IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/transp/v46y2019i3d10.1007_s11116-017-9823-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of parents’ mobility behavior for dynamics in car availability and commute mode use

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa Döring

    (TU Dortmund University)

  • Maarten Kroesen

    (TU Delft)

  • Christian Holz-Rau

    (TU Dortmund University)

Abstract

Recent studies have analyzed travel behavior over the life course through the lens of the mobility biography approach. Similarities in the effects of certain key events on travel behavior have been found. At the same time, family background influences changes in travel behavior in the long run. However, to date, the role of parents’ mobility behavior on their adult children’s mobility behavior has not yet been analyzed. In addition, there has been no empirical analysis of mobility biographies that simultaneously considers aging, key events, changes in residential location, changes in commute distance and parental socialization. This paper uses intergenerational mobility biographies and investigates the role of these variables in explaining changes in car availability and commuting mode use. To this end, a unique retrospective dataset is used of more than 1600 mobility biographies of persons born around 1957 as well as the mobility biographies of their parents. Markov models are used to analyze mobility behavior over the life course. The results show that parents’ behavior is not directly associated with the behavior of their adult descendants. However, age, attitude towards the car, gender and changes in the built environment are important predictors for dynamics in car availability. Commute mode changes are dominantly associated with changes in commute distance but also with changes in car availability and attitude. Key events such as divorce or childbirth are less important. The results suggest that there are indirect parental socialization effects via residential location and attitude on car availability and commute mode use. This paper points out the importance of the life course, changes in commute distance and changes in the built environment for car availability and commute mode use and is an example of the application of Markov models for the analysis of quantitative mobility biographies.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa Döring & Maarten Kroesen & Christian Holz-Rau, 2019. "The role of parents’ mobility behavior for dynamics in car availability and commute mode use," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 957-994, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:46:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11116-017-9823-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-017-9823-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11116-017-9823-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11116-017-9823-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Muromachi, Yasunori, 2017. "Experiences of past school travel modes by university students and their intention of future car purchase," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 209-220.
    2. Müggenburg, Hannah & Busch-Geertsema, Annika & Lanzendorf, Martin, 2015. "Mobility biographies: A review of achievements and challenges of the mobility biographies approach and a framework for further research," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 151-163.
    3. Marjolein Blaauboer, 2011. "The Impact of Childhood Experiences and Family Members Outside the Household on Residential Environment Choices," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(8), pages 1635-1650, June.
    4. Goulias, Konstadinos G., 1999. "Longitudinal analysis of activity and travel pattern dynamics using generalized mixed Markov latent class models," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 535-558, November.
    5. Frändberg, Lotta & Vilhelmson, Bertil, 2011. "More or less travel: personal mobility trends in the Swedish population focusing gender and cohort," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1235-1244.
    6. Ettema, Dick & Arentze, Theo & Timmermans, Harry, 2011. "Social influences on household location, mobility and activity choice in integrated micro-simulation models," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 283-295, May.
    7. Abu Oakil & Dick Ettema & Theo Arentze & Harry Timmermans, 2014. "Changing household car ownership level and life cycle events: an action in anticipation or an action on occurrence," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 889-904, July.
    8. H. Elizabeth Peters, 1988. "Retrospective Versus Panel Data in Analyzing Lifecycle Events," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 23(4), pages 488-513.
    9. De Vos, Jonas & Derudder, Ben & Van Acker, Veronique & Witlox, Frank, 2012. "Reducing car use: changing attitudes or relocating? The influence of residential dissonance on travel behavior," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 1-9.
    10. Sharmeen, Fariya & Arentze, Theo & Timmermans, Harry, 2014. "An analysis of the dynamics of activity and travel needs in response to social network evolution and life-cycle events: A structural equation model," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 159-171.
    11. Rau, Henrike & Manton, Richard, 2016. "Life events and mobility milestones: Advances in mobility biography theory and research," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 51-60.
    12. Beige, Sigrun & Axhausen, Kay W., 2017. "The dynamics of commuting over the life course: Swiss experiences," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 179-194.
    13. Kroesen, Maarten, 2015. "Do partners influence each other’s travel patterns? A new approach to study the role of social norms," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 489-505.
    14. Sunitiyoso, Yos & Avineri, Erel & Chatterjee, Kiron, 2011. "The effect of social interactions on travel behaviour: An exploratory study using a laboratory experiment," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 332-344, May.
    15. Sheila C. Jacobs, 2002. "Reliability and recall of unemployment events using retrospective data," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 16(3), pages 537-548, September.
    16. Sattlegger, Lukas & Rau, Henrike, 2016. "Carlessness in a car‐centric world: A reconstructive approach to qualitative mobility biographies research," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 22-31.
    17. Kroesen, Maarten & Handy, Susan & Chorus, Caspar, 2017. "Do attitudes cause behavior or vice versa? An alternative conceptualization of the attitude-behavior relationship in travel behavior modeling," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 190-202.
    18. Pirmin Fessler & Alyssa Schneebaum, 2012. "Gender and Educational Attainment Across Generations in Austria," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 161-188, January.
    19. Zhang, Junyi & Yu, Biying & Chikaraishi, Makoto, 2014. "Interdependences between household residential and car ownership behavior: a life history analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 165-174.
    20. Molin, Eric & Mokhtarian, Patricia & Kroesen, Maarten, 2016. "Multimodal travel groups and attitudes: A latent class cluster analysis of Dutch travelers," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 14-29.
    21. Albrecht, Janna & Holz-Rau, Christian & Scheiner, Joachim, 2017. "Life-course data reconstruction using complementary information taken from linked lives," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 308-318.
    22. Joachim R. Frick & Markus M. Grabka & Anika Rasner & Marian Schmidt & Morten Schuth & Christian Westermeier, 2012. "Familienbiographische Verläufe im Kohortenvergleich," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 439, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    23. Mintesnot Woldeamanuel & Rita Cyganski & Angelika Schulz & Andreas Justen, 2009. "Variation of households ’ car ownership across time: application of a panel data model," Transportation, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 371-387, July.
    24. Xinyu Cao & Patricia Mokhtarian & Susan Handy, 2007. "Do changes in neighborhood characteristics lead to changes in travel behavior? A structural equations modeling approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(5), pages 535-556, September.
    25. Handy, Susan & Cao, Xinyu & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2005. "Correlation or causality between the built environment and travel behavior? Evidence from Northern California," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt5b76c5kg, University of California Transportation Center.
    26. Kiron Chatterjee, 2011. "Modelling the dynamics of bus use in a changing travel environment using panel data," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 487-509, May.
    27. Satoshi Fujii & Ryuichi Kitamura, 2003. "What does a one-month free bus ticket do to habitual drivers? An experimental analysis of habit and attitude change," Transportation, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 81-95, February.
    28. Kuhnimhof, Tobias & Buehler, Ralph & Wirtz, Matthias & Kalinowska, Dominika, 2012. "Travel trends among young adults in Germany: increasing multimodality and declining car use for men," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 443-450.
    29. Dargay, Joyce & Hanly, Mark, 2007. "Volatility of car ownership, commuting mode and time in the UK," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 934-948, December.
    30. Martina Schäfer & Melanie Jaeger-Erben & Sebastian Bamberg, 2012. "Life Events as Windows of Opportunity for Changing Towards Sustainable Consumption Patterns?," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 65-84, March.
    31. Klinger, Thomas, 2017. "Moving from monomodality to multimodality? Changes in mode choice of new residents," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 221-237.
    32. Kroesen, Maarten, 2014. "Modeling the behavioral determinants of travel behavior: An application of latent transition analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 56-67.
    33. Scheiner, Joachim & Holz-Rau, Christian, 2012. "Gendered travel mode choice: a focus on car deficient households," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 250-261.
    34. Berney, L. R. & Blane, D. B., 1997. "Collecting retrospective data: Accuracy of recall after 50 years judged against historical records," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 1519-1525, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Müggenburg, Hannah, 2021. "Beyond the limits of memory? The reliability of retrospective data in travel research," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 302-318.
    2. Meinherz, Franziska & Binder, Claudia R., 2020. "The dynamics of modal shifts in (sub)urban commuting: An empirical analysis based on practice theories," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Mattioli, Giulio & Scheiner, Joachim & Holz-Rau, Christian, 2022. "Generational differences, socialisation effects and ‘mobility links’ in international holiday travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    4. Richard Larouche & Ulises Charles Rodriguez & Ransimala Nayakarathna & David R. Scott, 2020. "Effect of Major Life Events on Travel Behaviours: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Philippe Gerber & Sébastien Lord & Kevin Manaugh & Veronique Van Acker & Samuel Carpentier-Postel, 2021. "Sustainability Issues of Micro and Macro-Scale Changes in Daily and Residential Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-6, April.
    6. Sun, Shichao & Yao, Yukun & Xu, Lingyu & He, Xuan & Duan, Zhengyu, 2022. "The use of E-moped increases commute satisfaction and subjective well-being: Evidence from Shanghai, China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 60-73.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Müggenburg, Hannah, 2021. "Beyond the limits of memory? The reliability of retrospective data in travel research," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 302-318.
    2. Scheiner, Joachim, 2020. "Changes in travel mode use over the life course with partner interactions in couple households," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 791-807.
    3. Lee, Yongsung & Guhathakurta, Subhrajit, 2018. "An analysis of the effects of suburban densification on vehicle use for shopping: Do existing residents respond to land-use changes in the same way as recent movers?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 193-204.
    4. Gao, Jie & He, Sylvia Y. & Ettema, Dick & Helbich, Marco, 2023. "Travel behavior changes due to life events: Longitudinal evidence from Dutch couple households," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    5. Timmer, Sebastian & Merfeld, Katrin & Henkel, Sven, 2023. "Exploring motivations for multimodal commuting: A hierarchical means-end chain analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    6. Van Acker, Veronique & Ho, Loan & Stevens, Larissa & Mulley, Corinne, 2020. "Quantifying the effects of childhood and previous residential experiences on the use of public transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    7. van de Coevering, Paul & Maat, Kees & van Wee, Bert, 2018. "Residential self-selection, reverse causality and residential dissonance. A latent class transition model of interactions between the built environment, travel attitudes and travel behavior," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 466-479.
    8. Klinger, Thomas, 2017. "Moving from monomodality to multimodality? Changes in mode choice of new residents," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 221-237.
    9. Haustein, Sonja & Kroesen, Maarten, 2022. "Shifting to more sustainable mobility styles: A latent transition approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Guan, Xiaodong & Wang, Donggen, 2020. "The multiplicity of self-selection: What do travel attitudes influence first, residential location or work place?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Doody, Brendan J., 2020. "Becoming ‘a Londoner’: Migrants’ experiences and habits of everyday (im)mobilities over the life course," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Hu, Yang & van Wee, Bert & Ettema, Dick, 2023. "Intra-household decisions and the impact of the built environment on activity-travel behavior: A review of the literature," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    13. Richard Larouche & Ulises Charles Rodriguez & Ransimala Nayakarathna & David R. Scott, 2020. "Effect of Major Life Events on Travel Behaviours: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-21, December.
    14. Sheng, Lu & Wu, Xiao & He, Yan, 2023. "Impact of residential relocation on activity-travel behaviors between household couples: A case study of Kunming, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    15. Scheiner, Joachim & Chatterjee, Kiron & Heinen, Eva, 2016. "Key events and multimodality: A life course approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 148-165.
    16. Fu, Xingxing & van Lierop, Dea & Ettema, Dick, 2024. "Is multimodality advantageous? Assessing the relationship between multimodality and perceived transport adequacy and accessibility in different travel contexts," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    17. Scheiner, Joachim, 2018. "Transport costs seen through the lens of residential self-selection and mobility biographies," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 126-136.
    18. De Vos, Jonas, 2018. "Do people travel with their preferred travel mode? Analysing the extent of travel mode dissonance and its effect on travel satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 261-274.
    19. Shen, Tonggaochuan & Cheng, Long & Yang, Yongjiang & Deng, Jialin & Jin, Tanhua & Cao, Mengqiu, 2023. "Do residents living in transit-oriented development station catchment areas travel more sustainably? The impacts of life events," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118813, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Julia Janke & Calvin G. Thigpen & Susan Handy, 2021. "Examining the effect of life course events on modality type and the moderating influence of life stage," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 1089-1124, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:46:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11116-017-9823-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.