A multi-level approach to travel mode choice – How person characteristics and situation specific aspects determine car use in a student sample

The presented study analyses travel mode choice in a student sample on four frequent trips: To the university, to work, to the favourite leisure activity, and to the favourite shop. The decision to use the car in contrast to alternative travel modes is modelled for each individual trip using a two-level structural equation model with trip specific attributes on Level 1 and person specific attributes on Level 2. Data was gathered in an online travel survey on a student sample of the Ruhr-University in Bochum. Three thousand five hundred and sixty students reported their mode choice for 26,865 individual trips. On the person level a comprehensive action determination model was applied to explain variation in person specific car preference, whereas on the situation level car availability, trip duration, day of travel, disruption in public transportation, weather, daylight, and purpose of the trip were included as predictors. The proposed two-level model is supported by the data, Level 1 predictors explain 62% of Level 1 variation, the Level 2 model explains 48% of Level 2 variance. The intraclass-correlation of car preference is .535. In a final step, interactions between person and trip specific variables were explored.

Research highlights
► The multi-level approach covers psychological and situational influences.
► The comprehensive action determination model explains 48% of between person variance.
► Car access, trip duration and trip to leisure activity impact within person variance.
► Including selected cross-level interactions improves model fit.
► Habits and PBC seem to strengthen the impact of easily accessible situational cues.