Paper 1
Zhou, M., Huang, S., Tu, W., & Wang, D. (2024). Machine learning-based causal inference for evaluating intervention in travel behaviour research: A difference-in-differences framework. Travel Behaviour and Society, 37, 100852.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214367X24001157
Abstracts:
Causal inference with the difference-in-differences (DID) framework is popular in identifying causal effects with observational data and has started to be applied in recent travel behaviour studies. Most relevant transportation research adopts the conventional linear parametric DID model, which is known to be inflexible and restrictive. This study applies non-parametric DID estimators facilitated by machine learning (ML) models for causal inference in a variety of data scenarios. Semi-parametric and doubly robust estimators are established and integrated with the ML-based cross-fitting pipeline. Simulation studies and empirical case studies are conducted to showcase the ability of ML-based DID to detect causal effects from both simulated and real-world datasets. Results suggest that the proposed methods outperform conventional DID models in all data scenarios. Light working models are generally preferred over hyperparameter-dependent ones for their comparable performance, lower computational burden, and higher levels of compatibility to real-world empirical analysis. Empirical case studies also demonstrate how the proposed DID method could be applied to evaluate the impacts of various interventions on travel behaviour in different contexts. The present study adds to the existing travel behaviour literature by leveraging machine learning algorithms and non-parametric estimators to the impact evaluation of external interventions on travel characteristics and expanding the application of causal inference approaches in transportation research.
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Paper 2
Lin, T., Guan, X., & Wang, D. (2024). How does social network mediate/moderate the effects of the built environment on travel behavior?. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 187, 104175.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856424002234
Abstracts:
Extensive literature has well-documented the impacts of built and social environments on travel behavior. Recently, research attention has focused on the spatial, temporal, and socioeconomic heterogeneities of these impacts. This paper aims to contribute to this growing body of literature by studying the heterogeneity of travel behavior impacts of the built environment among individuals with different social networks. We argue that the built environment may influence travel behavior in different ways for individuals with varying social networks. Using data from a two-day activity-travel diary survey conducted in Shanghai in 2018, we examine how personal social networks mediate and moderate the relationships between the built environment and travel behavior. The modeling results show that personal social networks partially mediate and significantly moderate the effects of the built environment on travel behavior. This study contributes to both the literature on the built environment and travel behavior and that on social networks and travel behavior.
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Paper 3
Zhou, M., Wang, D., Huang, S., Zhou, J., & Guo, L. (2024). Evaluating the impact of rail transit network expansion on travel behavior in Shenzhen, China: A causal analysis across different stages of development. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 132, 104246.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920924002037
Abstracts:
Research regarding the impact of rail transit development on travel behavior has received significant attention in recent decades. Numerous studies have examined the influence of newly established rail lines on travel behavior. However, there is a noticeable lack of studies on how the expansion of a rail transit network alters daily travel behavior. This study addresses this research gap by investigating the travel behavior impacts of the rail transit network expansion in Shenzhen. A machine learning (ML) enhanced difference-in-differences (DID) model is developed to determine the causal effects of enhanced transit accessibility on travel behavior changes. Our findings suggest that enhancements in rail transit accessibility significantly boost rail transit use and decrease travel by private cars and buses. We also discovered that the effects fluctuate at different stages of rail transit network development. These findings bear significant relevance for strategies and policies concerning rail transit development and transport demand management.
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Paper 4
Guan, X., & Wang, D. (2024). Examining the roles of transport captivity and travel dissonance in travel satisfaction. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 182, 104023.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856424000715
Abstracts:
Despite the increasing studies examining the determinants of travel satisfaction, the role of individuals’ transport mobility (i.e., access to different mobility tools) in travel satisfaction has not received much research attention. Previous travel satisfaction studies mostly consider travel as a free choice. However, travel satisfaction may also depend on the availability of travel options, which is supposed to be limited especially for captive travelers. Such travel captivity may affect the perception of travel either directly by shaping the expectations and feelings in travel, or indirectly via the resulted travel mode consonance/dissonance. It may also influence people’s sensitivity to travel features by determining one’s travel experiences, which serve as reference points in travel evaluation. This paper aims to identify the role of mobility in travel satisfaction by investigating both the independent and joint effects of travel captivity and travel mode dissonance on travel satisfaction using data from a household travel survey conducted in 2018 in Shanghai, China. Descriptive analyses show that travel captivity and travel dissonance are positively associated for car commuters, but not transit commuters. We then develop linear regression models and find that travel captivity has a negative effect on transit commuters’ travel satisfaction, but no or positive impact on that of car commuters. Besides, captive transit commuters are more tolerant to travel mode dissonance when rating travel satisfaction, while the opposite holds true for car commuters. The research findings highlight the importance of mobility in travel satisfaction and provide support to the development of multimodal transport systems.
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Paper 5:
Guan, X., Zhou, M., & Wang, D. (2023). Reference points in travel satisfaction: Travel preference, travel experience, or peers’ travel?. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 124, 103929.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920923003267
Abstracts:
Studies on travel satisfaction have proliferated recently. However, research efforts to conceptualize travel satisfaction are relatively scarce. One important issue is what reference points people use to evaluate travel satisfaction. While previous research considered travel preference as a reference point, people may compare travels to other reference points, such as travel experience and peers’ travel. This paper aims to clarify the role of preferred, past, and peers’ travels in travel satisfaction. Multi-group structural equation models are adopted to capture the heterogeneity of such effect across commuters by different transport modes. Household travel survey data collected in 2018 in Shanghai, China are used for modeling. We found that all three reference points are at play in evaluating travel satisfaction. Preferred and peers’ travels matter more for commuters using motorized transport modes than those using non-motorized modes; travel experience matters less for commuters by public transport than those by other transport modes.
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Paper 6
Wang, J., Cheng, W., Lu, Y., & Wang, D. (2023). Effect of rail transit on travel behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 122, 103882.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920923002791
Abstracts:
Recent research has treated new rail transit systems as ‘natural experiments’, and while they have generally resulted in increased ridership, the underlying reasons for this remain unclear. To address this, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of natural experiment studies published between 2000 and 2023 to synthesize the effect of rail transit on various travel behavior. We selected a total of sixteen studies for review, of which eight were suitable for meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that the introduction of rail transit significantly increased the mode share of rail while significantly decreasing the mode share of bus and car, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Our findings suggest that rail transit has the potential to promote sustainable travel behavior. However, to establish a more reliable association, further high-quality research is needed to examine the nuanced context, extend the follow-up duration, incorporate objective measures, and appropriately define the control group.
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Paper 7
Wang, F., Zheng, Y., Wu, W., & Wang, D. (2022). The travel, equity and wellbeing impacts of transit-oriented development in Global South. Transportation research part D: transport and environment, 113, 103512.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920922003388
Abstracts:
Transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely introduced in the Global South countries and drawn growing scholarly attention. This paper critically reviews and concisely summarizes the research findings pertaining to the travel, equity and wellbeing impacts of TOD in the Global South. We identify 53 relevant studies and find that TOD increases public transportation ridership and promotes subjective well-being. However, similar to what happens in the Global North, TOD in the Global South also induces gentrification and unexpected social inequalities. We call for more critical and theoretical discussions about the uniqueness of TOD in Global South and application of more sophisticated methods and more detailed indicators to better explain the impacts of TOD. Future studies may also be fruitful to investigate some new topics, such as the role of state in TOD-induced gentrification, residential dissonance in TOD areas and hedonic adaptation to the improvement in transit services.
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Paper 8
Mao, Z., Wang, F., & Wang, D. (2022). Attitude and accessibility on transit users’ travel satisfaction: A person-environment fit perspective. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 112, 103467.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920922002930
Abstracts:
Transit users’ travel satisfaction is important for assessing the performance of transit-oriented development. Existing studies emphasize the role of service attributes, built environment, and travel attitudes in predicting transit users’ travel satisfaction. However, few studies have jointly examined the effects of environment and attitudes based on sophisticated theoretical foundations. This paper aims to narrow this gap by examining the interaction effects of transit accessibility and attitudes towards transit on transit users' travel satisfaction from a person-environment fit perspective. The data is from a household survey conducted in Shanghai in 2018. Using polynomial regression analysis with response surface methodology, the study finds that interaction effects significantly influence the affective component of travel satisfaction, but not the cognitive component. Public transit users’ travel satisfaction increases with the congruence between attitude and accessibility. Dissonance is not necessarily a bad situation and may improve travel satisfaction when there is an increase in either factor.
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Paper 9
Zhou, M., Wang, D., & Guan, X. (2022). Co-evolution of the built environment and travel behaviour in Shenzhen, China. Transportation research part D: transport and environment, 107, 103291.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920922001195
Abstracts:
The impact of the built environment on travel behaviour may change over time especially over the course of urban expansion. There is a long-time debate on the existence of a constant time budget that people are willing to spend on daily travel. This study collects data from Shenzhen’s periodical travel surveys spanning two decades and examines the trends in travel distance and travel time as well as the changing impacts of the built environment on travel behaviour. We find that travel distance increases significantly over the study period, but travel time grows at a much lower pace and reaches stable level at the late stage. The travel behaviour impacts of the built environment also change over time in terms of directions and magnitudes. Findings of this study enrich the literature on the built environment-travel behaviour connection with a dynamic perspective and provide evidence supporting the constant travel time budget hypothesis.
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Paper 10
Li, S. A., Guan, X., & Wang, D. (2022). How do constrained car ownership and car use influence travel and life satisfaction?. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 155, 202-218.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856421002998
Abstracts:
Promoting subjective well-being is an important goal in urban policy. Transportation scholars increasingly evaluate transportation systems based on people’s subjective well-being. This study joins this strand of efforts to answer the following research question: how do constrained car ownership and car use influence travel and life satisfaction? Empirical data were collected in Beijing where various policies had been implemented to curb the rapid growth of car ownership and mitigate traffic congestion. We answer the question by examining the effects of car ownership and car usage variables on travel and life satisfaction. Our study shows that owning multiple cars increases vehicle users’ life satisfaction, but owning a car is not related to increased life satisfaction. Purchasing a more expensive car and driving cars more frequently in daily life could not increase people’s life satisfaction, but infrequent car use contributes to higher travel and life satisfaction. Among vehicle users, using cars to commute is related to higher travel satisfaction but not higher life satisfaction. In contrast, using cars for non-work trips is related to higher life satisfaction but not travel satisfaction. We also find that attitudes towards the instrumental and affective roles of cars are positively related to travel and life satisfaction among car owners. Results of this paper suggest the importance of promoting sustainable transportation and behavioral education in cities like Beijing.
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Paper 11
Gao, Y., Wang, D., Liao, Y., & Zou, Y. (2021). Relationship between urban tourism traffic and tourism land use. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 14(1), 761-776.
Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48646208
Abstracts:
The development of tourism leads to changes in land-use demands and patterns, which are complex and dynamic, in tourist cities. Functional differences in land use produce different travel needs and have different impacts on traffic, especially on tourism. This paper explores the relationship between tourism land use and tourism traffic. Taking Xiamen Island as an example, using multivariable linear regression models, tourism land use is divided into accommodation land use, shopping land use and restaurant land use as the independent variables of the model; and the origin-destination (OD) density of traffic analysis zones (TAZs) during National Day in 2018 (October 1 to 5) is chosen as the dependent variable. To compare the different impacts between tourism land use and tourism traffic during the tourism and non-tourism periods, the non-tourism period (March 11 to 15) is further studied. The results show the following: (1) Xiamen, as a tourism city, has not only regular traffic but also tourism traffic, and traffic during the tourism period is totally different than that in the non-tourism period. (2) Tourism land use has a considerable impact on both tourism traffic and non-tourism traffic, but the impact is greater during the tourism period than the non-tourism period. (3) In the morning peak hour of both the tourism period and the non-tourism period, accommodation land use shows prominent effects on traffic. In the evening peak hour, shopping land use significantly impacts traffic. The study provides a basis for urban tourism land use adjustment to achieve the sustainable development of tourism traffic.
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Paper 12
Guan, X., & Wang, D. (2020). The multiplicity of self-selection: What do travel attitudes influence first, residential location or work place?. Journal of Transport Geography, 87, 102809.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096669232030154X
Abstracts:
Residential self-selection has been widely considered as an important issue in quantifying the impacts of the residential built environment on travel behavior and much empirical evidence regarding the nature and magnitude of the self-selection effect has been reported. Nevertheless, people may be based on travel attitudes/needs to self-select not only residential location, but also work place, car ownership, etc. In other words, the impacts of long-term decisions other than residential location choices (e.g., decisions on work place, car ownership, etc.) on travel behavior may also be biased by the self-selection effect. However, self-selection concerning these long-term decisions has not been explored much in the travel behavior literature. The role of residential self-selection would not be properly evaluated if self-selections concerning other long-term decisions were not considered because they are often related. This paper addresses this research gap in the travel behavior literature by exploring the multiplicity of travel-based self-selection. We jointly examine the possible self-selections concerning residential location, workplace, commuting distance and car ownership in an integrated framework, taking into consideration the interrelationships among these decisions. Data are derived from an activity-travel diary survey conducted in 2016 in Beijing, China. We classify the respondents into two groups based on the choice order of their current residential and work locations and conduct a comparative analysis using structural equation models. It is found that self-selection exists in all long-term choices examined in the study. The choices of residential location and work place are found to be mutually dependent. Consequently, both choices have indirect impacts on travel behavior through the other choice.
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Paper 13
Wang, F., Mao, Z., & Wang, D. (2020). Residential relocation and travel satisfaction change: An empirical study in Beijing, China. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 135, 341-353.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856418308358
Abstracts:
Despite increasing interests in travel-related subjective well-being in transport research, few studies have explored the effects of residential environment on travel satisfaction, especially how travel satisfaction may change after residential relocation. This study investigates whether and how residential relocation leads to changes in travel satisfaction. Using a two-wave questionnaire survey conducted from 2011 to 2013 in Beijing, we compare home movers’ travel satisfaction before and after residential relocation, and further examine how changes in the built environment and that in travel behavior lead to changes in travel satisfaction, taking into consideration the travel-related motivation for home relocation. We find that almost 70% movers reported improvement in travel satisfaction after relocation, suggesting that residential relocation may serve as an opportunity to enhance travel satisfaction; improved neighborhood environments explain increases in travel satisfaction: higher accessibility to facilities, better physical design, enhanced safety and more interactions between neighbors contribute to improved travel satisfaction. On the other hand, increased travel time by transit reduces travel satisfaction. We also find out that relocation motivated by travel-related reasons did not lead to a significant improvement in travel satisfaction. This study contributes to the literature by appreciating the role of neighborhood environment in improving travel experiences.
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Paper 14
Guan, X., & Wang, D. (2019). Influences of the built environment on travel: A household-based perspective. Transportation research part A: policy and practice, 130, 710-724.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856419306238
Abstracts:
The linkage between travel and the built environment has received extensive research attention over the past decades. However, the existing studies normally evaluate the built environment effect on travel from an individual-based perspective, neglecting the influence of intra-household interactions. We argue that individuals’ travel behavior is derived from the allocation of household tasks and resources (e.g., household vehicles) and the travel behaviors of household members are interdependent. This suggests that the built environment may impact one member’s travel behavior indirectly through its influence on others members’ travel choices. Thus, examining the travel impact of the built environment needs to consider intra-household interactions. This paper proposes to analyze the land use-travel relationship from a household perspective. We simultaneously examine the effects of the built environments of residential and work locations on married couples’ travel behaviors, considering the interrelations between their travels and controlling for both partners’ travel attitudes. The empirical study in Beijing, China indicates that the built environment effect on travel is different between partners. Two work environment factors influence the partners’ driving behaviors in opposite directions. Moreover, the wife’s travel behavior mediates the association between the built environment and the husband’s travel behavior. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the land use impact on travel behavior from the household perspective.
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Paper 15
Zhou, M., & Wang, D. (2019). Investigating inter-generational changes in activity-travel behavior: a disaggregate approach. Transportation, 46(5), 1643-1687.
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11116-018-9863-x
Abstracts:
Investigation into the long-term trends in travel behavior is crucial for strategic development of transport systems and decisions about investment in transport infrastructures. There has been a debate about if there is a constant amount of time allocated for travel and thus an upper limit to daily travel demand. Recent studies have suggested a stagnated and even declining trend of car ownership and travel demand in developed countries (the so-called ‘peak car’ and ‘peak travel’ phenomenon). This study aims at exploring the possible long-term trends in activity-travel behavior in Hong Kong to shed some light on the ‘peak travel’ debate. We have acquired two large-scale datasets from Hong Kong’s Travel Characteristics Survey conducted a decade apart and applied propensity score matching to match individuals of similar socioeconomic backgrounds from different time periods and compare their activity-travel behavior. Results indicate that households and individuals with similar socioeconomic backgrounds at the two periods have distinctively different car ownership levels and daily travel and activity behaviors.
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Paper 16
Zhou, M., & Wang, D. (2019). Generational differences in attitudes towards car, car ownership and car use in Beijing. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 72, 261-278.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920918307661
Abstracts:
In light of the recent trends in young people’s travel behavior and the importance of attitudes in influencing behavioral decisions, this study examines the generational differences in attitudes towards private cars and their interactions with car ownership and car use. Data are derived from a travel diary sample survey conducted in 2016 in Beijing, China, which include information about travel attitudes, car ownership, and car use. A multiple-group modeling framework capable of performing group comparison by allowing parameters to differ across different groups is applied to analyze the data. We find significant differences among different generations in terms of attitudes towards cars and their influences on car ownership, holding a driver’s license, and trips by cars. Young adults, in particular, show less favorable attitudes towards private cars and less prominent attitude-behavior associations than older groups do. They are also found to be less pragmatic about car use. Findings of this study shed new lights on the psychological factors on car-related choices and the significant differences between different generations, which are relevant for policies targeting on reducing car dependency and promoting a more sustainable lifestyle.
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Paper 17
Guan, X., & Wang, D. (2019). Residential self-selection in the built environment-travel behavior connection: Whose self-selection?. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 67, 16-32.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136192091830467X
Abstracts:
Residential self-selection has been acknowledged as a key issue underlining the link between the built environment and travel behavior. Existing studies often implicitly assume that residential choice is a decision of an individual and the influence of intra-household interactions is not considered. In reality, residential choice is a decision often made at the household-level involving more than one household members. Similarly, car ownership is usually a household-level decision incorporating views of different household members. In both cases, the travel related attitudes of more than one household members may play a role in the decision making. In other words, there is an issue concerning residential self-selection (similarly car ownership self-selection): whose self-selection? This paper makes an attempt to probe into this question by examining the self-selection issues concerning residential location choice and car ownership decision from the perspective of households, by incorporating the travel attitudes and travel behaviors of two household heads into an integrated self-selection framework. Data are derived from a household sample survey involving two-day activity-travel diaries conducted in 2016 in Beijing, China. Multivariate modeling results show that household members play different roles in household decisions with travel implications: in general husbands’ travel attitudes have relatively more influence in residential choice and car ownership decision than wives’. Nevertheless, wives’ travel attitudes have more power than husbands’ in explaining the commuting distances of both husbands and wives. Some distinct features of the residential and car ownership self-selections in the Chinese context are also identified and discussed in this paper.
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