Exploring Behavioral Traits Of Metropolitan Residents’ Travel Mode Choice

Along with the rapid acceleration of industrialization and motorization(background)in China,the number and size of the city(the process of urbanization)have gained evident growth and expansion.As the foundation of social and economic development,transportation is the lifeblood of urban maintenance.While current issues related to transport,supply and demand conflicts(bottlenecks)are also increasing frequently,deeply affecting the residents’ daily life and traveling(trips).To this end,author investigates the travel mode choice behavior of metropolitan residents systematically under the situation of limited resources of urban transportation,which will be helpful in further optimizing the structure of traffic modes and ensuring the healthy,benign and sustainable travel environment.Based on the theory of random utility maximization,this paper conducts exploration and discussion on behavioral characteristics of travel mode choice,taking the megacity—Nanjing as a didactical example(Household Travel Survey).Multinomial logit(MNL)model and mixed logit(ML)model(integral form of the MNL)are established for quantitative and detailed comparative analysis from household properties,individual attributes,trip information and the location of trip OD(origin and destination)these four aspects,shedding light on prominent factors that influence travel mode choice behavior and mining action mechanisms among various indicators(features and superiorities of diverse travel modes).Thus relevant theoretical basis and data support for reference could be carried out to ease traffic congestion phenomenon and improve urban resident’s travel structure.In view of the high-speed and vibrant construction of urban rail transit(URT)and the leading of TOD(transit oriented development)designing concept,two ML models are erected on account of trip OD and residential position(residence)severally from the innovative perspective of catchment area(CA)of URT stations,utilizing screened and discretized survey data.Through organizing and clarifying the modeling output statistics regression results,behavior traits of travel mode choice would obtain more profound and systematic considerations and interpretations.Interrelated enlightenment,strategies and countermeasures of green,low carbon urban transportation expanding and ordered planning and configuring limited road traffic resources are put forward,moreover,aforesaid outcomes have a certain practical meaning for quantitatively analyzing residents’ travel mode choice behavior in other metropolises.Eventually,this work consolidates foregoing important research achievements to provide urban planners,managers,decision and policy makers with specific,scientific and appropriate advice and proposals.For instance,adjusting measures to local conditions for the burgeoning of public rental bicycle system(bikesharing)in urban areas,guaranteeing the right of way of non-motorized traffic(slow modes),park and ride,carpooling or vanpooling,enhancing competitive advantages of the public transit system(especially the metro mode),taking transforming part trip volumes of car and motorcycle modes to the others(guidance)into account to reach the goal of balancing temporal and spatial distribution of the travel demand,contribute to building an eco-livable city,green transportation system and realizing urban community health and vitality(people foremost).