Mode choice of university students commuting to school and the role of active travel

In recent years, interest in the travel behavior of students in institutions of higher education has grown. It has been noted that students tend to use a variety of transportation modes, including active travel, more frequently than other population segments. Investigating the modal choice of university students provides a unique opportunity to understand a population that has a large proportion of active commuters at a major trip-generating location. In turn, this can provide valuable insights into the factors that influence active travel. In this paper, we report the results of a mode choice analysis among university students, using as a case study McMaster University, in Hamilton, Canada. The results from this research indicate that modal choices are influenced by a combination of cost, individual attitudes, and environmental factors such as street and sidewalk density. A key finding is that travel time by car and bicycle positively affect the utilities of these modes, although at a decreasing rate as travel time increases. While the positive utility of time spent traveling by car has been documented in other settings, our analysis provides evidence of the intrinsic value that cyclists place on their trip experience. Examples of transportation policy measures suggested by the analysis are discussed.