The Long-Lasting Impact of Past Mobility Dependence on Travel Mode Share in a New Neighborhood: The Case of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea

Abstract

Travel behavior researchers have dominantly explored the influence of increase in development densities with mixed pattern of land-uses, and investment in infrastructures related to public transit toward more sustainable-transportation policies. However, little has been known about the long-term interdependencies between people’s decisions on travel behavior and individual biographies relating to residential relocation and habitual behavior over a longer time period. To fill this gap, the present study aims to investigate the long-lasting impact of past travel behavior on current travel behavior after a process of residential relocation. For this purpose, aggregate analysis at a neighborhood level was carried out, focusing on cause-effect relationships between current travel mode share and the size of in-migrants dependent on a certain mode in the past by using Household Travel Surveys (HTS) and Internal Migration Statistics collected during 2006–2015 (10 years). Accordingly, the size of in-migrants who have their pre-determined travel behavior in the past play an important role in explaining the mode share of a neighborhood on the current state. Further, this study attempted to divide the influence of residential relocation from the influence of habitual behavior on travel behavior after residential relocation. The finding suggested that the habitualized travel pattern can affect the travel patterns in the new neighborhood even after separating the effect of self-selection. Specifically, the past dependency on public transportation represented significant influences on the current travel mode share. This study on travel behavior informs consideration of role of habitual qualities during the process of residential relocation.