The positive utility of the commute: modeling ideal commute time and relative desired commute amount

Authors: Redmond L.S.¹; Mokhtarian P.L.²

Source: Transportation, Volume 28, Number 2, May 2001 , pp. 179-205(27)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Two measures of commute time preferences – Ideal Commute Time and Relative Desired Commute amount (a variable indicating the desire to commute "much less" to "much more" than currently) – are modeled, using tobit and ordered probit, respectively. Ideal Commute Time was found to be positively related to Actual Commute Time and to a liking and utility for commuting, and negatively related to commute frequency and to a family/community-oriented lifestyle. Relative Desired Commute, on the other hand, was negatively related to amounts of actual commute and work-related travel, but positively related to travel liking and a measure of commute benefit. Overall, commute time is not unequivocally a source of disutility to be minimized, but rather offers some benefits (such as a transition between home and work). Most people have a non-zero optimum commute time, which can be violated in either direction – i.e. it is possible (although comparatively rare, occurring for only 7% of the sample) to commute too little. On the other hand, a large proportion of people (52% of the sample) are commuting longer than they would like, and hence would presumably be receptive to reducing (although usually not eliminating) that commute.

Keywords: commuting; ordered probit; tobit; travel behavior

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA (E-mail: lsredmond@ucdavis.edu) 2: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA (E-mail: plmokhtarian@ucdavis.edu)

Publication date: 2001-05-01