Citation

Georggi N, Pendyala RM. Transp. Res. Circular 2001; (E-C026): 121-150.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, U.S. National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper provides a detailed analysis of long-distance travel behavior for two key socioeconomic groups of the population--the elderly and the low income. The analysis utilizes data from the 1995 American Travel Survey that provides a rich source of information on long-distance travel (i.e., trips greater than 100 mi) undertaken over a period of 12 months. The analysis focuses on comparing the elderly and the low-income groups of the population against other groups with respect to various demographic and trips characteristics. The travel behavior comparison includes an analysis by trip purpose, travel mode, distance, trip duration, and trip frequency. In addition, regression models of long-distance trip generation are estimated separately for different groups to examine differences in trip generation propensity across the groups. The results show that both the elderly and the low income undertake significantly fewer long-distance trips than other socioeconomic groups. It was found that nearly half of the low income and elderly made no long-distance trips in the 1-year survey period. In addition, it was found that long-distance trips made by these groups were more likely to be undertaken by bus and geared towards social and personal business activities. The paper discusses the implications of these findings in the context of transportation service provision and policy formulation.