Does a satisfying trip result in more future trips with that mode?

Previous studies have indicated that travel satisfaction – the experienced emotions during, and cognitive evaluation of, a trip – can be affected by travel mode choice and other trip characteristics. However, as satisfactory trips might improve a person’s attitudes toward the used mode, persons may be more likely to use that same mode for future trips of the same kind. Hence, a cyclical process between travel mode choice and travel satisfaction might occur. In this paper we analyse this process – using cross-sectional data – for people who engage in walking and cycling for leisure trips in the Belgian city of Ghent. The focus on walking and cycling reflects recent studies indicating that active travel is often associated with the highest levels of travel satisfaction. Results support the idea of a cyclical process; the evaluation of walking and cycling trips positively affects the respondents’ attitude towards the respective mode, which in turn has a positive effect on choosing that mode. Furthermore, results indicate a strong effect of life satisfaction on travel satisfaction, suggesting a strong impact of long-term happiness on short-term satisfaction

Influential factors on enhancing neighborhood intermediary spaces as a context of children's walking to school

Student‘s journey to and from school is a routine activity that can influence the acquisition of their environmental knowledge, skills, and their travel behavior that can continue to adulthood. It is a phenomenon that can create real benefits for children and their parents. The school journey can also be affected by the environmental factors both socially and physically. There is a growing trend to motorized travel mode to school in Iran as well as United States of America, United Kingdom, and Australia that can be influenced by many factors. Moreover, it also affects children‘s interaction with the environments in their journey to school that causes many consequences for them. With focus on student‘s travel behavior, this study addresses different types of students‘ travel mode to school and also targets to determine the extent of their active and passive transportation. Moreover, this study discussed some effective factors affecting students‘ travel mode choice in their way to and from school in Iran. This research was conducted at Omid town as a residential area located in northeast (Zone 4) of Tehran. The method used in this study was analysis of collected data through questionnaire s, interviews, and behavioral mappings. Three types of analysis were used to acquire the results including frequency analysis, factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. The results revealed the numerous factors affecting students‘ and also parents‘ preference in choosing travel mode to school and back. In this regard, three significant factors were identified as the most important motive factors in choosing active mode in students‘ journey to and from school: independent mobility, safety and security, and play time. These factors influencing students‘ travel mode choice in their way to school are considered as significant principles to design appropriate settings for students‘ journey. It can be also noticed by parents and those who deal with students such as city authorities to create proper sttings for children in choosing travel mode to school that can cause benefits for students

Are income-related differences in active travel associated with physical environmental characteristics? A multi-level ecological approach

Background: Rates of active travel vary by socio-economic position, with higher rates generally observed among less affluent populations. Aspects of both social and built environments have been shown to affect active travel, but little research has explored the influence of physical environmental characteristics, and less has examined whether physical environment affects socio-economic inequality in active travel. This study explored income-related differences in active travel in relation to multiple physical environmental characteristics including air pollution, climate and levels of green space, in urban areas across England. We hypothesised that any gradient in the relationship between income and active travel would be least pronounced in the least physically environmentally-deprived areas where higher income populations may be more likely to choose active transport as a means of travel.<p></p> Methods: Adults aged 16+ living in urban areas (n = 20,146) were selected from the 2002 and 2003 waves of the UK National Travel Survey. The mode of all short non-recreational trips undertaken by the sample was identified (n = 205,673). Three-level binary logistic regression models were used to explore how associations between the trip being active (by bike/walking) and three income groups, varied by level of multiple physical environmental deprivation.<p></p> Results: Likelihood of making an active trip among the lowest income group appeared unaffected by physical environmental deprivation; 15.4% of their non-recreational trips were active in both the least and most environmentally-deprived areas. The income-related gradient in making active trips remained steep in the least environmentally-deprived areas because those in the highest income groups were markedly less likely to choose active travel when physical environment was ‘good’, compared to those on the lowest incomes (OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.89).<p></p> Conclusions: The socio-economic gradient in active travel seems independent of physical environmental characteristics. Whilst more affluent populations enjoy advantages on some health outcomes, they will still benefit from increasing their levels of physical activity through active travel. Benefits of active travel to the whole community would include reduced vehicle emissions, reduced carbon consumption, the preservation or enhancement of infrastructure and the presentation of a ‘normalised’ behaviour

Neighbourhood, Route and Workplace-Related Environmental Characteristics Predict Adults' Mode of Travel to Work

Commuting provides opportunities for regular physical activity which can reduce the risk of chronic disease. Commuters' mode of travel may be shaped by their environment, but understanding of which specific environmental characteristics are most important and might form targets for intervention is limited. This study investigated associations between mode choice and a range of objectively assessed environmental characteristics.Participants in the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study reported where they lived and worked, their usual mode of travel to work and a variety of socio-demographic characteristics. Using geographic information system (GIS) software, 30 exposure variables were produced capturing characteristics of areas around participants' homes and workplaces and their shortest modelled routes to work. Associations between usual mode of travel to work and personal and environmental characteristics were investigated using multinomial logistic regression.Of the 1124 respondents, 50% reported cycling or walking as their usual mode of travel to work. In adjusted analyses, home-work distance was strongly associated with mode choice, particularly for walking. Lower odds of walking or cycling rather than driving were associated with a less frequent bus service (highest versus lowest tertile: walking OR 0.61 [95% CI 0.20–1.85]; cycling OR 0.43 [95% CI 0.23–0.83]), low street connectivity (OR 0.22, [0.07–0.67]; OR 0.48 [0.26–0.90]) and free car parking at work (OR 0.24 [0.10–0.59]; OR 0.55 [0.32–0.95]). Participants were less likely to cycle if they had access to fewer destinations (leisure facilities, shops and schools) close to work (OR 0.36 [0.21–0.62]) and a railway station further from home (OR 0.53 [0.30–0.93]). Covariates strongly predicted travel mode (pseudo r-squared 0.74).Potentially modifiable environmental characteristics, including workplace car parking, street connectivity and access to public transport, are associated with travel mode choice, and could be addressed as part of transport policy and infrastructural interventions to promote active commuting

Effects of living near a new urban motorway on the travel behaviour of local residents in deprived areas: Evidence from a natural experimental study

We evaluated the effects of a new motorway built through deprived neighbourhoods on travel behaviour in residents. This natural experiment comprised a longitudinal cohort (n=365) and two cross-sectional samples (baseline n=980; follow-up n=978) recruited in 2005 and 2013. Adults from one of three study areas - surrounding the new motorway (South), an existing motorway (East), or no motorway (North) - completed a previous day travel record. Adjusted two-part regression models examined associations between exposure and outcome. Compared to the North, cohort participants in the South were more likely to undertake travel by any mode (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.0–4.2) at follow-up. Within the South study area, cohort participants living closer to a motorway junction were more likely to travel by any mode at follow-up (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.1–19.7), and cross-sectional participants living closer were more likely to use a car at follow-up (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.1–10.7), compared to those living further away. Overall, the new motorway appeared to promote travel and car use in those living nearby, but did not influence active travel. This may propagate socioeconomic inequalities in non-car owners

Impact of changes in mode of travel to work on changes in body mass index: evidence from the British Household Panel Survey

BACKGROUND Active commuting is associated with various health benefits, but little is known about its causal relationship with body mass index (BMI). METHODS We used cohort data from three consecutive annual waves of the British Household Panel Survey, a longitudinal study of nationally representative households, in 2004/05 (n=15,791), 2005/06 and 2006/07. Participants selected for the analyses (n=4,056) reported their usual main mode of travel to work at each time point. Self-reported height and weight were used to derive BMI at baseline and after two years. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess associations between switching to and from active modes of travel (over one and two years) and change in BMI (over two years) and to assess dose-response relationships. RESULTS After adjustment for socioeconomic and health-related covariates, the first analysis (n=3,269) showed that switching from private motor transport to active travel or public transport (n=179) was associated with a significant reduction in BMI compared to continued private motor vehicle use (n=3,090) (-0.32kg/m2, 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.05). Larger adjusted effect sizes were associated with switching to active travel (n=109) (-0.45kg/m2, -0.78 to -0.11), particularly among those who switched within the first year and those with the longest journeys. The second analysis (n=787) showed that switching from active travel or public transport to private motor transport was associated with a significant increase in BMI (0.34kg/m2, 0.05 to 0.64). CONCLUSION Interventions to enable commuters to switch from private motor transport to more active modes of travel could contribute to reducing population mean BMI

Helioseismology of Sunspots: A Case Study of NOAA Region 9787

Various methods of helioseismology are used to study the subsurface properties of the sunspot in NOAA Active Region 9787. This sunspot was chosen because it is axisymmetric, shows little evolution during 20-28 January 2002, and was observed continuously by the MDI/SOHO instrument. (...) Wave travel times and mode frequencies are affected by the sunspot. In most cases, wave packets that propagate through the sunspot have reduced travel times. At short travel distances, however, the sign of the travel-time shifts appears to depend sensitively on how the data are processed and, in particular, on filtering in frequency-wavenumber space. We carry out two linear inversions for wave speed: one using travel-times and phase-speed filters and the other one using mode frequencies from ring analysis. These two inversions give subsurface wave-speed profiles with opposite signs and different amplitudes. (...) From this study of AR9787, we conclude that we are currently unable to provide a unified description of the subsurface structure and dynamics of the sunspot.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figure

Travel mode choice and travel satisfaction : bridging the gap between decision utility and experienced utility

Over the past decades research on travel mode choice has evolved from work that is informed by utility theory, examining the effects of objective determinants, to studies incorporating more subjective variables such as habits and attitudes. Recently, the way people perceive their travel has been analyzed with transportation-oriented scales of subjective wellbeing, and particularly the satisfaction with travel scale. However, studies analyzing the link between travel mode choice (i.e., decision utility) and travel satisfaction (i.e., experienced utility) are limited. In this paper we will focus on the relation between mode choice and travel satisfaction for leisure trips (with travel-related attitudes and the built environment as explanatory variables) of study participants in urban and suburban neighborhoods in the city of Ghent, Belgium. It is shown that the built environment and travel-related attitudes—both important explanatory variables of travel mode choice—and mode choice itself affect travel satisfaction. Public transit users perceive their travel most negatively, while active travel results in the highest levels of travel satisfaction. Surprisingly, suburban dwellers perceive their travel more positively than urban dwellers, for all travel modes

Is a change in mode of travel to school associated with a change in overall physical activity levels in children? Longitudinal results from the SPEEDY study.

BACKGROUND: Children who use active modes of travel (walking or cycling) to school are more physically active than those who use passive (motorised) modes. However, less is known on whether a change in mode of travel to school is associated with a change in children's physical activity levels. The purpose of this analysis was to investigate the association between change in mode of travel to school and change in overall physical activity levels in children. METHODS: Data from 812 9-10 year old British children (59% girls) who participated in the SPEEDY study were analysed. During the summer terms of 2007 and 2008 participants completed a questionnaire and wore an accelerometer for at least three days. Two-level multiple linear regression models were used to explore the association between change in usual mode of travel to school and change in objectively measured time spent in MVPA. RESULTS: Compared to children whose reported mode of travel did not change, a change from a passive to an active mode of travel was associated with an increase in daily minutes spent in MVPA (boys: beta 11.59, 95% CI 0.94 to 22.24; girls: beta 11.92, 95% CI 5.00 to 18.84). This increase represented 12% of boys' and 13% of girls' total daily time spent in MVPA at follow-up. CONCLUSION: This analysis provides further evidence that promoting active travel to school may have a role in contributing to increasing physical activity levels in children.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Longitudinal associations between weather, season, and mode of commuting to school amongst Spanish youths

Aim: To study the associations of weather conditions with the travel mode choice for commuting to and from school.  Methods: A total of 6,979 Spanish youths aged 7 to 18 years old (80% adolescents aged 12‐18 years old, 51% male) completed a 5‐day survey of mode of commuting to school in autumn, winter, and spring. Weather data from the nearest weather station to each school was registered. We used Google Maps™ to calculate the distance from home to school. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate odds of active travel based on weather and season.  Results: We analysed a total of 163,846 discrete journeys. In winter, children (aged 7 to 11 years old) were less likely to choose an active mode of commuting to school (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59‐0.89, p=0.003). In spring, adolescents were more likely to choose an active mode of commuting to school (OR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.19‐1.73, p<0.001). With higher mean temperatures, adolescents were more likely to choose an active mode of commuting from school (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00‐1.04, p=0.029).  Conclusion: Certain weather conditions seem to influence the travel mode choice for commuting to and from school in youth, including season and temperature