Travel Mode Choice in the Process of Rapid Urbanization

Optimizing the travel mode structure of urban residents would be a key means of easing traffic congestion in China metropolitan areas during the period of the twelfth Five-Year Plan.Based on the characteristics of travel behavior and land use in the process of rapid urbanization,this paper developed a structural equation model for travel mode choice by means of the analysis unit of 'trip chain'.Firstly,three kinds of influence factor were determined according to current relative researches,and some hypotheses were advanced to describe the relationship between influence factors and travel mode choice.Then,the structural equation model was constructed.Using the travel survey data of Beijing,the model was computed and modified.The model computing result shows the quantitative relationships among traveler characteristics,land use,trip chain and travel mode choice.These findings have important implications for travel mode optimization and for the ease of traffic congestion.