Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Role of the built environment on trip-chaining behavior: an investigation of workers and non-workers in Halifax, Nova Scotia

  • Published:
Transportation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examines the influence of the built environment on trip-chaining behavior. Based on weekday travel in the Halifax Regional Municipality, we develop four separate models of tour complexity, each corresponding to a specific type of tour. The average number of trips per tour is regressed against built environment characteristics while household, personal, and tour-specific characteristics and residential self-selection are controlled. We apply ordinary least squares regression and spatial lag models and use a comprehensive set of density, diversity, design, and accessibility metrics near home and workplace. The results indicate that higher accessibility and mixed land-use is associated with simpler home-based, non-work tours. Workers residing away from opportunities make complex tours near workplaces located in high accessibility areas. Auto users make more complex tours. Also, most workers make complex commute tours compared to home-based or work-based non-work tours. In general, individuals compensate for the poor accessibility of residential locations by making complex tours, relying on auto, and chaining non-work trips with commuting. The significant role of attitudinal variables is also observed, thus revealing the presence of residential self-selection in trip-chaining behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climateData/hourlydata_e.html?Prov=NS&StationID=6358&Year=2007&Month=4&Day=1&timeframe=1.

  2. Work refers to both work and school.

  3. The value of β was determined empirically. We ran a regression model with distance of every trip destination from home as the independent variable and the natural logarithm of trip frequency as the dependent variable. The model coefficient gave the value of β.

  4. Due to space limitations we only display the variables that are significant in our models. The descriptive statistics of other variables are available upon request.

  5. OpenGeoDa is open source software, available at https://geodacenter.asu.edu/software.

Abbreviations

TB:

Travel behavior

BE:

Built environment

TDM:

Travel demand management

HRM:

Halifax Regional Municipality

STAR:

Space-Time Activity Research

CBD:

Central business district

HOH:

Home-other-home

HW/WH:

Home-work or work-home

WOW:

Work-other-work

OLS:

Ordinary least squares

References

  • Anselin, L.: Spatial Econometrics: Methods and Models. Kluwer, Dordrecht (1988)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bagley, M.N., Mokhtarian, P.L.: The impact of residential neighborhood type on travel behavior: a structural equations modeling approach. Ann. Reg. Sci. 36, 279–297 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhat, C.R.: Work travel mode choice and number of non-work commute stops. Transp. Res. Part B Methodol. 31, 41–54 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boarnet, M.G., Sarmiento, S.: Can land-use policy really affect travel behaviour? A study of the link between non-work travel and land-use characteristics. Urban Stud. 35, 1155–1169 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, X., Mokhtarian, P.L., Handy, S.L.: Differentiating the influence of accessibility, attitudes, and demographics on stop participation and frequency during the evening commute. Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des. 35, 431–442 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cervero, R., Kockelman, K.: Travel demand and the 3Ds: density, diversity, and design. Transp. Res. Part D Transp. Environ. 2, 199–219 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C., Gong, H., Paaswell, R.: Role of the built environment on mode choice decisions: additional evidence on the impact of density. Transportation 35, 285–299 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crane, R.: On form versus function: will the new urbanism reduce traffic, or increase it? J. Plan. Educ. Res. 15, 117–126 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donaghy, K., Rudinger, G., Poppelreuter, S.: Societal trends, mobility behaviour and sustainable transport in Europe and North America. Transp. Rev. 24, 679–690 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewing, R., Cervero, R.: Travel and the built environment: a meta-analysis. J. Am. Plan. Assoc. 76, 265–294 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank, L., Bradley, M., Kavage, S., Chapman, J., Lawton, T.K.: Urban form, travel time, and cost relationships with tour complexity and mode choice. Transportation 35, 37–54 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank, L.D., Sallis, J.F., Saelens, B.E., Leary, L., Cain, K., Conway, T.L., Hess, P.M.: The development of a walkability index: application to the neighborhood quality of life study. Br. J. Sports Med. 44, 924–933 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golob, T.F.: A simultaneous model of household activity participation and trip chain generation. Transp. Res. Part B Methodol. 34, 355–376 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo, J.Y., Bhat, C.R.: Operationalizing the concept of neighborhood: application to residential location choice analysis. J. Transp. Geogr. 15, 31–45 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handy, S., Cao, X., Mokhtarian, P.: Correlation or causality between the built environment and travel behavior? Evidence from Northern California. Transp. Res. Part D Transp. Environ. 10, 427–444 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hensher, D.A., Reyes, A.J.: Trip chaining as a barrier to the propensity to use public transport. Transportation 27, 341–361 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, C.Q., Mulley, C.: Multiple purposes at single destination: a key to a better understanding of the relationship between tour complexity and mode choice. Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 49, 206–219 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitamura, R., Akiyama, T., Yamamoto, T., Golob, T.F.: Accessibility in a metropolis: toward a better understanding of land use and travel. Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board 1780, 64–75 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krizek, K.J.: Neighborhood services, trip purpose, and tour-based travel. Transportation 30, 387–410 (2003a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krizek, K.J.: Residential relocation and changes in urban travel: does neighborhood-scale urban form matter? J. Am. Plan. Assoc. 69, 265–281 (2003b)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krizek, K.J., Waddell, P.: Analysis of lifestyle choices: neighborhood type, travel patterns, and activity participation. Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board 1807, 119–128 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J.: Impact of neighborhood walkability on trip generation and trip chaining: case of Los Angeles. J. Urban Plan. Dev. 142(3), 05015013 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y., Washington, S., Frank, L.D.: Examination of relationships between urban form, household activities, and time allocation in the Atlanta metropolitan region. Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 43, 360–373 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, C., Susilo, Y.O., Karlström, A.: Measuring the impacts of weather variability on home-based trip chaining behaviour: a focus on spatial heterogeneity. Transportation 43, 843–867 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, J., Mitchell, G., Heppenstall, A.: Daily travel behaviour in Beijing, China: an analysis of workers’ trip chains, and the role of socio-demographics and urban form. Habitat Int. 43, 263–273 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maat, K., Timmermans, H.: Influence of land use on tour complexity: a Dutch case. Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board 1977, 234–241 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuckin, N., Murakami, E.: Examining trip-chaining behavior: comparison of travel by men and women. Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board 1693, 79–85 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mokhtarian, P.L., Cao, X.: Examining the impacts of residential self-selection on travel behavior: a focus on methodologies. Transp. Res. Part B Methodol 42, 204–228 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noland, R.B., Thomas, J.V.: Multivariate analysis of trip-chaining behavior. Environ. Plan. 34, 953–970 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Recker, W.W., Chen, C., McNally, M.G.: Measuring the impact of efficient household travel decisions on potential travel time savings and accessibility gains. Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 35, 339–369 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, D.M., Horner, M.: The role of urban form in shaping access to opportunities. J. Transp. Land Use 1, 89–119 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Strathman, J.G., Dueker, K.J., Davis, J.S.: Effects of household structure and selected travel characteristics on trip chaining. Transportation 21, 23–45 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Acker, V., Witlox, F.: Commuting trips within tours: how is commuting related to land use? Transportation 38, 465–486 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, B., Barnes, J., Rutherford, G.S.: Evaluating the effects of traveler and trip characteristics on trip chaining, with implications for transportation demand management strategies. Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board 1718, 97–106 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, R.: The stops made by commuters: evidence from the 2009 US National Household Travel Survey. J. Transp. Geogr. 47, 109–118 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye, X., Pendyala, R.M., Gottardi, G.: An exploration of the relationship between mode choice and complexity of trip chaining patterns. Transp. Res. Part B Methodol. 41, 96–113 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zellner, A.: An efficient method of estimating seemingly unrelated regressions and tests for aggregation bias. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 57, 348–368 (1962)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank three anonymous reviewers for providing insightful comments to improve our paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. TransLAB (Transportation Research Lab), School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Tufayel Chowdhury & Darren M. Scott

Authors
  1. Tufayel Chowdhury
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Darren M. Scott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Darren M. Scott.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chowdhury, T., Scott, D.M. Role of the built environment on trip-chaining behavior: an investigation of workers and non-workers in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Transportation 47, 737–761 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-018-9914-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-018-9914-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation