Public transport access and availability in the RESIDE study: Is it taking us where we want to go

A disproportionate focus of research to date has focussed on public transport (PT) opportunities available within the residential neighbourhood, despite the need to focus on origin and destination PT infrastructure. Furthermore, there are recommended maximum access distances of 400 m for lower quality PT services (e.g., bus) and 800 m for higher quality PT services (e.g., rail). This study investigates associations between commuting behaviours and distance to bus and rail stops from residence and workplace, and the PT access thresholds and densities in a sample of 238 employed adults drawn from the RESIDE study in Perth, Australia. Self-reported usual workplace travel mode was compared with objectively derived home to work commute distance, and distance to the nearest rail and bus stops from residence and workplace. Overall, 207 (87.0%) participants usually commuted to work by private motor vehicle (PMV), and 31 (13.0%) participants commuted by PT modes. Those who travelled to work using PT modes had longer commute distances, but had bus and rail stops located closer to their workplace compared with respondents who commuted using PMV modes. Compared with those only having proximate residential PT access, respondents who only had proximate workplace PT access (adjusted OR=11.57), or had both proximate residence and workplace PT access (adjusted OR=16.51) were substantially more likely to commute to work using PT modes. These findings highlight the importance of proximate PT infrastructure both near home and workplaces. People seemed willing to travel beyond the recommended bus and rail thresholds to access PT, provided it took them close to their workplace.

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