Multimodal travel and the poor: evidence from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey

Abstract

Most travel behavior studies focus on discrete mode-choice outcomes. They predict the likelihood of traveling by a single mode (e.g. solo driving, carpooling, taking public transit, walking, and biking). Yet qualitative studies focusing on low-income households suggest that their mode choice does not fit neatly into a single category; they regularly “transportation package,” use multiple modes of travel in a single day. The authors use data from the 2009 National Household Travel Summary to examine the extent to which individuals’ engage in multimodal travel and to determine whether low-income individuals transportation package more than higher-income individuals, controlling for other factors.The authors find that multimodal travel is less – not more – prevalent among low-income adults than higher-income adults. However, there are important differences in the number and mix of modes that appear to be influenced by income. Moreover, low-income multimodal travelers took far more trips than even higher-income unimodal travelers. This finding suggests that providing viable avenues for multimodal travel may enhance low-income individuals’ mobility, particularly if they face barriers to automobile access.

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