Examining modal choice disparities in high school students

Abstract

This research evaluates the significance of a wide range of factors that influence the decisions of high school students in Okinawa on how to travel to school. The data set used in the analysis was collected from four high schools in different locations in Okinawa, Japan. A general model and two other specific models were estimated to analyse the modal share and modal choice decision characteristics of representative high schools in the prefecture. The empirical results indicate that factors related to household car possession, school distance, and travel time significantly influence decisions on mode of transport. The study focuses on two specific high schools where considerable modal choice decision differences had been observed. The predictions made based on a multinomial logit model show significant modal choice disparities between these high schools. The sensitivity analysis matches students' ratings of the bus service, and both illustrate that bus frequency and waiting time affect bus ridership and the likelihood of using a car to school trip.