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.     

Teen travel in the Greater Toronto Area: A descriptive analysis of trends from 1986 to 2006 and the policy implications

This paper extends research on urban form and travel behavior beyond adult travel by examining teen travelers aged 13–19 in the Greater Toronto Area. Data from the Transportation Tomorrow Survey (TTS) survey are used to study four main research questions: (1) How has teen mode choice changed from 1986 to 2006? (2) How do these choices vary as teens transition from the 13–15 age group to being of driving age (16–19)? (3) How do these choices vary across the different urban and suburban regions of the GTA? (4) What are some of the differences between teen travel and adult travel? Results show that in general, active transportation has decreased, while auto-passenger mode shares have increased across the region. The younger group walks more and the older group takes transit more for both school and discretionary travel. Jurisdictions with better transit supply and orientation have higher transit mode shares for school trips, but discretionary trips have very low transit mode shares. Walk mode shares for both school and discretionary travel are similar across all jurisdictions, regardless of whether they are urban or suburban. In contrast to adult travel in the GTA, built form characteristics and transit supply do not appear to have a direct relationship with teen mode choice. Urban form appears to exert an indirect influence on teen travel.     

粤港澳大湾区城际铁路公交化运营模式探讨

随着产业、就业、经济、资源的深度融合,粤港澳大湾区各城市呈现出“一座城”的发展态势,区域内城际铁路快速发展。通过对粤港澳大湾区城际铁路客流特征进行分析,梳理目前大湾区城际铁路运营模式,进一步设计大湾区城际铁路公交化运营模式,并挖掘传统铁路运营模式中阻碍城际旅客便捷化出行的关键环节,提出大湾区城际铁路公交化运营发展对策,为粤港澳大湾区城际铁路公交化运营组织提供设计参考,以更好地促进区域交通一体化,服务于城际间区域联动发展。     

What drives sustainable student travel? Mode choice determinants in the Greater Toronto Area

Examination of mode choice behavior is an important step in accurately predicting future travel demand. Despite having somewhat unique travel needs and challenges, there is a lack of knowledge in understanding the mode use behavior of university student population. The existing studies on university populations relied on a relatively smaller sample in investigating the behavior. Therefore, using world's largest university student's travel database, this study examines the factors affecting the mode choice behavior of a diverse university student population with student samples from four universities and their seven campuses located across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Canada. Additionally, stratifying this diverse population using their attitudinal responses towards numerous travel modes, this study also estimates three additional mode choice models to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of how students in different markets, with different latent attitudes towards transportation, vary in terms of sustainable mode choice. A cluster analysis based on fourteen attitudinal responses, was conducted to stratify the sample whereas the popular multinomial logit approach was used to estimate the mode choice models. This study finds transit pass and bike ownership as important determinants that govern sustainable mode choice among the students in the region. The findings of this study could facilitate the sustainability offices at the four universities in making an informed policy decision in shifting the mode use behavior of students towards sustainable modes.     

Dependence between travel distance,individual socioeconomic and health-related characteristics,and the choice of the travel mode: a cross-sectional study for Kaunas,Lithuania

The aim of this study was to analyse the associations between individual socioeconomic and health-related characteristics, travel distance, and the choice of different travel modes in urban population. A cross-sectional study included 932 adults of Kaunas city, Lithuania. The choice of the travel mode and individual characteristics were self-reported by the participants, and their travel routes were calculated using the geographic information system. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the most significant factors determining the choice of a car, cycling, walking, or public transport. In total, 529 participants reported using a car, of whom 65.8% had medium or high education levels. These participants were more likely to be younger, male, married, and employed. Among bicycle users, statistically significant differences between the employment status, body mass index, and travel distance were observed. Walkers were significantly more likely to be older, those with lower incomes, unemployed, and travelling the shortest distances. The analysis of the travel distance on the choice of the travel mode revealed that men travelled longer distances with a car compared to women. The employment status was significantly associated with travel distance by car or public transport. Employed individuals travelled longer distances by public transport or by car, compared to unemployed individuals. Among bicycle users, we found that people with higher levels of education and overweight individuals cycled the longest distances. Our study emphasizes the importance of considering different individual characteristics when analysing the choice of transport modes. It provides evidence that is relevant for all urban populations on the choice of the transport mode, particularly considering active versus passive transport.     

Mode choice in commuting and the built environment in México City. Is there a chance for non-motorized travel?

Non-motorized transportation (NMT) has emerged as a mitigating alternative for the negative externalities of motorized travel. This research presents an overview of the intra-metropolitan geography of transportation mode choice in the journey to work in the México City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), which can be seen as a representation of the huge socioeconomic inequalities typical of the Global South. The regression model applied showed that, as expected, socioeconomic variables were strong determinants of mode choice. An increase in age, as well as lower categories of socioeconomic class and educational attainment, were associated with the use of transit and non-motorized travel. Other factors positively associated with bike use were distance to the center, density of mass-transit systems stations, street intersection density, and the flat surface. The pattern of walk commuting with respect to the city center followed a u-shaped curve, while factors significantly positively associated were female, population density, the jobs-housing ratio at the origin, and the density of mass-transit systems stations. The paper concludes with a discussion of the research implications to leverage public policy efforts to promote NMT.     

Travelling to work: will people move out of their cars

This paper examines employee's perceptions of their modal choice during the journey to work, and addresses what factors influence modal choice, and whether people can be moved out of their cars to other more sustainable forms of transport. The results of surveys of the commuting habits of employees at two UK companies are presented and compared with other relevant studies. Ninety-seven and 88% of staff at the respective companies travel to work by car. While only 2 and 7% of respondents cycled to work, real potential for cycling was identified, given improvements in the cycling infrastructure. Similarly, while only 0 and 3% currently use public transport for the journey to work, improved services could see a significant modal shift. Overall, there seemed to be genuine willingness to move out of the car for the journey to work, with one of the main barriers being a perception that the alternatives are not viable. Additionally, it appears many people live too far from the workplace to cycle or use public transport.     

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.     

Assessing travel time reliability in transport appraisal

This paper considers a way of assessing travel time reliability in transport appraisal. The term travel time reliability generally refers to variations in journey time that travellers may not predict. Two essential requirements for the evaluation and guidance of the appraisal are discussed. The requirements represent the measurement and valuation of travel time uncertainties. The gap between actual and planned journey times is used for the quantification, subject to the differing characteristics of road and rail usage. A logit-based choice model is developed to derive monetary values of travel time variation. Guidelines are established using the standard framework of the rule of a half. Concluding remarks are also presented.     

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.     

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.     

Predicting transit mode choice of New Jersey workers commuting to New York City from a stated preference survey

This study examines transit mode choice preferences of New Jersey commuters traveling to New York City (NYC) with the objective of assisting trans-Hudson ferry service planning on the basis of variables significantly affecting mode choice. A stated preference survey was conducted to collect data from a total of 2134 respondents who commute from northern New Jersey to NYC. A mixed multinomial logit model (MMLM) with random coefficients was used to analyze the data. The study considered the choice between four transit modes—ferry, PATH train, bus, and commuter rail—all of which can be used to cross the Hudson River to travel from New Jersey to NYC. Essential model results are presented for all four modes, but detailed results are discussed for only the ferry, PATH, and bus modes. Model results indicate that commuters' choices are affected not only by travel time and cost for the segment of the journey that crosses the Hudson River, but also reliability and comfort during that segment, number of access modes required by the journey, and travel time and cost of trips from home to stations/terminals before crossing the river. The results also show that commuters' attachment to the modes they currently use serves as a barrier to switching to other modes. The most important takeaway from this research for transit service planning is that there is a need to consider the attributes of both individual trip segments as well as entire journeys between commuters' home and work when exploring changes to transit service characteristics.     

Travel time use and its impact on high-speed-railway passengers' travel satisfaction in the e-society

The availability of wireless networks and the pervasive use of mobile ICT devices have allowed passengers to conduct various e-activities during journeys. These various e-activities, in turn, may change people's conventional perception of travel time from being “wasteful” and “unproductive,” to “desirable” and giving rise to satisfaction. Journeys on high-speed railway (HSR) is particularly relevant for transport researchers to probe into this question because of its characteristics of being medium to long-distance (typically taking half-an-hour or more), seat availability, and a smooth ride. Using a questionnaire survey on passengers along the Shanghai-Nanjing HSR route, this study aims to examine the nature of ICT device use and in-vehicle e-activities conducted by HSR passengers and the influence on their travel satisfaction with their on-board journey experience. Our results reveal a high percentage of ICT device use and a wide variety of e-activities such as e-working, e-communication, and e-reading for leisure on HSR trains. In addition, the higher use of ICT device was associated with an increase of passengers' travel satisfaction. Furthermore, we found a positive effect of work-related e-activities on travel satisfaction for business/work trips, while a positive effect of entertainment-related e-activities for non-business/work trips. Given that HSR is potentially a more sustainable transport mode, some possible policy implications are proposed to encourage people to use HSR, as opposed to driving or flying, for medium to long-distance intercity journeys.     

The influence of socioeconomic characteristics,land use and travel time considerations on mode choice for medium- and longer-distance trips

This paper contributes to the limited number of investigations into the influence of the spatial configuration of land use and transport systems on mode choice for medium- and longer-distance travel (defined here as home-based trips of 50 km and over) in the Netherlands. We have employed data from the 1998 Netherlands National Travel Survey to address the question as to how socioeconomic factors, land use attributes, and travel time affect mode choice for medium- and longer-distance travel, and how their role varies across trip purposes: commuting, business, and leisure. The empirical analysis indicates that land use attributes and travel time considerations are important in explaining the variation in mode choice for medium- and longer-distance travel when controlling for the socioeconomic characteristics of travellers.     

An explanation of the relationship between adults’ work trip mode and children’s school trip mode through the Heckman approach

Most studies on children’s travel hypothesize that the characteristics of children, households, schools, and neighborhoods exogenously affect their travel mode to school. This study makes an additional assumption that children’s mode to school and household adults’ travel mode to work are interrelated because of a lifestyle choice made by parents and caregivers. With this assumption, Heckman probit models were used with data from the 2009 US National Household Travel Survey to predict household adults’ travel mode to work and children’s travel mode to school jointly. It found strong evidence that household adults’ decision to drive to work significantly increases the probability of children being dropped off at school and decreases their likelihood of walking and bicycling, but not vice versa. As adults’ mode choice is more fundamental in the household decision-making process, the study suggests that children’s mode choice studies should not ignore how parents or caregivers travel to work.     

Estimating social travel demand of senior citizens in the Netherlands

Like many other countries, the Netherlands is experiencing a sharp rise in the ageing population. As age increases, people’s mobility may decrease. However, older people have more leisure time compared to their younger (working) counterparts, and potentially spend more time on social activities. Therefore, this group can possibly increase social travel demand. However, to date, the travel demand for social activities of senior citizens has received only little attention. This paper studies trip-making for social purposes, with a special focus on the demographic ageing factors. Using social activity diary data, models are estimated to predict the number of social trips, the travel distance and mode of transport for social trips. The results indicate that the elderly of today seem to be as mobile as their younger counterparts with respect to the number of social trips. High education and involvement in clubs on average result in more social trips and full time work is found to result in fewer social trips. With regard to trip distance the results show that the average travel distance does not decrease as people get older. Full time work is found to result in longer social trips. Shorter trips were found for people in urban as well as rural areas. Trips for the purpose of visiting or joint activities tend to be longer than average. With regard to transport mode choice the results indicate that older seniors (75+) are less likely to choose the bicycle, relative to driving. No other significant age effects were found. Significant effects were found for gender, household structure, education level, car ownership, having a disability, urban density, distance and the purpose of the social activity.     

Measuring the potential implications of introducing a cap and share scheme in Ireland to reduce green house gas emissions

This paper examines some of the potential impacts of introducing a cap and share scheme in Ireland. Under such a scheme a cap or limit is placed on national CO₂ emissions and individuals are allocated an annual CO₂ allowance. The research presented in this paper focuses on travel-to-work trips specifically. CO₂ emissions for these annual work trips are calculated and a cap is determined based on these results. Cap levels are set based on average emissions and a 20% reduction in average emissions as per Ireland's reduction targets. A national and Dublin only cap are examined and the results are presented as a means of comparison. Binary logistic models are used to determine the socio-economic characteristics of individuals who fall above and below the cap. The results demonstrate the importance of car ownership, journey distance, mode choice and household composition in determining whether a commuter is above or below the cap. Many commuters who fall above the cap are likely drive to work over long distances, have dependent children in their household and own more than one car.     

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.     

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.     

Introducing a transport carbon dioxide emissions vulnerability index for the Greater Dublin Area

Energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector have continued to rise, adding to growing concerns about the environmental impacts caused by transport systems and related land-use patterns. The transport sector in Ireland is a significant fuel consumer, accounting for 36% (5771 kTOE3) of Ireland’s primary energy demand in 2007. The sector was responsible for 36% (17,014 kt5 CO₂) of Ireland’s energy-related CO₂ emissions, higher than any other sector. Energy use in the transport sector grew by 181% (6.3% per annum on average) between 1990 and 2007. A key characteristic that distinguishes energy use in transport is the almost total dependence on imported oil as a fuel – over 99%, EPA (2009).Given the levels and growth of energy demand in transport, there is a clear imperative for policymakers to develop and implement measures and programmes that maximise energy efficiency and renewable-energy penetration. In this paper we develop a transport carbon dioxide emissions vulnerability index, using the Census of Population of Ireland 2006 Place of Work – Census of Anonymised Records (POWCAR) Dataset. The transport carbon dioxide emissions vulnerability index will be developed for the Greater Dublin Area to represent spatially in terms of transport carbon emissions the regional differentiations in commuting distances and modal shares. The results of this research can then be used to assess the transport carbon dioxide emissions of future development plans and therefore allow greater transport sustainability to be achieved through improved design of the location and form of major new development.