Forme urbaine et mobilité domicile-travail dans 13 aires urbaines françaises : une analyse multiéchelle

This article provides a multi-scale analysis of the links between commuting patterns and urban form by using both morphological and more classical indicators of urban form (like density). Thirteen French urban areas of more than 500,000 inhabitants (excluding Paris) are compared. The findings highlight the complexity of the links between urban form and commuting patterns because the same indicators of urban form do not have the same influence according to the spatial scale. Even if the influence of the morphological indicators is lower than that of more classical socioeconomic variables (income level, motorization rate), our study discusses the various and multi-scale consequences of urban development on daily travel behaviour.     

Mixité sociale et choix modal : importance des dimensions symboliques dans l’attrait des transports collectives

Our understanding of transport mode choice is largely based upon functional attributes, such as travel time, cost or accessibility. It is important, however, to also look at symbolic and affective attributes. Indeed, one of the main differences between mass transit and private car use is strongly symbolic: public transport compels users to confront social diversity. Given a hypothetical choice between those modes, 200 residents of the Parisian region were asked five times to evaluate (measuring usage intention on a six point scale: ?3 meaning never and +3 meaning always, with no neutral point) the attractiveness of bus versus car-based transport, according to relative travel time and bus users’ population type. The results show that the symbolic dimension (the social mix) strongly contributes to the desirability of a transport mode, as does the functional dimension (travel time).     

Prospective de la mobilité en Île-de-France Les apports et les limites d' une démarche économétrique

The author has used econometric equations to forecast travel by car and public transport in the Paris Region in the year 2020. The parameters of the equations were estimated on the basis of the observed trends since 1980. The technique is innovative in that it takes account of changes in structural factors (distribution of population by age, ring zone of residence and car ownership) using what are termed structural demand variables. Existing forecasts of these structural factors have been used. By applying hypotheses about changes in the remaining explanatory variables (income, transport price and supply) we have estimated traffic levels in a business as usual scenario whose sensitivity to the explanatory factors has also been tested. From this we have derived some additional indicators: network congestion, trip frequencies for each mode, travel time and aggregate quality indicators. Finally, some limits of this approach are discussed.     

Vieillissement et gravité des atteintes lésionnelles des victimes d’accident de la circulation routière

This study uses the road traffic accident casualty register for the Rhône Département to investigate how the risk of severe or fatal injury varies according to age and to describe the injuries that explain the severity. Two groups of road users are investigated, car occupants and pedestrians. A NISS score of nine or over is taken to indicate a severe injury. Data analysis reveals that, for both groups, the risk of severe or fatal injury increases with age. The nature and location of the injuries depend on the age and sex of the victims. With regard to severe injuries, elderly female pedestrians are susceptible to fractures of the femur (and the femoral neck) and all parts of the upper limbs. Elderly male pedestrians are mainly exposed to fractures of the femoral neck. The greater vulnerability of severely injured elderly drivers results in thoracic injuries, which are partly explained by seat–belt wearing. The main cause of death, for pedestrians of all ages and young drivers is severe head injuries. Car occupants over the age of fifty more frequently suffer from severe thoracic injuries. These findings should not, however, be allowed to conceal the differences observed in the general population for the two severity criteria we have analyzed (severe injury or death). Mortality (in relation to the general population) is highest for young car occupants, while lethality (the fatality rate amongst those injured) is highest among the elderly. For pedestrians, both mortality and lethality increase with age. These findings are also applicable to the risk of severe injury. They justify the continuation of passive safety research in order to develop protection systems that are appropriate for the characteristics of car occupants. Furthermore, they should help to increase everybody’s awareness of the vulnerability of pedestrians and stimulate the introduction of preventive measures, particularly for seniors.     

Quelles interactions entre les marchés de la mobilité à courte et à longue distance ?

This paper proposes a comprehensive quantitative approach to travel analysis that considers personal travel practices with regard to three travel market segments: local weekday travel, local weekend travel and long-distance travel. The first section consists of an evaluation of the overall size of these segments and demonstrates the increasing importance of long-distance travel. Each market segment and then travel as a whole are then analyzed according to individuals’ position in the life cycle, residential location and income level. Last, the roles of location and income in the creation of travel demand in the different segments are then investigated for individuals in the middle part of the life cycle. In particular, it is demonstrated that weekend and weekday travel do not compensate for one another, but there are significant interactions between both local and long-distance travel, and, in particular, residential location.     

Analyse des pratiques d'accompagnement des enfants et de leurs conséquences

It is more and more common to escort children, and adolescents in rural areas, to school, to see friends, to leisure activities, to the doctor's etc. Some elderly persons are also systematically escorted to activities. These escorting trips are mainly by car, with the mother (or the daughter) driving. Whether children are escorted or not varies according to their age, but the practice has becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe since the 1970s. In England children are allowed to travel unescorted average two and a half years later in 1990 than was the case in 1970 and in the same period the percentage of trips which are escorted has increased by a factor of three and a half. Road safety problems and general insecurity in the area where they live lead parents to escort their children. Most trips of this type are by car. The same situation applies in the former East Germany where many households have only recently acquired a car and where traffic is perceived as dangerous. Although this type of organization of daily family life provides short term opportunities, it nevertheless has long term negative impacts on the acquisition of travel independence by children and adolescents.     

Système d'aide à l'étude de la sécurité routière Vers des outils hydribes,ouverts et intelligents

The objective of this paper is to present the results of a survey of the literature on computer-based systems in road safety analysis. This study was motivated by the needs of road safety analysts and the designers of computer-based tools for use in this area. The literature gave examples where the computerization of several road safety functions is either proposed, undergoing development or actually complete. Furthermore, these functions have been associated with different types of technological orientations. However, some problems still remain to be solved in order to obtain reliable systems with accurate and complete data which integrate the expert knowledge which is needed to analyze and evaluate road safety. The proposed solutions are evolving and this survey suggests that tools in this domain should be hybrid, open and intelligent.     

Mobilité et accès à la voiture chez les personnes âgées: Évolutions actuelles et enjeux

In France, and in most other industrialised countries, demographic ageing means that in the next decades there will be a rise among the elderly in vehicle ownership and driving for daily trips, long distance travel and leisure trips. This paper demonstrates the existence of these trends by drawing on a variety of statistical sources — National Transport and Communication Surveys, Urban Household Travel Surveys (Lyon) and surveys on French holiday practices. We nevertheless demonstrate that this structural change exhibits a high degree of differentiation with regard to gender, household income, place of residence and state of health. This change, which increases car use, is expected to continue during the next few years, especially among elderly women. Long term changes in lifestyles encourage the view that in the future people will cease to drive at a more advanced age. The increase in car use has important long-term implications in two areas. On the one hand it will affect road safety, on the other hand it raises the issues of the sustainability of mobility and the obligation to meet the needs of persons who are no longer able to drive.     

L'influence de la biactivité sur les stratégies spatiales des ménages

A survey conducted among staff at the University of Paris xii Val-de-Marne has shown that there are considerable differences in residential location and commuting strategies between those in one income households and those in two income households. This difference varies depending on social group. In the case of higher social groups, being in a two income household as opposed to a one income household increases the range of residential possibilities rather than the household's income per consumer unit, and in particular allows them to live nearer their work. In contrast, for low income groups, working couples commute considerably greater distances than persons in one income households. Thus, for lower income groups, belonging to a working couple mainly provides greater opportunities for home ownership, as an increase in distances to work does not affect journey times.