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Factors influencing travel mode choice among families with young children (aged 0–4): a review of the literature

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  • Laura McCarthy
  • Alexa Delbosc
  • Graham Currie
  • Andrew Molloy

Abstract

Life events, such as the birth of a child, disrupt habitual travel behaviour and provide a valuable opportunity to influence the adoption of sustainable transport practices. However, in order for sustainable travel practices to be adopted, an understanding is required of the factors that influence travel mode choice among families with young children. Research in this field is particularly timely given many in the millennial generation, a comparably large cohort, are approaching this life stage. This comprehensive literature review develops a framework of factors influencing travel mode choice among families with young children. The findings reveal a multitude of factors influence decisions about mode choice, and, in particular, encourage travel by car, when travelling with young children. The paper concludes with an agenda for future research about travel among families with young children, a largely overlooked group of transport users.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura McCarthy & Alexa Delbosc & Graham Currie & Andrew Molloy, 2017. "Factors influencing travel mode choice among families with young children (aged 0–4): a review of the literature," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 767-781, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:transr:v:37:y:2017:i:6:p:767-781
    DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2017.1354942
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    Cited by:

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    5. Andrew Schouten, 2022. "Residential relocations and changes in vehicle ownership," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 89-113, February.
    6. Ali Enes Dingil & Federico Rupi & Domokos Esztergár-Kiss, 2021. "An Integrative Review of Socio-Technical Factors Influencing Travel Decision-Making and Urban Transport Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-20, September.
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    8. Kapatsila, Bogdan & Bahamonde-Birke, Francisco J. & van Lierop, Dea & Grisé, Emily, 2023. "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the comfort of riding a crowded bus in Metro Vancouver, Canada," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 83-96.
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    10. Vidyattama, Yogi & Tanton, Robert & Nakanishi, Hitomi, 2021. "Investigating Australian households’ vehicle ownership and its relationship with emission tax policy options," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 196-205.
    11. Yu, Le & Xie, Binglei & Chan, Edwin H.W., 2019. "Exploring impacts of the built environment on transit travel: Distance, time and mode choice, for urban villages in Shenzhen, China," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 57-71.
    12. Song, Weize & Zhang, Xiaoling & An, Kangxin & Yang, Tao & Li, Heng & Wang, Can, 2021. "Quantifying the spillover elasticities of urban built environment configurations on the adjacent traffic CO2 emissions in mainland China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
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    14. Maljaee, Seyedeh Sara & Khadem Sameni, Melody, 2022. "Investigating factors affecting university students' use of subway before and after COVID-19 outbreak: A case study in Tehran," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    15. McCarthy, Laura & Delbosc, Alexa & Currie, Graham & Molloy, Andrew, 2019. "‘Transit Faithfuls’ or ‘Transit Leavers’? Understanding mobility trajectories of new parents," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 105-112.
    16. Nan Ye & Linjie Gao & Zhicai Juan & Anning Ni, 2018. "Are People from Households with Children More Likely to Travel by Car? An Empirical Investigation of Individual Travel Mode Choices in Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, December.
    17. Jixiang Liu & Longzhu Xiao, 2024. "Socioeconomic differences in effect size: predicting commuting mode choice of migrants and locals using a light gradient boosting approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 1-24, February.

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