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Commuting speed as a proxy for the value of time

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  • DiBartolomeo, Jeffrey A.

Abstract

This study investigates driving speed derived from Google Maps as a proxy for commuting costs, introducing a novel method to address the persistent challenge in the urban form literature of empirically measuring these costs for all U.S. cities. In the monocentric city model, I evaluate driving speed against the original measures of vehicle availability and public transit usage for a broad sample of urbanized areas. Results suggest that driving speed is an appropriate proxy for commuting costs and contributes an improved empirical tool for future research on urban form and city size.

Suggested Citation

  • DiBartolomeo, Jeffrey A., 2020. "Commuting speed as a proxy for the value of time," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:193:y:2020:i:c:s0165176520302214
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109342
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jeffrey A. DiBartolomeo & Geoffrey K. Turnbull, 2023. "Commuting Costs and Urban Sprawl: Which Proxy Measures Up?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 375-387, October.
    2. Jeffrey A. DiBartolomeo & Geoffrey K. Turnbull, 2021. "On urban sprawl: Closed city, open city or does it even matter?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(6), pages 1527-1543, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    City size; Urban location model; Travel time;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R15 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Econometric and Input-Output Models; Other Methods
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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