Choice of transport to workplace depends on where one lives

The decisions about where to live and how to get from home to work happen simultaneously, a research has suggested.

A commuter living in a part of the city with higher population density, a mix of residential and commercial land use, and good access to public transit is 13 to 14 percent likelier to use public transit than someone living further away, a new study has suggested.

Zachary Patterson, an assistant professor in Concordia University's Department of Geography, Planning, and Environment, with the help of colleagues at McGill University and Universite Laval, crunched the numbers to determine which people from Montreal are most likely to take public transit and which are more likely to drive.

Previous studies showed that people who live in neighbourhoods with a high population density and a mix of residential and commercial land use prefer public transit.

Patterson and his co-authors believe that "household location and transit mode choice are intimately linked," and the findings of their study support this hypothesis.

A commuter living closer to downtown - in a part of the city with higher population density, a mix of residential and commercial land use, and good access to public transit - is 13 - 14 percent likelier to use public transit than someone living further away who is the same gender and age and has the same income.

The research proves that citizens of Montreal under 35 are more likely to live where public transit is most accessible.

The study also reveals that women are more than twice as likely to choose public transit than men.

The findings have been published in The Journal of Transportation and Land Use.