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As in many cities, utilitarian cycling is part of Toronto's climate strategy. For this tactic to work, cycling must occur throughout the city, yet despite most of the city's suitable short trips (60%) occurring in the suburbs, suburban residents cycle far less for transport than downtown residents where most cycling infrastructure is found. Nonetheless, some people in suburban areas cycle for transport, but little research focuses on suburban cycling. This has important implications for health, climate and equity. We used generalized structural equation modeling to analyze data from a survey of factors influencing utilitarian and recreational cycling among residents of a lower-income auto-oriented suburb lacking utilitarian cycling infrastructure (n = 215). Principal component analysis was used to develop latent attitudinal variables. The strongest predictors of utilitarian cycling were the frequency of recreational cycling, bike ownership, knowing people who bike, being male, and owning fewer cars. The strongest predictors of recreational cycling were bicycle ownership, knowing people who bike, knowing where to access repairs, and having attitudes strongly related to health and safety. Utilitarian cycling did not influence the frequency of recreational cycling. None of the latent attitudinal variables influenced utilitarian cycling. However, respondents scoring high in the expense and theft variable were more likely to live in lower income households. Those in higher income households scored higher on the health and safety variable. Results suggest group rides, access to bicycles and repairs, and ways to meet people who bike may be useful interventions to increase utilitarian cycling in suburban communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand-responsive technologies are rapidly changing the transportation landscape. The City of Belleville, Ontario has recently replaced its evening and nighttime fixed route bus service with an on-demand transit (ODT) service. Preliminary reports have found a 300% increase in nighttime bus ridership since the implementation of this service, yet to fully understand the social return on the investment in on-demand services, we must also quantify whether and for whom these new services have enabled time savings and increased levels of activity participation. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether riders are satisfied with the service, and whether satisfaction levels have an impact on activity participation. As such, this study explores the determinants of activity participation of ODT users using a custom ridership survey instrument. We collect information on travel experience, satisfaction, and perceived changes in activity participation due to ODT. We then performed a factor analysis and estimated structural equation models to identify the relationships between aspects of the ODT service and activity participation. Our results show that reliability and service quality are the most important aspects of the ODT services in terms of positively influencing activity participation, and that shorter wait times, are most likely to lead to an increase in activity participation. Our findings further suggest that Belleville can eliminate barriers to nighttime activity participation by providing reliable and affordable ODT service, and that ODT can be an effective solution to provide transit services for transport-poor in low demand areas or during low demand periods of the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The determinants of car use and car ownership are heatedly discussed in transportation planning research. However, little is known about the effects of life-course events, for instance, residential relocation and changes in household structure, on driving behaviour. In particular, in China's cities, massive urban renewal and residential relocation provide new contexts for transport. This paper aims to contribute to new evidences for the links between changes in car use and residential relocation by taking Beijing as a case. Structural Equation Modelling is applied to explore the effects of built environment, self-selection, and household status on car ownership and car use, and to highlight the mediating effect of changes in commuting distance on travel mode variation following residential relocation. The results show that residents make their travel choices based on their life stages, that is, the birth of kids, marriage, and a larger household size encourage car purchase and facilitate car use. The built environment variables play moderate roles in reshaping driving behaviour after residential relocation when controlling for other factors. Besides, commuting distance has marginal effects on car use and travel mode choice. More specifically, increasing commuting distance encourages the use of the metro and private cars. The present study has important implications for future research and policies aiming to discourage car dependence in growing metropolises. Highlights • Residents make their travel choices based on their life stages • A larger household size encourage car purchase and facilitate car use. • The built environment variables play moderate roles in reshaping driving behaviour after residential relocation. • Increasing commuting distance encourages the use of the metro and private cars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]