IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/transp/v44y2017i3d10.1007_s11116-015-9664-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Car today, gone tomorrow: The ephemeral car in low-income, immigrant and minority families

Author

Listed:
  • Nicholas J. Klein

    (Temple University)

  • Michael J. Smart

    (Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey)

Abstract

Most transportation research in the United States uses cross-sectional, “snapshot” data to understand levels of car access. Might this cross-sectional approach mask considerable variation over time and within households? We use a panel dataset, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), for the years 1999–2011 to test this question. We find that for most families, being “carless” is a temporary condition. While 13 % of families in the US are carless in any given year, only 5 % of families are carless for all seven waves of data we examine in the PSID. We also find that poor families, immigrants, and people of color (particularly, blacks) are considerably more likely to transition into and out car ownership frequently and are less likely to have a car in any survey year than are non-poor families, the US-born, and whites.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas J. Klein & Michael J. Smart, 2017. "Car today, gone tomorrow: The ephemeral car in low-income, immigrant and minority families," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 495-510, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:44:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s11116-015-9664-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-015-9664-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11116-015-9664-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11116-015-9664-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adam Millard‐Ball & Lee Schipper, 2011. "Are We Reaching Peak Travel? Trends in Passenger Transport in Eight Industrialized Countries," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 357-378.
    2. Uri Simonsohn, 2006. "New Yorkers Commute More Everywhere: Contrast Effects in the Field," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(1), pages 1-9, February.
    3. Mintesnot Woldeamanuel & Rita Cyganski & Angelika Schulz & Andreas Justen, 2009. "Variation of households ’ car ownership across time: application of a panel data model," Transportation, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 371-387, July.
    4. Becketti, Sean & Gould, William & Lillard, Lee & Welch, Finis, 1988. "The Panel Study of Income Dynamics after Fourteen Years: An Evaluatio n," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(4), pages 472-492, October.
    5. Nolan, Anne, 2010. "A dynamic analysis of household car ownership," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 446-455, July.
    6. Rajesh Paleti & Rachel Copperman & Chandra Bhat, 2011. "An empirical analysis of children’s after school out-of-home activity-location engagement patterns and time allocation," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 273-303, March.
    7. Tal, Gil & Handy, Susan, 2010. "Travel behavior of immigrants: An analysis of the 2001 National Household Transportation Survey," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 85-93, March.
    8. Baum, Charles L., 2009. "The effects of vehicle ownership on employment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 151-163, November.
    9. Gurley, Tami & Bruce, Donald, 2005. "The effects of car access on employment outcomes for welfare recipients," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 250-272, September.
    10. Kitamura, Ryuichi & Yamamoto, Toshiyuki & Fujii, Satoshi, 2003. "The effectiveness of panels in detecting changes in discrete travel behavior," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 191-206, February.
    11. Kristin Lovejoy & Susan Handy, 2008. "A case for measuring individuals’ access to private-vehicle travel as a matter of degrees: lessons from focus groups with Mexican immigrants in California," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(5), pages 601-612, August.
    12. Dargay, Joyce & Hanly, Mark, 2007. "Volatility of car ownership, commuting mode and time in the UK," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 934-948, December.
    13. Ryuichi Kitamura, 2009. "A dynamic model system of household car ownership, trip generation, and modal split: model development and simulation experiment," Transportation, Springer, vol. 36(6), pages 711-732, November.
    14. Fitzgerald John M, 2011. "Attrition in Models of Intergenerational Links Using the PSID with Extensions to Health and to Sibling Models," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(3), pages 1-63, September.
    15. Paul M. Ong, 2002. "Car ownership and welfare-to-work," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(2), pages 239-252.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lagrell, Ellen & Thulin, Eva & Vilhelmson, Bertil, 2018. "Accessibility strategies beyond the private car: A study of voluntarily carless families with young children in Gothenburg," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 218-227.
    2. Picasso, Emilio & Postorino, Maria Nadia & Bonoli-Escobar, Mariano & Stewart-Harris, Maria, 2020. "Car-sharing vs bike-sharing: A choice experiment to understand young people behaviour," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 121-128.
    3. Mattioli, Giulio & Wadud, Zia & Lucas, Karen, 2018. "Vulnerability to fuel price increases in the UK: A household level analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 227-242.
    4. Suman K. Mitra & Jean-Daniel M. Saphores, 2020. "How do they get by without cars? An analysis of travel characteristics of carless households in California," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 2837-2858, December.
    5. Hsin-Ping Hsu, 2023. "Domestic burden in an unfamiliar new homeland: gender, immigration, and household-serving trip frequencies," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 2319-2337, December.
    6. Klein, Nicholas J. & Basu, Rounaq & Smart, Michael J., 2022. "In the driver’s seat: Pathways to automobile ownership for lower-income households in the United States," SocArXiv 7ex6z, Center for Open Science.
    7. Evelyn Blumenberg & Anne Brown & Andrew Schouten, 2020. "Car-deficit households: determinants and implications for household travel in the U.S," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1103-1125, June.
    8. Farber, Steven & Mifsud, Anika & Allen, Jeff & Widener, Michael J. & Newbold, K. Bruce & Moniruzzaman, Md, 2018. "Transportation barriers to Syrian newcomer participation and settlement in Durham Region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 181-192.
    9. Mitra, Suman K. & Saphores, Jean-Daniel M., 2017. "Carless in California: Green choice or misery?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 1-12.
    10. Michael J. Smart & Nicholas J. Klein, 2020. "Disentangling the role of cars and transit in employment and labor earnings," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1275-1309, June.
    11. Valerie Preston & Sara McLafferty & Monika Maciejewska, 2022. "Gender, Immigration and Commuting in Metropolitan Canada," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 113(4), pages 348-364, September.
    12. Anne Christine Lusk & Xin Li & Qiming Liu, 2023. "If the Government Pays for Full Home-Charger Installation, Would Affordable-Housing and Middle-Income Residents Buy Electric Vehicles?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-26, March.
    13. L. E. Karjalainen & M. Tiitu & J. Lyytimäki & V. Helminen & P. Tapio & A. Tuominen & T. Vasankari & J. Lehtimäki & R. Paloniemi, 2023. "Going carless in different urban fabrics: socio-demographics of household car ownership," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 107-142, February.
    14. Klein, Nicholas J. & Tran, Minh & Riley, Sarah, 2020. "“Desperately Need a Car”: Analyzing Crowdfunding Campaigns for Car Purchases and Repairs on Gofundme.com," SocArXiv 8x7d2, Center for Open Science.
    15. Schaller, Bruce, 2021. "Can sharing a ride make for less traffic? Evidence from Uber and Lyft and implications for cities," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-10.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rubin, Ori & Mulder, Clara H. & Bertolini, Luca, 2014. "The determinants of mode choice for family visits – evidence from Dutch panel data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 137-147.
    2. Abu Oakil & Dick Ettema & Theo Arentze & Harry Timmermans, 2014. "Changing household car ownership level and life cycle events: an action in anticipation or an action on occurrence," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 889-904, July.
    3. Gautier, Pieter A. & Zenou, Yves, 2010. "Car ownership and the labor market of ethnic minorities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 392-403, May.
    4. Karadja, Mounir & Sundberg, Anton, 2023. "The labor market impact of a taxi driver’s license," Working Paper Series 2023:6, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    5. Michael J. Smart & Nicholas J. Klein, 2020. "Disentangling the role of cars and transit in employment and labor earnings," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1275-1309, June.
    6. Delbosc, Alexa, 2013. "Household composition and within-household car saturation in Melbourne," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 94-100.
    7. Dionissi Aliprantis & Kristen Tauber & Hal Martin, 2022. "What Determines the Success of Housing Mobility Programs?," Working Papers 2022-043, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    8. Shengxiao(Alex) Li, 2024. "Vehicle ownership over the life course among older Americans: a longitudinal analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 247-270, February.
    9. Lorien Rice & Cynthia Bansak, 2014. "The Effect Of Welfare Asset Rules On Auto Ownership, Employment, And Welfare Participation: A Longitudinal Analysis," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(2), pages 306-333, April.
    10. Miwa Matsuo & Hiroyuki Iseki, 2020. "Giving up Job Search Because I Don't Have a Car: Labor Market Participation and Employment Status Among Single Mothers With and Without Cars," Discussion Paper Series DP2020-07, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    11. Thakuriah (Vonu), Piyushimita & Persky, Joseph & Soot, Siim & Sriraj, P.S., 2013. "Costs and benefits of employment transportation for low-wage workers: An assessment of job access public transportation services," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 31-42.
    12. Kiron Chatterjee, 2011. "Modelling the dynamics of bus use in a changing travel environment using panel data," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 487-509, May.
    13. Barajas, Jesus, 2019. "The Effects of Driver Licensing Laws on Immigrant Travel," SocArXiv sw7rp, Center for Open Science.
    14. Cho, Heepyung, 2022. "Driver’s license reforms and job accessibility among undocumented immigrants," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    15. Blumenberg, Evelyn & Pierce, Gregory, 2017. "Car access and long-term poverty exposure: Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) experiment," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 92-100.
    16. Klein, Nicholas J. & Tran, Minh & Riley, Sarah, 2020. "“Desperately Need a Car”: Analyzing Crowdfunding Campaigns for Car Purchases and Repairs on Gofundme.com," SocArXiv 8x7d2, Center for Open Science.
    17. Le Gallo, Julie & L'Horty, Yannick & Petit, Pascale, 2017. "Does enhanced mobility of young people improve employment and housing outcomes? Evidence from a large and controlled experiment in France," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 1-14.
    18. Zhao, Pengjun & Zhang, Yixue, 2018. "Travel behaviour and life course: Examining changes in car use after residential relocation in Beijing," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 41-53.
    19. Sabreena Anowar & Naveen Eluru & Luis F. Miranda-Moreno, 2014. "Alternative Modeling Approaches Used for Examining Automobile Ownership: A Comprehensive Review," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 441-473, July.
    20. Miroslav Marada & Viktor Květoň, 2016. "Transport Supply and Demand Changes in Relation to Unemployment: Empirical Evidence from the Czech Republic in a Time of Crisis," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 107(5), pages 611-627, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:44:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s11116-015-9664-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.