2013 Session: 349

• Perception of Traffic Safety and Its Relation to Residents' Frequency of Outdoor Activities on Neighborhood Streets
  Abstract: This study used demographic variables, traffic conditions, and street characteristics to explore the influencing factors of residents’ perception of traffic safety on the streets where they live and its relationship to the individuals’ frequency of participating in outdoor activities on these streets. A questionnaire survey was administered to residents living along 58 street sections with varying characteristics, and a survey of traffic volume and vehicle speed was also conducted on all these sections. The results based on a sample of 346 Japanese respondents showed that in addition to demographic variables, residents’ traffic safety perception was affected by various factors including traffic conditions and street characteristics. Traffic volume was an important factor of perceived traffic safety, and residents were likely able to accurately evaluate vehicular volume traveling on the street on which they live. Although perceived traffic safety was influenced by perceived traffic speed, the influence of traffic speed on traffic safety perception was considerably lower than that of traffic volume. Both the perceived considerateness of drivers towards the safety of pedestrians/cyclists and the frequency of actual traffic accidents were significantly associated with residents’ perceived traffic safety. Regarding street features, the total width designated for pedestrians/cyclists and the types of non-signalized intersections were found to be determinants of residents’ traffic safety perception. This research confirmed the positive association between perceived traffic safety and individuals’ frequency of outdoor activities. Finally, several determinants of residents’ outdoor-activity participation were also explored.
  Authors: Dinh, Do Duy; Kubota, Hisashi
  Authors: Dinh, Do Duy; Kubota, Hisashi
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-1106
• Congestion pricing and Inter-temporal Preferences Rate Integration in Social Welfare Function
  Abstract: Assessing social benefits in transport policy implementation has been studied by many researchers using theoretical or empirical measures. However, few of them measure social benefit using different discount rates including the inter-temporal preferences rate of users, the private investment discount rate and the inter-temporal preferences rate of the government. In general, the social discount rate used is the same for all social actors. Therefore, this paper aims to assess a new method by integrating different types of discount rate belonging to different social actors in order to measure the real benefits of each actor in the short, medium and long term. A dynamic simulation is provided by a strategic Land-Use and Transport Interaction (LUTI) model. The method is tested by optimizing a cordon toll scheme in Madrid considering socio- economic efficiency and environmental criteria. Based on the modified social welfare function (WF), the effects on the measure of social benefits are estimated and compared with the classical WF results as well. The results of this research could be a key issue to understanding the relationship between transport system policies and social actors’ benefits distribution in a metropolitan context. The results show that the use of more suitable discount rates for each social actor had an effect on the selection and definition of optimal strategy of congestion pricing. The usefulness of the measure of congestion toll declines more quickly over time.
  Authors: Guzman, Luis A.; Di Ciommo, Floridea; de la Hoz, Daniel
  Authors: Guzman, Luis A.; Di Ciommo, Floridea; de la Hoz, Daniel
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-0974
• Transportation Inequality in Beijing: Impacts of Land Use and Transport Systems on Jobs Accessibility of Low-Income Workers
  Abstract: Transportation inequality is one of key issues in relation to sustainable urban transport. The conclusions on it and related policy implications are still ambiguous, although many studies have been done with cases from developed countries. This paper seeks to provide an initial investigation into the low income workers¡¯ job accessibility and its determinants in developing cities by looking Beijing as a case. The results of the analysis show that there is an obvious social inequality in job accessibility as workers from low-income households have longer commuting times than those from high-income households. Low-income workers¡¯ commuting times is affected by the features of residential location, urban design and local transport system when their socioeconomic characteristics are taken into account. A higher level of job-housing balance and metro services tend to reduce commuting times of low-income workers. However, residential density has no significant influences on worker¡¯s commuting time, and higher employment density is related to longer commuting times for low-income workers because of less affordable houses to them in jobs-dense areas. A low-income worker from a household with children has shorter commuting times, which may be a result of a trade-off between high housing rents and proximity to good school in the central urban areas. The results suggest that the fragmentation of job-housing relations, roaring housing price and massive investments in roads tend to worsen the social inequality in transport in China¡¯s cities in the current process of transition.
  Authors: Zhao, Pengjun
  Authors: Zhao, Pengjun
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-1971
• Aging Demographics in Medium-Sized Cities: Case Study of Travel Behavior in Kamloops, Canada
  Abstract: In western countries, the imminent aging of the baby boomer generation will have significant impacts on the function and sustainability of transportation systems. While the demographic shift of larger cities will be mitigated by the in-migration of younger residents, smaller cities will experience a sharper increase in median age due to the out-migration of younger residents. This outlook, coupled with the existing auto-oriented culture in medium-sized cities, presents a unique set of transportation sustainability challenges for smaller communities. In the Canadian context, the effects of the aging demographic on transportation demand have received surprisingly little attention, and, though the demographic change will be most pronounced in smaller cities, the existing literature is focused on large cities. Given this, this paper serves to research the effects of age on travel behavior in the medium sized city of Kamloops, British Columbia. From the city’s household travel survey data, it is found that significant travel behavior differences exist between different age cohorts. The empirical behavior analysis is supplemented with the city’s population projections for each age cohort to demonstrate the future transportation impacts of the aging demographics. Though transit ridership in the city is lacking and an increase in older residents is shown to perpetuate this problem, the analysis indicates that the city is well positioned to push for increasing active mode shares into the future.
  Authors: Toop, Erin; Harmon, Adam; Miller, Eric J.
  Authors: Toop, Erin; Harmon, Adam; Miller, Eric J.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-2101
• Trip Making and Activity Participation of Youth: Trends from 1990 to 2009
  Abstract: Young people today take fewer trips than did previous generations of young people. Why? Several trends are suggestive. First, today’s youth are members of the first generation to have never known a world without instantaneous and nearly ubiquitous mobile phone access. Second, they have come of age and entered the worst job market since the Great Depression–one that has been particularly hostile to young workers. And third, they are the first generation of teens subject to increasingly stringent, and now nearly universal, graduated drivers’ licensing regimes, which have delayed licensing and driving among teens. Our study investigates the trends in the determinants of youth vis-à-vis trip-making (and by extension activity participation). We find that while the effects of income, auto access, and working are all positively associated with trip-making among both adults and youth, internet access appears to have no effect on youth trip-making, and may actually be associated with a slight increase in adult trip-making. Likewise, and remarkably, increasingly strict licensing regimes for teens appear to have little, if any, effect on youth trip-making.
  Authors: Smart, Michael
  Authors: Smart, Michael
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-3283
• Beijinger Life Aspirations and Implications for Transportation Planning
  Abstract: One day in Beijing provides a jarring snapshot of motorization issues in China. Beijing is considered the most motorized city in China, and the consequent air pollution and congestion are stark. However, despite worsening conditions and rising prices, owning a car is often portrayed as a natural expectation, or even requirement, for rising middle class Chinese. Prior studies suggest that the desire for cars is a values-based perception, influenced by desires for social status and materialistic aspirations, rather than an instrumental desire. Through semi-structured interviews, this study explores the life aspirations and values of post-80’s generation white collar workers, and how important car ownership is to them. While all interviewees express desire to own a car at some point, the motivations for doing so were quite different. Men felt a significant pressure from women and society to ‘provide’, which includes having a car. Women all saw having a car as necessary, but not because of prestige or status. Overall, the assumption by these rising middle class Beijingers is that owning a car is an expectation rather than a luxury. Strong value associations with driving already exist, independent of driving experience, suggesting the role of advertising and peer conformity. Almost no ‘rational thinking’ weighing mobility options occurred, but thinking was highly emotionally coded.
  Authors: Campbell, Rupert; Zhao, Jinhua
  Authors: Campbell, Rupert; Zhao, Jinhua
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-4158
• Beyond the Average Elasticity: Applying Quantile Panel Regression to German Household Mobility Data
  Abstract: This paper employs quantile panel regression to the study of fuelprice elasticities. Contrasting with standard panel approaches, thismethod reveals the impact of explanatory variables across all points inthe conditional distribution of the response variable while controllingfor unobserved heterogeneity. Applying quantile panel regression toGerman household data demonstrates that fuel price elasticities arevery high in magnitude - below -0.8 - for a small segment of householdswhose car mileage is low, but that this effect tapers off rapidly amonghouseholds with higher car mileage. These findings have implicationsfor policy instruments that rely on estimates of fuel price elasticities, for example fuel taxation.
  Authors: Ritter, Nolan
  Authors: Ritter, Nolan
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-3464
• Who Benefits from Rail Transit Investments? Assessment of Rail Access in Denver Metropolitan Area and Implications for Social Equity and Transit Effectiveness
  Abstract: This research fills a critical gap in the literature by assessing the extent to which existing and planned rail investments will provide access to those who are most likely to benefit from and use transit. Previous literature demonstrates that access to public transit for the least advantaged can play a critical role in facilitating social and economic well-being, and in supporting transit effectiveness goals. However, many scholars warn that rail transit investments may not serve transit-reliant populations to the extent they should. This study assumes a transportation equity lens to evaluate the extent to which there is evidence to support this concern. A series of standard and spatial statistical tools are used to examine differences between census tracts with and without rail access, as well as to identify the socio-economic characteristics that best predict whether a census tract will be served by rail. Spatial variations in the chance of rail access for low-income, high-renter, and high-minority tracts are also explored. Results yield little support for concerns that rail transit in the Denver metro will not benefit disadvantaged groups; rather, transit-reliant groups are expected to enjoy high levels of access. However, results should be approached with a cautious optimism, particularly with regard for low-income households, which could be experiencing diminished chances of access, a result that would undercut both equity and effectiveness. Findings indicate a critical need to mitigate for increased housing costs and ensure that equitable access to transit is maintained.
  Authors: Luckey, Kara Showalter
  Authors: Luckey, Kara Showalter
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-4571
• Neighborhoods of Affinity: Social Forces and Travel in Queer Neighborhoods
  Abstract: In this paper, we present the concept of a “neighborhood of affinity” and analyze this concept for queer neighborhoods. Neighborhoods of affinity are neighborhoods where a particular social group resides in close proximity and has strong social ties. We analyze the travel behavior of same-sex couples living in queer (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) neighborhoods. We hypothesize that many LGBT individuals choose to reside in LGBT neighborhoods in order to participate in queer political, social and economic activities; proximity to work may thus be less important for LGBT individuals when selecting a home. We hypothesize that this unique residential location choice calculus may thus result in longer commute trips and shorter non-work trips. To test these hypotheses, we use the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, and employ a linear regression model to examine the relationship between LGBT clustering in space and distance for non-work and work trips. Our results suggest that living in a queer neighborhood has a strong negative effect on all trip distances of male-male partnered households (both work-related and non-work), even after controlling for a number of other factors. The results suggest that social networks embedded in neighborhoods may have a strong influence on individuals’ activity and travel patterns.
  Authors: Smart, Michael; Klein, Nicholas J.
  Authors: Smart, Michael; Klein, Nicholas J.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-4817
• Modeling Bike Share Station Activity: Effects of Nearby Businesses and Jobs on Trips to and from Stations
  Abstract: Bike sharing systems have been established in several cities across North America. An objective of all bike sharing programs is to maximize the number of trips to and from bike share stations. The purpose of this research is to identify correlates of bike station activity, with special emphases on the association of trips to and from bike stations with the number of nearby businesses and jobs. Using data on 2011 trips from Nice Ride stations in Minneapolis-St. Paul, we introduce three ordinary least square regression models to evaluate the marginal effects of the presence of businesses on annual total station trips, trip origins and trip destinations. Our models include 19 variables in four general categories, including, in addition to the presence of different types of businesses and jobs, sociodemographic, built environment, and transportation infrastructure variables that are used as controls. Our result shows the number of trips at Nice Ride stations is positively and significantly associated with food-related destinations near the station and job accessibility but not with general retail establishments. Use of bike share stations also is correlated with race, age, proximity to the central business district, proximity to water, accessibility to trails, and distance to other bike share stations. This research is important for planners, academics, and policymakers because the findings will facilitate the understanding of bike share operations, help planners locate new stations, evaluate the potential of implementing new bike share programs, assess economic activity associated with bike share trips, and minimize costs of operations.
  Authors: Wang, Xize; Lindsey, Greg; Schoner, Jessica E.; Harrison, Andrew
  Authors: Wang, Xize; Lindsey, Greg; Schoner, Jessica E.; Harrison, Andrew
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-4593
• Congestion pricing and Inter-temporal Preferences Rate Integration in Social Welfare Function
  Authors: Guzman, Luis
  Authors: Guzman, Luis
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-0974
• Perception of Traffic Safety and Its Relation to Residents' Frequency of Outdoor Activities on Neighborhood Streets
  Authors: Dinh, Do
  Authors: Dinh, Do
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-1106
• Aging Demographics in Medium-Sized Cities: Case Study of Travel Behavior in Kamloops, Canada
  Authors: Harmon, Adam
  Keywords: scientific; research; template; custom; poster; presentation; symposium; printing; PowerPoint; create; design; example; sample; download
  Authors: Harmon, Adam
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-2101
• Beyond the Average Elasticity: Applying Quantile Panel Regression to German Household Mobility Data
  Authors: Ritter, Nolan
  Authors: Ritter, Nolan
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-3464
• Beijinger Life Aspirations and Implications for Transportation Planning
  Authors: Zhao, Jinhua
  Authors: Zhao, Jinhua
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-4158
• Modeling Bike Share Station Activity: Effects of Nearby Businesses and Jobs on Trips to and from Stations
  Authors: Wang, Xize
  Authors: Wang, Xize
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Economics; Society
  Session: 349
  Paper Number: 13-4593