Differences in Trip Chaining by Men and Women

Abstract

Men and women’s commuting behavior continues to be distinctly different. The difference may be most apparent in the tendency to trip chain—that is to link short stops into the trip to or from work. As more women entered the workforce, and went from higher education to professional careers, it was widely assumed that women and men’s travel behavior would converge. However, research has found persistent gender differences in distance to work, mode of travel and auto occupancy, and the propensity to trip chain. This paper examines whether trends in trip chaining behavior show convergence or the continued persistence of gender differences. Trends show that trip chaining during the commute increased between 1995 and 2001, and men’s trip chaining increased nearly twice as much as women’s. The growth in men’s trip chaining is robust, but a large amount of that growth is for stops to get a meal or coffee on the way to work. We call this the “Starbucks” effect. Understanding trends in the incidence of trip chaining, and more importantly the details in terms of the direction, time of day, and purpose of the stops during commuting, helps us understand the persistence of gender roles in travel behavior. Such an understanding is vital to policy directives that aim to change travel behavior to ease congestion, reduce emissions, and save fuel. This paper examines the differences trip chaining behavior between men and women.

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