Estimation of the effects of aircraft noise on residential satisfaction

This study assesses the effects of aircraft noise on residential satisfaction, an important indicator of subjective well-being. A structural equation model is specified that estimates the relationships between objective variables, noise annoyance variables and residential satisfaction. Secondary data-analysis is used to estimate the model. The survey was conducted in 1996/1997 among the population living within a 25-km radius of Amsterdam Schiphol, the largest airport in the Netherlands. The effect of aircraft noise annoyance is found to be relatively small. In addition, the objective level of aircraft noise exposure is found to be a better predictor of residential satisfaction than its subjective counterpart. The most important determinants of residential satisfaction are found to be road traffic noise annoyance, age and neighbor noise annoyance.     

Linear,non-linear,bi-directional? Testing the nature of the relationship between mobility and satisfaction with life

Transportation - Travel is one of the most important facilitators of life and has been widely acknowledged as a prerequisite for economic and social activity. Research developing in recent decades...     

E-bike user groups and substitution effects: evidence from longitudinal travel data in the Netherlands

Transportation - In recent years, the e-bike has become increasingly popular in many European countries. With higher speeds and less effort needed, the e-bike is a promising mode of transport to...     

Historic vehicles: an overview from a transport policy perspective

Historic vehicles (HVs) are the heritage of road transport that have surprisingly received little attention in the academic literature. This study presents an overview of the literature on HVs, focusing on the three topics that dominate the policy debate on transport: environmental, safety and congestion impacts. We observed that polluting emissions of HVs are per kilometre much higher (often a factor 5 or more) than those of moderns vehicles. The annual average mileage per vehicle per year of HVs is much lower than other vehicles. The lower active and passive safety levels of HVs are compensated by the way these vehicles are driven, resulting in the risk factors per kilometre being roughly equal or lower than other vehicles. The contribution of HVs to congestion is negligible. However, the transport policy discourse is divided on the topic of HVs. More comprehensive and effective laws and regulation are needed to protect this aspect of the heritage of road transport whilst concurrently avoiding or limiting the problems caused by them.     

The role of parents’ mobility behavior for dynamics in car availability and commute mode use

Transportation - Recent studies have analyzed travel behavior over the life course through the lens of the mobility biography approach. Similarities in the effects of certain key events on travel...     

Promoting Cycling for Transport: Research Needs and Challenges

Abstract

Near future travel-time information is one of the most critical factors that travellers consider before making trip decisions. In efforts to provide more reliable future travel-time estimations, transportation engineers have examined various techniques developed in the last three decades. However, there have not been sufficiently systematic and through reviews so far. In order to effectively support various transportation strategies and applications including Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), it is necessary to apply appropriate forecasting methods for matching circumstances in a timely manner. This paper conducts a comprehensive review study focusing on literatures, including modern techniques proposed recently, related to travel time and traffic condition predictions that are based on ‘data-driven' approaches. Based on the underlying mechanisms and theoretical principles, different approaches are categorized as parametric (linear regression and time series) and non-parametric approaches (artificial intelligence and pattern searching). Then, the approaches are analysed for their strengths, potential weaknesses, and performances from five main perspectives that are prediction range, accuracy, efficiency, applicability, and robustness.     

The relation between bicycle commuting and non-work cycling: results from a mobility panel

This study aims to establish whether or not bicycle commuting and cycling for other purposes (e.g. shopping, visiting friends) are related over time. Using previously gathered panel data (the Dutch mobility panel) these relationships are revealed by (1) a series of conditional change models and (2) a latent transition model. The conditional change models indicate that, with a lag of 1 year and controlling for a range of background characteristics, bicycle commuting and non-work cycling (in number of weekly trips) have a positive reciprocal influence on each other. The models show that work-related factors, such as the distance to work or whether a person receives a travel allowance, affect not only bicycle commuting but also non-work cycling. The latent transition model indicates that people can be clustered into four groups: non-cyclists, non-work cyclists, all-around cyclists and commuter cyclists. This model shows that people with a consistent propensity to not cycle at all (non-cyclists) or to cycle for both work and non-work purposes (all-around cyclists) are most stable in their travel behavior. Non-work cyclists and commuter cyclists are less stable in travel behavior. The model also shows that all-around cyclists are not (significantly) affected by a change in the distance to work. The article concludes with several directions for future research.     

Cycling culture and socialisation: modelling the effect of immigrant origin on cycling in Denmark and the Netherlands

This paper focusses on travel socialisation by examining the effect of immigrant origin on cycling in two distinct European cycling cultures: Denmark and the Netherlands. Based on data from both countries’ national travel surveys, the empirical analyses show that people of immigrant origin cycle less compared to natives. While in Denmark this effect is significant only for people of non-Western origin, in the Netherlands it is also true for people of Western origin, probably because they originate to a greater extent from non-European countries (e.g., Indonesia). In the Netherlands, the effect of non-Western origin is larger for women than for men, while we do not find a significant gender interaction in the Danish data. Individuals with residence in neighbourhoods with a higher share of people of non-Western origin are less likely to cycle, probably as the national norm to cycle is less salient here. The results cannot be fully explained by differences in socioeconomic status, car access, or level of urbanisation. We assume that cultural norms mediated by parents play a relevant role. The results lend support to policies focused on stimulating the use of the bicycle among immigrants and especially women of non-Western origin.