ANALYSIS OF TRENDS IN TRANSIT WORK TRIPS

Overall transit use has been declining in the United States for several decades, but census data show that during the 1970s the number of transit work trips increased in many metropolitan areas. To find out why transit riding went up in some areas and down in others, a multiple regression analysis was conducted of 1970-1980 changes in transit work trips for a sample of 120 metropolitan areas. Possible explanatory variables fell into four groups: socioeconomic characteristics of the population, structure of the metropolitan area, recent growth, and supply of transit service. The dominant result was that transit usage tended to decline in large, older cities and to rise in rapidly growing metropolitan areas. It appears that migration of people and jobs from the Frostbelt to the Sunbelt largely explains why transit trips increased in some cities and decreased in others. The transit supply variables were strongly associated with transit use in 1980, but were not very important in explaining the changes that occurred from 1970 to 1980.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/4626214
• Corporate Authors:

  American Planning Association

  1313 East 60th Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60637-2897
• Authors:
  • Black, A
• Publication Date: 1989

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 38-43
• Serial:
  • Journal of the American Planning Association
  • Volume: 55
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: American Planning Association
  • ISSN: 0194-4363
  • Serial URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjpa20/current

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic development; Metropolitan areas; Migration; Population; Public transit; Regression analysis; Ridership; Socioeconomic factors; Work trips
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00479627
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 28 1989 12:00AM