Klomp, Robin (2022) Car Dependency & Alternative Travel Behavior at the ASU Campus. Master thesis.
|
Text
Car Dependency and Alternative Travel Behavior at the ASU Campus.pdf Download (2MB) | Preview |
Abstract
American metropolitan university campuses have been identified as major trip generators that create many negative externalities such as emissions, nuisance, and congestion as these trips are mostly made by car due to their embeddedness in the American culture. Therefore, a modal shift towards more sustainable modes is encouraged to counter these negativities. This paper aims to gain insight into the level of car dependency and the intention to make use of alternative transport modes among students, faculty, and staff who travel to the Arizona State University's Tempe campus. To research the travel behavior and geographical patterns of these campus attendees, the main research question is as follows: 'What is the role of proximity to campus and public transport and the effect of individual characteristics on car dependency and alternative transport mode use intentions for student, faculty, and staff travel to the Arizona State University's Tempe campus in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area?' In doing so, an extensive dataset of the university's Parking & Transit Services includes whether an individual has purchased a campus parking permit or public transportation pass, or has registered a bike combined with their address. Through QGIS mapping of all campus respondents, the results show that those possessing a parking permit are widespread across the Phoenix metropolitan area while individuals that have a bike registration are clustered around the center points of downtown Tempe or campus and downtown Phoenix. The importance of the geographic location of individuals, as well as their proximities and distances from campus and public transport stops, appear to be useful predictors of whether people have a parking permit, bike registration, and/or public transportation pass and opt to have monomodal or multimodal travel intention and behavior towards the ASU campus. Individuals with a public transport pass appear to be located in the downtown areas and along the Phoenix-Mesa railway with no visible clustering around bus stops. Besides, logistic regressions analyses were utilized to identify that the university groups of higher educated, males, those living near a train station, and individuals within half an hour distance driving tend to be less dependent on the car and pursue other forms of transportation. The same conclusions apply to multimodal users who are also for the majority located close to campus. To stimulate changes to the current travel behavior of university affiliates, new policies and infrastructural investments are needed to switch from car-dependent commute to alternative transport that is more sustainable in the long-term while targeting the entire Phoenix Metropolitan Area and those groups that tend to use the car more as opposed to others.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Economic Geography: Regional Competitiveness and Trade (track) |
| Supervisor: | Pot, F.J. |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Sep 2022 07:47 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Sep 2022 07:47 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4034 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |