TRAVEL PATTERNS IN 50 CITIES

DURING THE PAST 15 YEARS ORIGIN-AND-DESTINATION TRAFFIC SURVEYS OF THE HOME-INTERVIEW TYPE HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED IN MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED CITIES. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS INFORMATION REGARDING THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH TRIPS WERE MADE BY RESIDENTS IN 50 OF THESE URBAN AREAS AND THE MODE OF TRAVEL THEY USED. DATA ARE ALSO INCLUDED PERTAINING TO BASIC HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AREAS SUCH AS THE NUMBERS OF DWELLING UNITS, RESIDENTS, AND AUTOMOBILES OWNED, AND THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THESE CHARACTERISTICS AND THE VOLUME OF TRIPS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO PURPOSE AND MODE OF TRAVEL. THE URBAN AREAS HAVE BEEN GROUPED BY POPULATION SIZE TO DISCLOSE WHATEVER TRAVEL TRENDS OR PATTERNS MAY EXIST AMONG CITIES IN THE SEVERAL POPULATION GROUPS. THE PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF MAJOR TRIP PURPOSES IS FAIRLY UNIFORM IN CITIES OF ALL SIZES. ANALYSIS BY MODE OF TRAVEL, HOWEVER, SHOWS A VARIABLE PATTERN. THE PROPORTION OF TRIPS BY AUTOMOBILES AND TAXIS INCREASES AS CITY SIZE DECREASES. ON THE WHOLE, MASS TRANSIT IS BY FAR THE MOST PREVALENT MODE OF TRAVEL IN THE LARGEST CITIES, BUT ITS RELATIVE IMPORTANCE VARIES DEPENDING UPON THE TRIP PURPOSE. TRIPS FOR SOCIAL AND RECREATIONAL PURPOSES FOR INSTANCE, GENERALLY INVOLVE THE USE OF AUTOMOBILES. IN MOST CASES, THE VOLUME OF DAILY TRIPS BY RESIDENTS WITHIN AN URBAN AREA IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF PERSONS, DWELLING UNITS, AND AUTOMOBILES REGISTERED IN THE AREA. THE RELATIONS VARY, HOWEVER, DEPENDING UPON THE TRIP PURPOSE AND MODE OF TRAVEL. /AUTHOR/