel time, increased effort). The positive experience of e-bike use explained the tolerance for longer trip durations compared to other modes of transportation. Participants were inclined to make detours in order to access more enjoyable routes. Results demonstrate that e-bikes can substitute motorized commuting modes on distances perceived to be too long to cover by regular bike, and stress the importance of positive experience in e-bike commuting. This provides impetus for future actions to encourage commuting by e-bike.     

Conceptualising convenience: Transportation practices and perceptions of inner-urban high density residents in Brisbane,Australia

High-density living in inner-urban areas has been promoted to encourage the use of more sustainable modes of travel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, previous research presents mixed results on the relationship between living in proximity to transport systems and reduced car-dependency. This research examines inner-city residents’ transportation practices and perceptions, via 24 qualitative interviews with residents from high-density dwellings in inner-city Brisbane, Australia. Whilst participants consider public transport accessible and convenient, car use continues to be relied on for many journeys. Transportation choices are justified through complex definitions of convenience containing both utilitarian and psycho-social elements, with three key themes identified: time-efficiency, single versus multi-modal trips, and distance to and purpose of journey, as well as attitudinal, affective and symbolic elements related to transport mode use. Understanding conceptions of transport convenience held by different segments of the transport users market, alongside other factors strongly implicated in travel mode choice, can ensure targeted improvements in sustainable transport service levels and infrastructure as well as information service provision and behavioural change campaigns.     

The access journey to the railway station and its role in passengers’ satisfaction with rail travel

This paper focuses on two lines of investigation with regard to access to railway stations in the Netherlands. Firstly, the profile of the access and egress modes on journeys to and from railway stations is analyzed. We also examine how the availability of car affects the mode choice on journeys to the station. Secondly, the effect of passengers’ perception of the station and of the journey to the station on the overall perception of traveling by rail is estimated. The results show that most of the passengers choose walking, bicycle and public transport to get to or from the railway station and that the availability of a car does not have a strong effect on the choice of access mode to the station. The quality of the station and the access/egress facilities was found to have an important effect on the general perception of traveling by rail.     

The path and time efficiency of residents' trips of different purposes with different travel modes: An empirical study in Guangzhou,China

Improving residents' travel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from travel are the key issues for sustainable development of urban transportation. This study first employed a circuity index to measure the path efficiency of residents' trips based on 2015 survey data in Guangzhou and developed a generalized additive model (GAM) to investigate the relationship between the path efficiency and travel distance for different purposes of trip and different travel modes. On this basis, it further evaluated the time efficiency of different travel modes for each trip. The results showed that there is a complex and nonlinear relationship between the path efficiency and travel distance, which differs between different purposes of trips and different travel modes. In general, trips by non-motorized transport have a lower circuity index and higher path efficiency than those by cars or public transport. Moreover, non-motorized transport is the time-efficiency optimal mode for almost half of the trips, especially for daily shopping trips. However, people prefer to choose public transport on their trips even though public transport is not the time-efficiency optimal mode for these trips. Generally, only about half of the residents chose the time-efficiency optimal mode for their trips. Those who did not choose the time-efficiency optimal mode tended to choose the modes with higher carbon-intensity. The conclusions of this study indicate that for improving travel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from transport, more efforts should be focused on the non-motorized travel environment and developing relevant policies to encourage more walking and cycling.     

Errors in variables in multinomial choice modeling: A simulation study applied to a multinomial logit model of travel mode choice

Modeling travel demand is a vital part of transportation planning and management. Level of service (LOS) attributes representing the performance of transportation system and characteristics of travelers including their households are major factors determining the travel demand. Information on actual choice and characteristics of travelers is obtained from a travel survey at an individual level. Since accurate measurement of LOS attributes such as travel time and cost components for different travel modes at an individual level is critical, they are normally obtained from network models. The network-based LOS attributes introduce measurement errors to individual trips thereby causing errors in variables problem in a disaggregate model of travel demand. This paper investigates the possible structure and magnitude of biases introduced to the coefficients of a multinomial logit model of travel mode choice due to random measurement errors in two variables, namely, access/egress time for public transport and walking and cycling distance to work. A model was set up that satisfies the standard assumptions of a multinomial logit model. This model was estimated on a data set from a travel survey on the assumption of correctly measured variables. Subsequently random measurement errors were introduced and the mean values of the parameters from 200 estimations were presented and compared with the original estimates. The key finding in this paper is that errors in variables result in biased parameter estimates of a multinomial logit model and consequently leading to poor policy decisions if the models having biased parameters are applied in policy and planning purposes. In addition, the paper discusses some potential remedial measures and identifies research topics that deserve a detailed investigation to overcome the problem. The paper therefore significantly contributes to bridge the gap between theory and practice in transport.     

Analysis of travel mode choice and trip chain pattern relationships based on multi-day GPS data: A case study in Shanghai,China

As the propensity to link multiple intermediate stops in a trip chain (a sequence of journeys that starts and ends at home, includes visiting one or more locations) is more prevalent, the relationship between travel mode choice and trip chain pattern aroused the attention of academics. This paper examines two distinct structures to identify the decision process of travelers between travel mode choice and trip chain pattern: one structure in which trip chain pattern organization precedes travel mode choice, another structure in which travel mode choice decision precedes the organization of trip chain pattern. To accommodate multi-day behavioral variability and unobserved heterogeneity in personal characteristics ignored by traditional travel surveys, multi-day GPS data collected in Shanghai is employed to estimate these two structures within Nested Logit (NL) model. The Monte Carlo (MC) method simulates the switch of trip-chaining and mode choice under possible Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies based on estimation results. The findings of this study are as follows: (1) trip chain pattern decision precedes travel mode choice, which means trip-chaining is organized first and affects travel mode choice; (2) complex trip chain is related to higher automobile dependency, and it is a barrier to the tendency to adopt public transit; (3) people who generally travel by automobiles might switch to public transit when private cars are unavailable, and an increase in household bicycle ownership enhances competition between the bicycle and public transit which leads people to turn to cycling. These findings help implement TDM strategies to develop sustainable transportation systems and optimize the urban trip structure.     

School travel mode choice in Beijing,China

This study explores school travel mode choice behavior of 7–18 year-old students in Beijing, China, based on the data collected in Fifth Travel Survey of Beijing Inhabitants. The integration of tree-based and logit-based models is employed to examine the influence of key variables on school travel mode choice. In particular, the tree-based model is used to preliminarily select the traits which have a statistical effect on mode choice, and the logit-based model is used to provide deeper understanding of the underlying decision processes and the correlation effects of the variables. Results show that car ownership, poor walking/cycling environment, and adults' convenience for escorting students significantly stimulate the use of cars in school commuting. Students are more inclined to choose cars when their departure time is at rush hour compared to the other time. Moreover, the longer distance encourages the use of motorized transport, where the households with local hukou (usually related to the car ownership and other welfares) are more willing to drive their children to school. A number of recommendations on car restraint, sustainable travel environment improvement, different working hour implementing, and educational resources layout for the encouragement and promotion of sustainable travel practices are lastly proposed.