Evaluating the impacts of transit-oriented developments (TODs) on household transportation expenditures in California

Authors

Hongwei Dong

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2021

Subject Area

place - north america, land use - transit oriented development, land use - impacts, land use - planning, land use - urban design, mode - rail, planning - integration

Keywords

Transit oriented development, Transportation expenditure, Propensity score matching, Rail transit

Abstract

This study evaluates the impact of transit-oriented development (TOD) on household transportation expenditures in California by comparing TOD households with two groups of control households that are identified by propensity score matching. When controlling for household demographics, TOD households own fewer and more fuel-efficient cars, drive fewer miles, and use transit more. On average, they save $1232 per year on transportation expenditures than non-TOD households with similar demographics, accounting for 18% of their total annual transportation expenditures. When controlling for both demographics and neighborhood environment, TOD households still own slightly fewer and more fuel-efficient cars and use transit more. But they drive similar amount of miles as non-TOD households do. TOD households save $429 per year on transportation expenditures than non-TOD households with similar demographics and neighborhood environment, accounting for about 6% of their total annual transportation expenditures. TOD households save money on transportation costs mainly because they own fewer cars than non-TOD households. About two thirds of the savings can be attributed to transit-friendly neighborhood environment and one third to their access to rail transit, suggesting the importance of integrating a rail transit system with supportive land use planning and neighborhood design.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Journal of Transport Geography home Page:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09666923

Recommended Citation

Dong, H. (2021). Evaluating the impacts of transit-oriented developments (TODs) on household transportation expenditures in California. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 90, 102946.