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On the relationship between travel time and travel distance of commuters Reported versus network travel data in the Netherlands

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  • Bert Zwart

    (Faculty of Economics, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Piet Rietveld

    (Faculty of Economics, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Toon van den Hoorn

    (Ministry of Transport, P.O. Box 1031, 3000BA Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Bert van Wee

    (National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands)

Abstract

This paper gives a detailed empirical analysis of the relationships between different indicators of costs of commuting trips by car: difference as the crow flies, shortest travel time according to route planner, corresponding travel distance, and reported travel time. Reported travel times are usually rounded in multiples of five minutes. This calls for special statistical techniques. Ignoring the phenomenon of rounding leads to biased estimation results for shorter distances. Rather surprisingly, the distance as the crow flies and the network distance appear to be slightly better proxies of the reported travel time compared with the shortest network travel time as indicated by the route planner. We conclude that where actual driving times are missing in commuting research the other three indicators mentioned may be used as proxies, but that the following problems may emerge: actual travel times may be considerably higher than network times generated by route planners, and the average speed of trips increases considerably with distance, implying an overestimate of travel time for long distance commuters. The only personal feature that contributes significantly to variations in reported travel times is gender: women appear to drive at lower average speeds according to our data. As indicated in the paper this may be explained by the differences in the car types of male and female drivers (females drive older and smaller cars) as well as higher numbers of stops/trip chaining among women. A concise analysis is carried out for carpoolers. Car-pooling leads to an increase in travel time of some 17% compared with solo drivers covering the same distance. In the case of car poolers, the above mentioned measures appear to be very poor proxies for the actual commuting times.

Suggested Citation

  • Bert Zwart & Piet Rietveld & Toon van den Hoorn & Bert van Wee, 1999. "On the relationship between travel time and travel distance of commuters Reported versus network travel data in the Netherlands," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 33(3), pages 269-287.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:33:y:1999:i:3:p:269-287
    Note: Received: November 1996/Accepted: January 1998
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jun Guan Neoh & Maxwell Chipulu & Alasdair Marshall, 2017. "What encourages people to carpool? An evaluation of factors with meta-analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 423-447, March.
    2. Clark, William A. V. & Huang, Youqin & Withers, Suzanne, 2003. "Does commuting distance matter?: Commuting tolerance and residential change," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 199-221, March.
    3. van Exel, N. Job A. & Rietveld, Piet, 2001. "Public transport strikes and traveller behaviour," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 237-246, October.
    4. Piet Rietveld, 2001. "Rounding of Arrival and Departure Times in Travel Surveys: An Interpretation in Terms of Scheduled Activities," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-110/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    5. Muhammad Sabir & Jos Ommeren & Mark Koetse & Piet Rietveld, 2011. "Adverse Weather and Commuting Speed," Networks and Spatial Economics, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 701-712, December.
    6. Muhammad Sabir & Jos van Ommeren & Mark Koetse & Piet Rietveld, 2008. "Welfare Effects of Adverse Weather through Speed Changes in Car Commuting Trips," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 08-087/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    7. Vanoutrive, Thomas & Van De Vijver, Elien & Van Malderen, Laurent & Jourquin, Bart & Thomas, Isabelle & Verhetsel, Ann & Witlox, Frank, 2012. "What determines carpooling to workplaces in Belgium: location, organisation, or promotion?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 77-86.
    8. Mabel Sanchez-Barrioluengo & Sara Flisi, 2017. "Student Mobility in Tertiary Education: institutional factors and regional attractiveness," JRC Research Reports JRC108895, Joint Research Centre.
    9. Neoh, Jun Guan & Chipulu, Maxwell & Marshall, Alasdair & Tewkesbury, Adam, 2018. "How commuters’ motivations to drive relate to propensity to carpool: Evidence from the United Kingdom and the United States," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 128-148.
    10. Inga Laß & Thomas Skora & Heiko Rüger & Mark Wooden & Martin Bujard, 2024. "Does temporary employment increase length of commuting? Longitudinal evidence from Australia and Germany," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1467-1491, August.

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