Influences of LRT on travel behaviour: A retrospective study on movers in Minneapolis

Following scant evidence for the effects of proximity to rail transit on car use, we pinpoint the impacts of rail transit and neighbourhood characteristics on both transit and car use in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. We apply the structural equations modelling approach on 597 residents who moved into the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit (LRT) corridor after it opened. The analysis is based on a self-administrated survey where all attributes of the built environment and transit quality are perceived measures. Using a quasi-longitudinal design to compare the behaviour of movers into the Hiawatha and control corridors, we found that the Hiawatha LRT acts as both a catalyst and a magnet. Movers into the Hiawatha corridor experience transit improvement, which increases transit use and reduces car use. The LRT also enables transit-liking people who were unable to realise their preference previously to relocate near the LRT. However, the LRT has no significant effects on changes in car ownership.

[1]  Fiona Bull,et al.  The influence of urban design on neighbourhood walking following residential relocation: longitudinal results from the RESIDE study. , 2013, Social science & medicine.

[2]  Reid Ewing,et al.  Travel and the Built Environment: A Synthesis , 2001 .

[3]  J. Holtzclaw.  Using Residential Patterns and Transit To Decrease Auto Dependence and Costs , 2009 .

[4]  Xiao-shu Cao,et al.  The Impacts of LRT, Neighbourhood Characteristics, and Self-selection on Auto Ownership: Evidence from Minneapolis-St. Paul , 2014 .

[5]  R. Cervero.  Transit-Oriented Development's Ridership Bonus: A Product of Self-Selection and Public Policies , 2006 .

[6]  K. Dueker,et al.  Light-Rail-Transit Impacts in Portland: The First Ten Years , 1999 .

[7]  Xinyu Cao,et al.  The Influences of Light Rail Transit on Transit Use: An Exploration of Station Area Residents along the Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis , 2013 .

[8]  D. Chatman.  Does TOD Need the T? , 2013 .

[9]  Steven Spears,et al.  Changes in Transit Use and Service and Associated Changes in Driving Near a New Light Rail Transit Line , 2015 .

[10]  E. Ziegel,et al.  Basic Principles of Structural Equation Modelling , 1996 .

[11]  Todd Litman.  Part 2: Rail Transit and Commuter Rail: Impacts of Rail Transit on the Performance of a Transportation System , 2005 .

[12]  Petter Næss.  Residential Self‐Selection and Appropriate Control Variables in Land Use: Travel Studies , 2009 .

[13]  R. Mueller.  Basic Principles of Structural Equation Modeling: An Introduction to LISREL and EQS , 1996 .

[14]  D. Chatman.  Deconstructing development density: Quality, quantity and price effects on household non-work travel , 2008 .

[15]  Alasdair Cain,et al.  Applicability of TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit System of Bogotá, Colombia, to the United States , 2007 .

[16]  Jennifer Dill.  Transit Use at Transit-Oriented Developments in Portland, Oregon, Area , 2008 .

[17]  R. Cervero,et al.  Vehicle Trip Reduction Impacts of Transit-Oriented Housing , 2008 .

[18]  Reid Ewing,et al.  Travel and the Built Environment , 2010 .

[19]  R. Cervero,et al.  COMMUTING IN TRANSIT VERSUS AUTOMOBILE NEIGHBORHOODS , 1995 .

[20]  Jonathan Levine.  Access to Choice , 1999 .

[21]  Antonio Páez,et al.  Accessibility to transit, by transit, and mode share: application of a logistic model with spatial filters , 2012 .

[22]  C. Mulley,et al.  Understanding neighbourhood design impact on travel behaviour: An application of structural equations model to a British metropolitan data , 2012 .

[23]  B. Loo,et al.  Rail-Based Transit-Oriented Development: Lessons from New York City and Hong Kong , 2010 .