The persevering commuter – Duration of long-distance commuting

A growing number of people are long-distance commuters. For some long-distance commuting is a temporary solution, while as for others it can be a more long-term strategy to promote career and income. This study addresses duration of long-distance commuting – 30 km or more between home and work – in Sweden, and what characterizes individuals who commute for shorter or longer periods. The effects of long-distance commuting in terms of economic outcome for both partners in a commuter household are analysed. The study is based on register data for the years 1995–2005 covering all long-distance commuters in Sweden. One finding is that previous experience of long-distance commuting makes it more likely to have a long duration of long-distance commuting. In addition economic incentives, such as a higher income, are positively correlated for continuing to long-distance commuting more than a few years. Furthermore, the analysis shows that male commuters benefit more in terms of economic outcome of long-distance commuting. It is concluded that the trend with increasing long-distance commuting can sustain not only gender differences on the labour market but also within households. Finally, the paper indicates that long-distance commuting is a strategic mobility choice for households, rather than a short-term solution for a few years.     

Objective correlates and determinants of bicycle commuting propensity in an urban environment

ObjectiveBicycle use for commuting is being encouraged not only to address physical inactivity, but also vehicular congestion, air pollution and climate change. The current study aimed to ascertain the urban environmental correlates and determinants of bicycle use for commuting (bicycle commuting) among the working or studying population in Barcelona, Spain.MethodsAdults (n = 769; 52% females) recruited whilst commuting within Barcelona (Spain) responded to a comprehensive telephone survey concerning their travel behaviour. Based upon responses collected from June 2011 to May 2012, participants were categorised into four groups: frequent bicyclists, infrequent bicyclists, willing non-bicyclists, and unwilling non-bicyclists. The determinants of frequency and willingness (propensity) to commute by bicycle were assessed by multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders and covariates.ResultsThe number of public bicycle stations surrounding the home address and amount of greenness surrounding the work/study address were significant positive determinants of bicycle commuting propensity. On the other hand, the number of public transport stations surrounding the home address and elevation of the work/study address were significant negative determinants of bicycle commuting propensity. Individual age, education level, gender, nationality, physical activity level and commute distance significantly affected this propensity.ConclusionGreater availability of public bicycle stations and higher levels of urban greenness may increase bicycle use by adults commuting within a city such as Barcelona, Spain. Electrically-assisted public bicycles may address the challenge of elevation, making this system a more competitive mode against traditional motorised public transport.     

Commuting and wellbeing: a critical overview of the literature with implications for policy and future research

ABSTRACT

This review provides a critical overview of what has been learnt about commuting’s impact on subjective wellbeing (SWB). It is structured around a conceptual model which assumes commuting can affect SWB over three time horizons: (i) during the journey; (ii) immediately after the journey; and (iii) over the longer term. Our assessment of the evidence shows that mood is lower during the commute than other daily activities and stress can be induced by congestion, crowding and unpredictability. People who walk or cycle to work are generally more satisfied with their commute than those who travel by car and especially those who use public transport. Satisfaction decreases with duration of commute, regardless of mode used, and increases when travelling with company. After the journey, evidence shows that the commute experience “spills over” into how people feel and perform at work and home. However, a consistent link between commuting and life satisfaction overall has not been established. The evidence suggests that commuters are generally successful in trading off the drawbacks of longer and more arduous commute journeys against the benefits they bring in relation to overall life satisfaction, but further research is required to understand the decision making involved. The evidence review points to six areas that warrant policy action and research: (i) enhancing the commute experience; (ii) increasing commute satisfaction; (iii) reducing the impacts of long duration commutes; (iv) meeting commuter preferences; (v) recognising flexibility and constraints in commuting routines and (vi) accounting for SWB impacts of commuting in policy making and appraisal.     

Influence of the residential and work environment on car use in dual-earner households

This paper analyses whether the decision to commute by car is influenced by built environment characteristics of residential neighbourhoods and, more especially, of work locations, taking into account interdependencies between household partners. It shows that the residential environment only affects car use among single-earners. Conversely, for all commuters, but in particular for dual-earners, characteristics of the work location affect whether they commute by car. Even in dual-earner households with two cars, work environment plays a role. We found that in cases of dual-earners with only one car, the partners with the longest commuting distances and the lowest density work locations are most likely to commute by car. Moreover, in households with young children, men are more inclined to leave the car at home. Other features relating to work also affect car commuting, including work flexibility and, especially, possession of a company car. We conclude that future policies aimed at reducing car use should place greater focus on work factors.     

Cycleways and footpaths: What separation is needed for equivalent air pollution dose between travel modes?

Cycling and walking are being promoted in many urban areas as alternatives to motorised transport for health, environmental, and financial reasons. The reduced congestion and resulting decrease in the overall amount of pollution reduced can be expected to result in health benefits for the community. However, active commuters, due to their increased respiration rates and often increased travel times can expect to receive larger doses of air pollution compared with those using motorised forms of transport. However, given the large dropoff in concentrations away from a road, it can be expected that significant reductions can be achieved even with relatively small increases in separation between the path of cyclists/pedestrians and motor vehicles.This study presents a simple methodology for calculating the separation needed for cyclists and pedestrians to experience the same air pollution dose as car commuters. An example is given based on carbon monoxide (CO) data collected in a field campaign consisting of a car driver, a cyclist and a pedestrian travelling on a 2600 metre loop of road in Auckland. For this case study, the estimated distance from the centreline needed for cyclists and pedestrians to receive an equivalent dose of CO as motorists was found to range from 5.8 to 14.2 m depending on the commuting mode and the dispersion state of the atmosphere at the site. This was equal to a CO concentration reduction of 0.1–0.14 ppm per metre. Recommendations on facility modifications and route selections have been made to make active mode commuting safer.     

Hitting the sweet spot: Variability in commute lengths and vehicle emissions across a diverse state

In this paper we consider travel across Virginia and identify sustainability “sweet spots” where commute lengths and vehicle emissions per mile combine to maximize green travel in terms of total CO₂ emissions associated with commuting. The analysis is conducted across local voter precincts (N = 2373 in the state) because they are a useful proxy for neighborhoods and well-sized for implementing policy designed to encourage sustainable travel behavior. Virginia is especially appropriate for an examination of variability in sustainable travel behavior and technologies because the state’s transportation, demographic, and political patterns are particularly diverse and have been changing rapidly. We identify four Virginia precinct-based sustainability clusters: Sweet Spots, Emerging Sweet Spots, Neutral and Non-sustaining. A model of demographic differences among the clusters shows that sustainability outcomes, understood in terms of both local commute behavior and vehicle emissions, are significantly associated with the diverse demography and politics of the state. We also look at changes in transportation sustainability and socio-demographic trends within the clusters over the past half-decade, showing that differences in sustainability and demographic metrics are actually accelerating within the state over time. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the differences among the clusters for developing and implementing effective transportation sustainability policies across the state.     

The effect of non-recreational transport cycling on use of other transport modes: A cross-sectional on-line survey

Accurate modelling of the health and environmental benefits of non-recreational transport cycling requires information about its effects on the use of other transport modes. Relevant research has not focussed on cycling for transport in a general context (as opposed to bikeshare), nor allowed for multi-modal trips. The influence of trip- and personal-characteristics on whether cycling replaces car-driving have yet to be considered. The present study aimed to address these research gaps. An on-line cross-sectional survey was completed by 1525 Australians who cycle for transport at least once per week. For the most recent trip completed (at least partly) by bicycle participants provided trip distance, and percentage travelled by car, public transport (PT), and walking. They also provided the percentage travelled by each mode for the same trip before taking up transport cycling; and a hypothetical future trip when riding is not possible. Compared to the same trip before, fifty percent of recent trips reduced car use, and around 1/3 eliminated a 100%-car trip. Reduced car use was significantly less likely for trips under 7.5 km, commuting, females, respondents under 55, and regular cyclists. Reduced car use was less likely for respondents who started riding because it is flexible, and more likely for those who started riding to avoid parking. Car-use was reduced by an average of 6.2 km per trip, and each bicycle-km cycled replaced 0.5 car-km. Participants report that since taking up cycling, even when they cannot use their bike, they use cars less and use PT more compared to before they took up cycling. Results suggest that previous studies underestimated the extent to which transport cycling replaces car travel, and highlights trip types and population groups to target with cycling promotion strategies. Information about the per-trip and per-bicycle-km replacement of car, PT and walking may be used for more accurate estimation of the benefits of transport cycling than has hitherto been possible.     

The intra-household choices regarding commuting and housing

This paper is an empirical analysis of the relationships between commuting decisions of spouses in dual-income households, where the role of housing and housing tenure is taken into account. The study is based on a large survey of US commuters and actual commuting and housing choices. Household commuting decisions are analyzed together with housing choices using the data from the 2001 American Housing Survey. A sample of dual-career spouses who commute to work by car only is used to explore the inter-relationship between male and female commuting decisions in such households and the effect of housing choices on their commuting. The inter-relationships between spousal commuting decisions are examined separately for the two forms of housing tenure: ownership and renting. In general, men commute further than women and owners commute further than renters.It is shown that for both renters and homeowners, journeys to work by men and women in such dual-earner households appear to be “complements” and not “substitutes”. This means that commute trips are jointly chosen to be longer (or shorter) for both spouses, as part of household selection of preferred housing and neighborhood characteristics. The residuals of equations explaining commute times and commute distances for men are strongly positively correlated with those for women. Many of the explanatory factors affect the men and women in similar ways. In particular, housing value is positively correlated with commute times and distances for both genders. The commute distance for women owners appears more sensitive to housing value than that of men, meaning women adjust their trips to work even more so than men do, as part of obtaining better housing.For both homeowners and renters, longer commute distances were correlated with higher salaries for both spouses. Somewhat surprisingly, it was found that commuting distances for women are similarly or even more sensitive to income increments than are those of men. Household size appears to affect women who own housing in ways opposite from those who rent. Other housing and neighborhood factors also affect the joint commuting decisions of these men and women.     

User preferences regarding autonomous vehicles

This study gains insight into individual motivations for choosing to own and use autonomous vehicles and develops a model for autonomous vehicle long-term choice decisions. A stated preference questionnaire is distributed to 721 individuals living across Israel and North America. Based on the characteristics of their current commutes, individuals are presented with various scenarios and asked to choose the car they would use for their commute. A vehicle choice model which includes three options is estimated:

• (1)Continue to commute using a regular car that you have in your possession.
• (2)Buy and shift to commuting using a privately-owned autonomous vehicle (PAV).
• (3)Shift to using a shared-autonomous vehicle (SAV), from a fleet of on-demand cars for your commute.

A factor analysis determined five relevant latent variables describing the individuals’ attitudes: technology interest, environmental concern, enjoy driving, public transit attitude, and pro-AV sentiments. The effects that the characteristics of the individual and the autonomous vehicle have on use and acceptance are quantified through random utility models including logit kernel model taking into account panel effects.Currently, large overall hesitations towards autonomous vehicle adoption exist, with 44% of choice decisions remaining regular vehicles. Early AV adopters will likely be young, students, more educated, and spend more time in vehicles. Even if the SAV service were to be completely free, only 75% of individuals would currently be willing to use SAVs. The study also found various differences regarding the preferences of individuals in Israel and North America, namely that Israelis are overall more likely to shift to autonomous vehicles.Methods to encourage SAV use include increasing the costs for regular cars as well as educating the public about the benefits of shared autonomous vehicles.     

Short-term planning and policy interventions to promote cycling in urban centers: Findings from a commute mode choice analysis in Barcelona,Spain

BackgroundCycling for transportation has become an increasingly important component of strategies to address public health, climate change, and air quality concerns in urban centers. Within this context, planners and policy makers would benefit from an improved understanding of available interventions and their relative effectiveness for cycling promotion. We examined predictors of bicycle commuting that are relevant to planning and policy intervention, particularly those amenable to short- and medium-term action.MethodsWe estimated a travel mode choice model using data from a survey of 765 commuters who live and work within the municipality of Barcelona. We considered how the decision to commute by bicycle was associated with cycling infrastructure, bike share availability, travel demand incentives, and other environmental attributes (e.g., public transport availability). Self-reported and objective (GIS-based) measures were compared. Point elasticities and marginal effects were calculated to assess the relative explanatory power of the independent variables considered.ResultsWhile both self-reported and objective measures of access to cycling infrastructure were associated with bicycle commuting, self-reported measures had stronger associations. Bicycle commuting had positive associations with access to bike share stations but inverse associations with access to public transport stops. Point elasticities suggested that bicycle commuting has a mild negative correlation with public transport availability (−0.136), bike share availability is more important at the work location (0.077) than at home (0.034), and bicycle lane presence has a relatively small association with bicycle commuting (0.039). Marginal effects suggested that provision of an employer-based incentive not to commute by private vehicle would be associated with an 11.3% decrease in the probability of commuting by bicycle, likely reflecting the typical emphasis of such incentives on public transport.ConclusionsThe results provide evidence of modal competition between cycling and public transport, through the presence of public transport stops and the provision of public transport-oriented travel demand incentives. Education and awareness campaigns that influence perceptions of cycling infrastructure availability, travel demand incentives that encourage cycling, and policies that integrate public transport and cycling may be promising and cost-effective strategies to promote cycling in the short to medium term.     

An analysis of university employee car-sharers in Los Angeles

This paper analyzes personal and car-sharing characteristics of commuters at university in Los Angeles, California. These commuters do not hold an on-campus parking permit and commute by an alternative mode other than driving alone. Each month, the university offers them 8 h free use of shared vehicles across the campus. University employee car-sharers’ housing distribution is significantly different from that of their counterparts who drive to work. Commuter benefits influence not only the participation rate of a car-sharing program but also the program participants’ frequency, time and quantity of car-sharing consumption. Car-sharing is most popular among bus commuters, university students and female employees.     

Carbon emission from urban passenger transportation in Beijing

Urban passenger transport significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions, especially in developing countries owing to the rapid motorization, thus making it an important target for carbon reduction. This article established a method to estimate and analyze carbon emission from urban passenger transport including cars, rail transit, taxis and buses. The scope of research was defined based on car registration area, transport types and modes, the stages of rail transit energy consumption. The data availability and gathering were fully illustrated. A city level emission model for the aforementioned four modes of passenger transport was formulated, and parameters including emission factor of electricity and fuel efficiency were tailored according to local situations such as energy structure and field survey. The results reveal that the emission from Beijing’s urban passenger transport in 2012 stood at 15 million tonnes of CO₂, of which 75.5% was from cars, whereas car trip sharing constitutes only 42.5% of the total residential trips. Bus travel, yielding 28.6 g CO₂, is the most efficient mode of transport under the current situations in terms of per passenger kilometer (PKM) emission, whereas car or taxi trips emit more than 5 times that of bus trips. Although a decrease trend appears, Beijing still has potential for further carbon reduction in passenger transport field in contrast to other cities in developed countries. Development of rail transit and further limitation on cars could assist in reducing 4.39 million tonnes CO₂ emission.     

Built environmental impacts on commuting mode choice and distance: Evidence from Shanghai

The impacts of the built environment characteristics in residential neighborhoods on commuting behavior are explored in the literature. Scant evidence, however, is provided to scrutinize the role of the built environment characteristics at job locations. Studies also overlooked the potential error correlations between commuting mode and commuting distance due to the unobserved factors that influence both variables. We examined the impacts of the built environment characteristics at both residential and job locations on commuting mode and distance, by applying a discrete-continuous copula-based model on 857 workers in Shanghai. In contrast with studies of Western countries, we showed residential built environment characteristics are more influential on commute behavior than the built environment characteristics at job locations. This suggests the importance of local specificity in policymaking process. We also found the proportion of four-way intersections, road density, and population density in residential areas are negatively associated with driving probability, with elasticity amounts of −1.00, −0.23, and −0.08, respectively. Hence, dense and pedestrian- and cyclist-oriented development help to reduce travel distance and encourage walking, biking, and transit modes of travel.     

The call of the road: factors predicting students’ car travelling intentions and behaviour

The most common daily trip for employed persons and students is the commute to and from work and/or place of study. Though there are clear environmental, health and safety benefits from using public transport instead of private vehicles for these trips, a high proportion of commuters still choose private vehicles to get to work or study. This study reports an investigation of psychological factors influencing students’ travel choices from the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Students from three different university campuses (n = 186) completed a cross-sectional survey on their car commuting behaviour. Particular focus was given to whether car commuting habits could add to understanding of commuting behaviour over and above behavioural intentions. Results indicated that, as expected, behavioural intention to travel by car was the strongest TPB predictor of car commuting behaviour. Further, general car commuting habits explained additional variance over and above TPB constructs, though the contribution was modest. No relationship between habit and intentions was found. Overall results suggest that, although student car commuting behaviour is habitual in nature, it is predominantly guided by reasoned action. Implications of these findings are that in order to alter the use of private vehicles, the factors influencing commuters’ intentions to travel by car must be addressed. Specifically, interventions should target the perceived high levels of both the acceptability of commuting by car and the perceived control over travel undertaken by private vehicle.     

Determinants of bicycle commuting in the Washington,DC region: The role of bicycle parking,cyclist showers,and free car parking at work

This article examines the role of bicycle parking, cyclist showers, free car parking and transit benefits as determinants of cycling to work. The analysis is based on commute data of workers in the Washington, DC area. Results of rare events logistic regressions indicate that bicycle parking and cyclist showers are related to higher levels of bicycle commuting—even when controlling for other explanatory variables. The odds for cycling to work are greater for employees with access to both cyclist showers and bike parking at work compared to those with just bike parking, but no showers at work. Free car parking at work is associated with 70% smaller odds for bike commuting. Employer provided transit commuter benefits appear to be unrelated to bike commuting. Regression coefficients for control variables have expected signs, but not all are statistically significant.     

The underground economy: Tracking the higher-order economic impacts of the São Paulo Subway System

Over one million workers commute daily to São Paulo City center, using different modes of transportation. The São Paulo subway network reaches 74.2 km of length and is involved in around 20% of the commuting trips by public transportation, enhancing mobility and productivity of workers. This paper uses an integrated framework to assess the higher-order economic impacts of the existing underground metro infrastructure. We consider links between mobility, accessibility and labor productivity in the context of a detailed metropolitan system embedded in the national economy. Simulation results from a spatial computable general equilibrium model integrated to a transportation model suggest positive economic impacts that go beyond the city limits. While 32% of the impacts accrue to the city of São Paulo, the remaining 68% benefit other municipalities in the metropolitan area (11%), in the State of São Paulo (12.0%) and in the rest of the country (45%).     

Inferring price elasticities of car use and moral costs of driving without a licence

The article develops a model which makes it possible to infer drivers’ perceived extra costs per km of driving without a license and the moral costs of doing so. Furthermore, it gives estimates of the ratios between responses to car license suspension in different time perspectives. The calculations are carried out using data over car holders’ willingness to pay for not losing their driving license for 12 months and 24 months, their yearly driving distance and variable car usage costs. The elasticity ratios estimated here are compared with previous studies of short-term and long-term elasticities of car usage with respect to car usage costs.     

A study of feasibility and potential benefits of organised car sharing in Ireland

In this study, the market potential of car sharing has been evaluated using multiple alternative scenarios which examine the geographic, financial and environmental factors influencing car sharing adoption. The scenarios are applied to the available and collected travel information of the Irish population to estimate the potential impact of introducing car sharing in Ireland. The analysis identified that car owners who travel predominantly on alternative modes, could make significant cost and CO₂ savings through car sharing. A reduction of yearly CO₂ emissions of 86 kt is readily achievable through car sharing, with reductions up to 895 kt possible with appropriate policy and financial support. These figures are comparable to other measures proposed under the Irish National Climate Change Strategy.     

Volatility of car ownership, commuting mode and time in the UK

This paper has two objectives: to examine the volatility of travel behaviour over time and consider the factors explaining this volatility; and to estimate the factors determining car ownership and commuting by car. The analysis is based on observations of individuals and households over a period of up to 11 years obtained from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). Changes in car ownership, commuting mode and commuting time over a period of years for the same individuals/households are examined to determine the extent to which these change from year-to-year. This volatility of individual behaviour is a measure of the ease of change or adaptation. If behaviour changes easily, policy measures are likely to have a stronger and more rapid effect than if there is more resistance to change. The changes are “explained” in terms of factors such as moving house, changing job and employment status. The factors determining car ownership and commuting by car are analysed using a dynamic panel-data models.     

Subjective well-being in China: how much does commuting matter?

With rapidly increasing urbanization and motorization in China, the effect of commuting on residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) is likely growing. We used 13,261 individual, 124 city, and 401 neighbourhood samples from the 2014 China Labour-Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS 2014) and applied multilevel mixed-effects ordered probit regressions to investigate the relationship between commuting and SWB. We found huge differences between urban and rural areas in relation to commuting. Urban respondents’ daily average commuting time was 0.56 h while rural respondents’ daily average commuting time was 0.41 h. Further, the daily average commute time for residents living in cities with high urbanization rates (> 70%) was longer than for those living in cities with low urbanization rates (< 70%). The subjective well-being of residents who commute by walking or cycling was significantly lower than that of those who commute by other transportation modes. The regression results indicated that the longer the commute time, the lower the subjective well-being. Among residents who live in rural areas or cities with low urbanization, subjective well-being was more easily affected by commuting time. Commuting time was also found to influence residents’ job satisfaction and family life satisfaction, which in turn influence SWB. China’s current development mode ignores the traffic needs of vulnerable groups. Therefore, future traffic construction should increase its prioritization of these vulnerable transportation groups.