Factors, trends, and guidelines related to trip length

Abstract

KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TRIP LENGTH IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE FUTURE URBAN TRAVEL DEMANDS. TRIP LENGTH CHANGES ARE ANALYZED ON SMALL GEOGRAPHIC PARTS OF METROPOLITAN AREAS, SUCH AS TRAFFIC DISTRICTS. HYPOTHESES STATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRIP LENGTH AND INFLUENCING FACTORS WERE FORMULATED AND TESTED. THESE TESTS WERE MADE THROUGH A CORRELATION ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN THE MEAN TRIP LENGTH AND CHANGES IN RELATED FACTORS IN TWO MEDIUM-SIZED URBAN AREAS (SIOUX CITY, IOWA AND READING, PENNSYLVANIA) OF ABOUT 100,000 POPULATION, ONE LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA OF ABOUT 3,500,000 POPULATION (DETROIT), AND A SIMULATION STUDY OF THE WORK TRIP FOR A CITY OF ABOUT 2,500,000 PEOPLE. IN SIOUX CITY AND READING TOTAL TRIPS WERE ANALYZED, WHEREAS FOR DETROIT THE AUTO DRIVER AND TRANSIT MODES WERE STUDIED. IN THE DETROIT ANALYSIS THE DATA WERE FURTHER STRATIFIED BY TRIP PURPOSE; IN THE SIMULATION STUDY HOME BASED WORK TRIPS WERE ANALYZED FOR CERTAIN HYPOTHETICAL URBAN FORMS AND TRANSPORTATIONS SYSTEMS. BASED ON THE HISTORICAL ANALYSIS IT WAS FOUND THAT TRIP LENGTH FOR THE AREAS ANALYZED HAS BEEN INCREASING OVER TIME. IN DETROIT, THE MEAN AUTO DRIVER WORK TRIP LENGTH IN MILES INCREASED BY 18% AS THE AREA INCREASED IN POPULATION BY 14% AND THE AVERAGE SPEED OF NETWORK INCREASED BY 12%. THE HISTORICAL ANALYSES AS WELL AS THE SIMULATION STUDY INDICATED THAT THE MEAN RESIDENT AUTO DRIVER TRIP LENGTH CHANGE WAS RELATED TO THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, THE STRUCTURE OF THE URBAN AREA, SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS, AND THE TIME OF DAY. THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, AS MEASURED BY AVERAGE NETWORK SPEED, INFLUENCES CHANGES IN TRIP LENGTH AT A METROPOLITAN LEVEL. THE CAUSE AND EFFECT OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHANGES IN THE MEAN AUTO DRIVER HOME BASED WORK TRIP AND CHANGES IN AVERAGE NETWORK SPEED IS DUE TO: (1) THE INFLUENCE OF THE NETWORK CHANGE ON THE WORK TRIP LENGTH CHANGE, AND (2) THE CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY FACTORS REFLECTING URBAN STRUCTURE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. FOR NON-WORK TRIP LENGTHS THE MEAN AUTO TRIP LENGTH CHANGE ON A METROPOLITAN BASIS IN MILES AND MINUTES WAS CORRELATED TO AVERAGE NETWORK SPEED. AS INDICATORS OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE CITY THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE URBAN AREA, THE SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT OF URBAN DENSITY, AND THE MEAN OPPORTUNITY TRIP LENGTH WERE FOUND TO BE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FACTORS AFFECTING CHANGES IN TRIP LENGTH AT A METROPOLITAN LEVEL. THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON THE CHANGE IN TRIP LENGTH.

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