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Authors: Solmaz Jahed Shiran, Tayebeh Saghapour, John Hearne
Keywords: life course events, residential mobility, mobility biographies, commute time
Abstract: Over the past decade, a growing body of research, known as mobility biography approach has emerged that focuses on changes in travel behavior over the life course of individuals. Mobility biographies suggest that changes in travel behavior have a certain relation to important key events in life courses such as residential relocation, workplace changes, marriage and the birth of children. By analyzing longitudinal data, it is possible to assign different key events during the life course to changes in a person’s travel behavior. Taking this approach as the theoretical background, this study uses data from the Household, Income, and Labor Dynamics Survey in Australia (HILDA) to investigate the effects of life-course events, and in particular residential relocation, on commute time. Changes in the journey-to-work travel time are used as an indication of travel behavior change in this study. Results of a linear regression model for change in commute time show a significant influence from socio-demographic factors like income and age, the previous home-to-work commute time and remoteness of the residence. Residential relocation and job change have particularly significant influences on commute time. Other life events such as the birth of a child, marriage, and divorce or separation have also a strong impact on the commute time change. Overall, the research confirms previous studies of links between life-course events and travel behavior.