The influence of stratification by motor-vehicle ownership on the impact of built environment factors in Indian cities

Development of compact cities, many contend, aids in the promotion of sustainable modes (public transit, walking and cycling). But the studies done until now have inadequately represented the effect of socio-economic stratification on the relationship between built environment factors and non-motorized transport (NMT) mode choice, which is important in context of a developing country like India. The present study, done in the city of Bangalore, analyzes the influence of built environment factors –density and diversity - on the mode choice and trip distance for the two segments: respondents owning at least one personal vehicle and respondents not owning any personal vehicle. The built environment factors are analyzed for their marginal effects in the presence of various socio-demographic and alternate specific attributes. The results of the built environment factors for the vehicle non-owning group highlighted the requirement of a policy framework to reduce their trip distance by controlling their employment and housing location. The gender of a commuter had a significant effect on the choice of modes, and the results that females had a higher likelihood of using NMT compared with males contradicted the results in other cities. Also, the trip distance model determined that females preferred a shorter walking distance compared with males. Further, the study determined the need for a well-planned, inclusive and coordinated land-use and transport control strategies in the future.     

Is the built-environment at origin,on route,and at destination associated with bicycle commuting? A gender-informed approach

There is limited evidence on the gender differences and location-specific built-environment factors associated with bicycling in Latin American cities. This study aimed to assess commuting in Bogotá by (1) analyzing the gender-specific trend of the standardized number of bicycle commuters during 2005–2017; and (2) assessing the socio-demographic, community, built-environment and natural factors associated with bicycle commuting stratified by gender. This secondary-data analysis included data from the Household Travel Surveys and Multipurpose Surveys to calculate the number of bicycle commuters per habitant from 2005 to 2017 by gender. We assessed the socio-demographic and built-environment factors fitting generalized additive models stratified by gender using the 2015 Household Travel Survey. Although both women and men increased the standardized number of bicycle commuters, male commuters show a steeper trend than women, evidencing the widening gender gap in bicycle commuting over time. Bicycle commuting was negatively associated with household motor vehicle ownership, steeper terrain slope, longer commute distance, and scarce low-stress roads at trip origin and route. Among women, the availability of bike paths at the trip destination was positively associated with bicycling, while age and being a student were negatively associated with bicycling. Among men, living in areas with the lowest socio-economic status was positively associated with bicycling, while having a driver's license and living close to bus rapid transit stations were negatively associated with bicycling. In conclusion, bicycle and transport infrastructure play different roles in commuting by bicycle by gender and trip stages (origin – route – destination).     

The built environment and vehicle ownership modeling: Evidence from 32 diverse regions in the U.S.

Vehicle ownership is an important determinant of the travel demand forecasting process. Vehicle ownership models are used by policy makers to identify factors that affect vehicle miles traveled, and therefore address problems related to energy consumption, air pollution, and traffic congestion. For the conventional travel demand forecasting, it logically follows land use forecasting, before trip generation, which is commonly treated as step one. The most critical limitation of the vehicle ownership models, especially in the conventional process, is that they are often related mainly to sociodemographic variables, not so much to built environmental variables. In this study, by pooling regional household travel survey data from 32 diverse regions (almost 92,000 households) of the U.S., and by controlling for socio-demographic and the built environmental variables, we estimated a vehicle ownership model that contributes to the understanding of vehicle ownership and improves the accuracy of travel demand forecasts. Two main findings of this research are: 1) The number of vehicles owned by a household increases with socio-demographic variables and decreases with almost all of the built environmental variables. For the urban planning and design practices, this finding suggests that car shedding occurs as built environments become more dense, mixed, connected, and transit-served. 2) We used both count regression and discrete choice models, and the results suggest that count regression models have better predictive accuracy. The model developed in this study can be directly used for travel demand modeling and forecasting by metropolitan planning organizations.     

Walking to transit: An unexpected source of physical activity

Using data from a regional survey carried out in Montreal, this paper shows empirical evidence that modal shift from car to transit contributes to the volume of daily physical activity. First, the paper presents a method to calculate the walking distance related to transit trips, and a totally disaggregate trip assignment model. The walking distance involved in every transit trip is then associated to the individuals' characteristics to estimate the number of steps made by the population in the whole transit system.Results show that, in average, a transit trip involves 1250 steps, required to access and egress the network as well as to transfer between routes or modes. Thus, a round trip represents 2500 steps, which account for 25% of the recommended volume of physical activity per day. Hence, analysis shows that the volume of walking varies according to attributes of the traveler (general decrease with age, higher for men) and of the trip (study and work trip involve more steps, the use of train generates more steps). A regression model confirms that these variables significantly affect the number of steps involved in transit trips. Such positive outcome, for the traveler himself, is an innovative argument to promote the use of transit that is also aligned with current sustainable transportation goals.     

Activity-travel behaviour of non-workers belonging to different income group households in Bangalore,India

Non-workers – homemakers, unemployed individuals and the retired – generally have more discretionary time than workers do, and hence, their travel behaviour and response to infrastructure improvements and travel demand management measures are different from that of workers. However, much remains unknown about activity-travel behaviour of non-workers in developing countries. Can we expect similarity between activity participation and travel behaviour of non-workers in different income group households in developing countries? How do the socio-demographic settings in India, for e.g., traditional gender roles and multi-member households, and land use context influence the activity-travel choices of non-workers in different income group households? The present study attempts to answer these questions by presenting a comparative analysis of activity-travel behaviour of non-workers in low-, medium-, and high-income households in Bangalore city, India. Using a primary activity-travel survey data, the study mainly compares the activity-travel behaviour of the three income-groups with respect to various activity-travel indicators. In addition, statistical models of daily out-of-home time allocation, trip chaining, and mode choice behaviour are estimated separately for the three groups to investigate the potential sensitivity of the groups to various factors influencing these behaviour indicators. The study findings suggest that the low-income group non-workers are more mobility-constrained than others, apparent from longer walk trip length and the lower dependency on other modes of transport. The low-income group appears to make more social stops than the other two groups, probably a reflection of social-connections due to the increased dependency on walking. However, the number of recreational and shopping stops made by this group appears to be significantly lower than the other two groups. Further, the influence of mixed residential development on low-income group individuals' maintenance and discretionary activity time allocation decision appears to be insignificant. Overall, the study suggests that future land use planning for Bangalore might ensure that all groups of individuals have equal access (in terms of travel time/distance) to basic facilities.     

Travel behavior of university students who live on campus: A case study of a rural university in Asia

With their irregular class schedules and considerable freedom in the campus environment, university students are an example of a social group that tends to have complex and unique travel behavior. This study examined travel patterns of 130 students who study and live on campus in a rural university of Thailand. All survey participants completed a travel diary for seven consecutive days in a typical school week. Other than overall travel patterns, such as trip generation, mode split, distance traveled, and travel time, this study also investigated the differences in traffic patterns of four student groups, categorized by their gender and whether they own a private vehicle or not. It was found that students of both genders appeared to have similar travel patterns in all aspects. Whether they own a private vehicle does not appear to impact daily trip generation nor the total distance traveled of the students, but it does have an effect on the travel modes used by students. Those students who own a private vehicle mostly rely on driving the vehicle, while those who do not own a vehicle rely on three modes of travel: primarily being a passenger on or in a friend’s private vehicle, and to a lesser extent, driving a friend’s vehicle, and taking a bus (the only form of public transport on the campus). The results indicate a high social interdependency among university students, which makes the development of a model to simulate travel behavior of university students a complicated task.     

Investigating household vehicle ownership,mode choice and trip sharing decisions using a combined revealed preference/stated preference Nested Logit model: case study in Bangkok Metropolitan Region

This study proposes a Nested Logit model to investigate household travel behaviour in respect to vehicle ownership, mode choice and trip sharing decisions. The model is analysed using revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) data since a combined estimation of RP/SP data is an effective method of expressing complex travel behaviour and forecasting travel demand for new transport services. In the proposed model, the nesting structure has two levels. The upper level shows car ownership, motorcycle ownership, and no vehicle-ownership choices, and the lower level shows the mode choice combinations for two-traveller households. Trip sharing is considered as one of the mode-choice options in the model. The proposed model is analysed using data from the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. The analysis conducted informs that Central Business District (CBD) travel, long distance travel, household income, job status, age of travellers and presence of school children in households are key aspects in household travel decisions. Based on these aspects, households make important decisions on vehicle ownership, mode choice and trip sharing. In addition, this study reveals commuters’ hidden preferences for modes that are not in existence, in particular the Mass Rapid Transit System in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region due to be fully implemented in 2010.     

Land-use and socio-economics as determinants of traffic emissions and individual exposure to air pollution

This paper presents a modeling framework developed for the City of Montreal, Canada, and is intended to quantify two indicators that can explain the spatial distribution of traffic-related air pollution at a metropolitan level. The indicators are estimated at the level of the traffic analysis zone (TAZ) and include: (1) the average level of emissions generated per individual and (2) the level of emissions occurring in a zone as a proxy for air pollution exposure. A regional traffic assignment model is extended with capabilities for emission modeling at an individual trip level while taking into account vehicle (type and age) and trip attributes (road type, speed, and volume). We observe that individuals who generate higher emissions from travel tend to reside in areas with lower exposure to traffic emissions while individuals associated with low levels of travel emissions (e.g. travel smaller distances, conduct less trips, and use alternative modes) reside in areas with high levels of traffic pollution. A regression analysis of the two indicators against a set of land-use and socio-economic variables shows that generated emissions per individual are positively associated with car ownership and larger vehicles, while being negatively associated with ownership of newer vehicles, and location in dense and walkable neighborhoods with high levels of commercial land-use. Meanwhile, exposure to emissions is positively associated with dense and walkable neighborhoods and negatively associated with car ownership and larger vehicles. These findings indicate major inequities in the generation of and exposure to traffic-related air pollution.     

Do satisfying walking and cycling trips result in more future trips with active travel modes? An exploratory study

Previous studies have indicated that travel satisfaction - the experienced emotions during, and cognitive evaluation of, a trip - can be affected by travel mode choice and other trip characteristics. However, as satisfactory trips might improve a person's attitude towards the used mode, persons may be more likely to use that same mode for future trips of the same kind. Hence, a cyclical process between travel mode choice and travel satisfaction might occur. In this paper we begin to analyse this process—using a structural equation modelling approach on cross-sectional data—for people who engage in walking and cycling for leisure trips in the Belgian city of Ghent. The focus on walking and cycling reflects recent studies indicating that active travel is often associated with the highest levels of travel satisfaction. Results of this exploratory analysis offer tentative support for the idea of a cyclical process: the evaluation of walking and cycling trips positively affects the respondents' attitude towards the respective mode, which in turn has a positive effect on choosing that mode.     

Factors associated with disability paratransit's travel time reliability

This paper identifies some of the characteristics of trips and pick-up and drop-off locations that are associated with paratransit's travel time reliability. Following convention, reliability has been defined as the inverse of variability. Four measures of travel time variability have been used to examine reliability: Standard Deviation, Percent Variation, Misery Index, and Buffer Index. Regression models have been used to estimate these four variables with trip data from Access Link, the paratransit service provided by NJ TRANSIT pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A number of characteristics of the pick-up and drop-off locations as well as selected characteristics of the trips were used as independent variables of the models. The statistical significance of the independent variables varied depending on which measure of reliability was estimated, but a few variables were consistently associated with reliability in all four models. These variables were trip distance, booking type, winter season, density of motor vehicle crashes in pick-up and drop-off locations, and whether pick-ups occurred in suburban bus corridors or urban core areas. Because of the significance of the variables on motor vehicle crash density in pick-up and drop-off locations, an additional regression model was used to examine the effect of crash incidents on trip duration by considering drop-offs that occurred in locations immediately after a crash. The model showed that trips take 4 to 5% longer when crashes occur in locations prior to a drop off. Planning implications of the findings are discussed.     

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.     

Perceptions of cycling among high school students and their parents

Cycling is a healthy, low-cost, and low-carbon alternative to motorized transport. As a relatively fast active mode of transport, cycling can overcome the distance barrier of walking, while also providing cardiovascular exercise and reducing demand for motor vehicle travel. The “cycling renaissance” has seen an increase in the number of cyclists in urban spaces, and there is evidence of increased investment in cycling infrastructure and cycle skills training in some places. Yet the number of high school students cycling to school is declining in many industrialized countries. Transport to school is a major contributor to daily traffic congestion, resulting in both local and global environmental concerns, and high school students have been relatively overlooked in research to date. In this paper, we present empirical material from a qualitative study of high school students and parents in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. Focus group sessions were conducted during 2014 and 2015 with students and parents separately, to explore their perceptions of modes of transport and transport to school decision making. Key findings relate to perceived safety, implicit messages, and social norms. We find that a complex range of factors contribute to perceptions of cycling safety, including features and perceptions of the built environment, traffic safety (including behaviors of other road users), previous cycling experiences (including accidents), and adolescents' cycling skills and on-road experiences. Overcoming concerns through behavioral and cultural interventions coupled with upskilling and thoughtful infrastructure may present a pathway to increasing rates of cycling.     

Thinking regional and acting local: Assessing the joint influence of local and regional accessibility on commute mode in Montreal,Canada

Accessibility indicators, measuring the ease of reaching destinations via a specific mode of transport, are increasingly used in planning and research as they support integrated land use and transport planning. Research has shown that increased local accessibility (walkability for example) is associated with an increase in walking mode share, whereas increase in public transport accessibility is associated with a greater use of public transport. Yet, while public transport agencies are promoting the combination of active and public transport options to address one's diverse mobility needs, local and regional accessibility are rarely addressed together in research or practice. This research aims to determine the joint influence of local and regional accessibility on the transport mode used for work trips in the Montreal metropolitan region, while controlling for socio-demographic characteristics. Data come from the 2013 Origin-Destination survey 2016 Canadian census, 2017 public transport data DMTI Enhanced points of interests. A multinomial logistic model is used to understand how local and regional accessibility are associated with walking, cycling or taking public transport to work across individuals. The results demonstrate that increases in both local and regional accessibility are associated with a higher probability of using sustainable modes. The predicted probabilities suggest that local accessibility is more closely associated with a decrease in car use. This study sheds light on the interaction between local and regional land use and transport systems and is of relevance to planners and policymakers wishing to develop neighborhoods that support the use of sustainable modes.     

How vehicle ownership affect time utilization on study,leisure, social activities,and academic performance of university students? A case study of engineering freshmen in a rural university in Thailand

This study aims to investigate how the ownership of a private vehicle influences time utilization of university students, and whether it impacts their academic performance. This research analyzes travel/activity patterns of 130 engineering freshman students at a rural university in Thailand. An analysis of travel/activity data shows that vehicle ownership seems to play an important role in university student’s time utilization on various activities. It was found that those students who own a vehicle tend to spend less time for academic purposes, and more on leisure and social activities than non-owner students. Nevertheless, a further study using regression analysis on academic performance shows that the ownership of a vehicle does not seem to have a significant impact on the grade point average of students, once the cognitive ability and gender are accounted for. The findings imply that campus policies/measures that restrict the ownership or usage of a private vehicle in rural universities would improve the campus learning environment by influencing university students to put more attention on school-related activities, but such policies do not seem to impact on the academic performance of the college students.     

Demystifying residents' walking behaviors: Active transport in South East Queensland,Australia

This study investigates the correlates of a resident's walking behaviors and aims to shed light on mechanisms through which walking may be encouraged. The results of this investigation paint a complex and nuanced picture of the residents’ walking behaviors in South East Queensland, Australia. The results suggest that sociodemographic characteristics separately may contribute greatly to whether or not one engages in walking behaviors. Further, cumulatively these differences might be greater for some groups of residents compared to others. One of the most prominent findings of the study is that the purpose, the characteristics of the origin, and the characteristics of the destination of a trip tended to be similar in the heterogeneity they exhibit over the distribution of time spent walking. For example, pick something up, undertake work, or engage in personal business, move to or from a workplace, shop, or social place are activities that tend to be associated with walking as a main mode of transport and a higher number of walking episodes. However, these trips tended to be short.     

Evaluating the reliability of reported distance data in urban travel behaviour analysis

The objective of the present paper is to analyze the accuracy of reported distances in travel behaviour research, and to distil from this analysis some useful recommendations for data collection and handling in activity-based modelling. This issue is important because we know from the literature on distance cognition that conjecture, perception and rounding in distance reporting is a rule, rather than an exception. The outcome is a biased transport modelling result. The paper introduces some theoretical reflections on distance measurements and cognition. Next, using household travel survey data collected in 2000 for the city of Ghent, Belgium, the problem of reported distance reliability is examined. A comparison of travel distances using detour factors revealed that self-reported distances provide reasonable estimates of shortest distance path distances. With respect to the effect outliers and rounding have on the reliability of reported distances it is found that mean detour factors are very much dominated by outliers over short distances, but that rounding has little impact. The accuracy of self-reported distances is also influenced by the socio-demographic profile of the respondents, the characteristics of the trip, and the type of transport mode used.     

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.     

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.     

Investigating factors that influence passengers' shopping intentions at airports – Evidence from Taiwan

This study examines the influence of passengers' socio-demographic characteristics, trip characteristics and perceptions of airport shopping on their shopping intentions at airports. We collected a sample of passenger survey data at two major international airports in Taiwan. Two primary shopping intentions, namely pre-planned shopping and impulse shopping, are identified based on the results of factor analysis. A seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) model is then adopted to measure the relationships between the two buying tendencies and potential determinants. Passengers' perceptions of airport shopping show positive impacts on their shopping intentions. The SUR results also reveal significant differences among the personal profiles of passengers in determining various shopping tendencies.