Why do immigrants drive less? Confirmations, complications, and new hypotheses from a qualitative study in New Jersey, USA

Recent immigrants to the United States drive autos less than the US-born, with rapid increases in their ownership and use of autos over time, and a persistently lower level of auto use even when controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and time in the US. Quantitative studies have not yet explained these phenomena. Given that population growth in the US is largely dependent on immigration, understanding auto ownership and use among immigrants is important for transportation sustainability. The authors conducted six focus groups with US residents born in India, the Philippines, and Latin America. The findings confirm, complicate and contradict the existing literature explaining differences in auto use among immigrants and the US-born, and the authors identify some new hypotheses with implications for policy-relevant research. More difficult driving conditions in the US and remittances back home may contribute to the initially lower auto ownership and use among immigrants. The rapid transition to auto use may be a function of household changes having more dramatic effects among immigrants given their initially high-density residential locations. The growth of non-English speaking transit riders, an increase in private transit services, and different residential location priorities may all contribute to the persistently lower auto use by immigrants even after many years in the US.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2013.10.002
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X13001571
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/29485010
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Chatman, Daniel G
  • Klein, Nicholas J
• Publication Date: 2013-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Appendices; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 336-344
• Serial:
  • Transport Policy
  • Volume: 30
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0967-070X
  • Serial URL: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/096707X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile ownership; Automobile travel; Focus groups; Immigrants; Mode choice; Social factors; Travel behavior
• Geographic Terms: New Jersey
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01505232
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 27 2014 11:03AM