How Far to Live and with Whom? The Role of Modal Accessibility on Toronto Student’s Choice of Living Arrangements and the Distance they are Willing to Live from University

This study investigates the factors influencing university student’s living arrangement choices and the distance they are willing to live from their university. Particular attention is given to the effects on these choices by student’s typical commuting mode choice to and from campus. The dataset used for the study was collected by a travel survey on postsecondary students across four universities in Toronto. An econometric model is developed to jointly model three choices: student’s typical commuting mode choice, their discrete living arrangement choice, and the distance they are willing to live from their campus. The model reveals that the students who are likely to leave the family home for university, also have the tendency to live close to the university. Modal accessibility was found to plays a crucial role in the trade-off between students’ choices of leaving their family home and the distance they are willing to live from the university. Choice of staying in their family home is positively affected by larger household sizes and the presence of senior members (age 75+). Walk and cycling accessibility appear to be the most influential factor in the distance students are willingness to live away from their university. Cost of housing, neighborhood environment, proximity to transit, and proximity to friends/family also have significant effects on the influence of modal accessibility in defining student’s residence distance from their university. These suggest that affordable housing choices by the university campuses can significantly increase the number of active mode users among the student population in Toronto.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADB00 Section - Travel Analysis Methods. Alternate title: How Far to Live and with Whom? The Role of Modal Accessibility on Student’s Choice of Living Arrangements and the Distance They Are Willing to Live from University in Toronto.
• Authors:
  • Chung, Brittany
  • Hasnine, Md Sami
  • Habib, Khandker Nurul
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 20p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; College students; Commuting; Costs; Econometric models; Mode choice; Multimodal transportation; Residential location
• Geographic Terms: Toronto (Canada)
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01663003
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-03096
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 20 2018 5:04PM