THE IMPACT OF MARRIED WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT ON HOUSEHOLD TRAVEL PATTERNS: A SWEDISH EXAMPLE

As the number of married women working outside the home continues to grow, questions arise as to the impact of a wife's employment on household travel patterns. This paper examines the effects of a wife's employment status on her own travel activity pattern and on that of her husband. Using data from the uppsala household travel survey, in which sample-household members kept detailed travel diaries for 35 days, the authors first compare the travel patterns of married women employed full time with those of married women employed part time and married women not working outside the home. They then compare the travel patterns of the three corresponding groups of husbands. Measures of travel activity patterns that were used include indices of overall travel frequency for different purposes, amount of time spent and distances travelled for different purposes, indices of the level of variety in the individual's destination choice set, and measures of mode use. The results show that women employed full-time do reduce their participation in some non-work activities although their distances travelled to activity sites are not shorter than those travelled by the other women. Few significant intergroup differences distinguish the travel activity patterns of the three groups of men. The evidence suggests that a woman's full-time employment does bring significant changes to her own travel pattern but has little impact on that of her husband. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications and a review of several Swedish programs that could eventually result in greater similarity in the travel activity patterns of men and women. (TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00494488
• Corporate Authors:

  Elsevier

  Radarweg 29
  Amsterdam,   Netherlands  1043 NX
• Authors:
  • Hanson, S
  • HANSON, P
• Publication Date: 1981-6

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 165-183
• Serial:
  • Transportation (Netherlands)
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
  • ISSN: 0049-4488

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Employment; Females; Households; Human beings; Impact studies; Labor; Location; Origin and destination; Traffic surveys; Transportation modes; Travel; Travel patterns; Travel time; Trip generation; Trip length
• Uncontrolled Terms: Work
• Geographic Terms: Sweden
• ITRD Terms: 309: Household; 698: Journey; 696: Journey purpose; 697: Journey time; 9061: Location; 1787: Man; 2271: Occupation; 687: Origin destination traffic; 8109: Sweden; 676: Traffic survey; 1145: Transport mode; 1788: Woman
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00342399
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 22 1981 12:00AM