How do they get by without cars? An analysis of travel characteristics of carless households in California
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How do they get by without cars? An analysis of travel characteristics of carless households in California Suman K. Mitra1,2 · Jean‑Daniel M. Saphores3
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract In spite of their substantial number in the U.S., our understanding of the travel behavior of households who do not own motor vehicles (labeled “carless” herein) is sketchy. The goal of this paper is to start filling this gap for California. We perform parametric and non-parametric tests to analyze trip data from the 2012 California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) after classifying carless households as voluntarily carless, involuntarily carless, or unclassifiable based on a CHTS question that inquires why a carless household does not own any motor vehicle. We find substantial differences between our different categories of carless households. Compared to their voluntarily carless peers, involuntarily carless households travel less frequently, their trips are longer and they take more time, partly because their environment is not as well adapted to their needs. They also walk/bike less, depend more on transit, and when they travel by motor vehicle, occupancy is typically higher. Their median travel time is longer, but remarkably, it is similar for voluntarily carless and motorized households. Overall, involuntarily carless households are less mobile, which may contribute to a more isolated lifestyle with a lower degree of well-being. Compared to motorized households, carless households rely a lot less on motor vehicles and much more on transit, walking, and biking. They also take less than half as many trips and their median trip distance is less than half as short. This study is a first step toward better understanding the transportation patterns of carless households. Keywords Travel behavior · Carless households · Social exclusion · California Household Travel Survey
* Jean‑Daniel M. Saphores [email protected] Suman K. Mitra [email protected] 1
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2
Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697‑3600, USA
3
Civil and Environmental Engineering, Economics, and Urban Planning & Public Policy, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697‑3600, USA
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Transportation
Introduction In spite of the critical importance of mobility for quality of life and economic well-being, the travel behavior of households without motor vehicles has so far received relatively little attention even though “carlessness” may be the most vivid expression of mobility disadvantage in a car-centric society such as ours (Social Exclusion Unit 2003; Clifton and Lucas 2004). Currently, approximately 10.6 million (9.0%) of U.S. households do not own a motor vehicle (ACS 2012–2016), including over one million in California. These households can be organized into two groups: involuntarily carless households who are
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