IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v104y2017icp319-336.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A life course perspective on the travel of Australian millennials

Author

Listed:
  • Delbosc, Alexa
  • Nakanishi, Hitomi

Abstract

Recent research suggests that the millennial generation may be inclined to more sustainable travel habits than previous generations, reflected in lower rates of driver licensing in many countries and greater use of sustainable modes in others. However, it is still unknown whether millennials will continue to use sustainable transport modes as they age, or whether their travel patterns will revert to the car dependence displayed by previous generations. This research addresses this overlooked area in the travel behaviour research through an in-depth, qualitative prospective exploration of the interactions between life course and mobility of millennials in three Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra). Drawing from life-course transition research, fifty-five in-depth interviews found that Australian millennial life courses could be categorised into three typologies: (a) traditional, (b) delayed-traditional and (c) non-traditional/uncertain. In addition, millennial mobility was categorised into four typologies: (a) choice multi-modals, (b) captive multi-modals, (c) choice drivers and (d) captive drivers. Many millennials preferred living in inner urban areas, were multi-modal and somewhat ‘mode-agnostic,’ open to using whatever travel mode best suited their needs; very few showed a strong preference for cars. However, the research does suggest that as millennials approach adult milestones such as having children, the difficulty in finding suitable housing near transit may push some of them into neighbourhoods where sustainable transport is no longer a practical option. Policy interventions that support a sustainable lifestyle are suggested and research directions are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Delbosc, Alexa & Nakanishi, Hitomi, 2017. "A life course perspective on the travel of Australian millennials," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 319-336.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:104:y:2017:i:c:p:319-336
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2017.03.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856416301938
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2017.03.014?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. Schoenduwe, Robert & Mueller, Michel G. & Peters, Anja & Lanzendorf, Martin, 2015. "Analysing mobility biographies with the life course calendar: a retrospective survey methodology for longitudinal data collection," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 98-109.
    2. Beirão, Gabriela & Sarsfield Cabral, J.A., 2007. "Understanding attitudes towards public transport and private car: A qualitative study," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(6), pages 478-489, November.
    3. Kuhnimhof, Tobias & Buehler, Ralph & Wirtz, Matthias & Kalinowska, Dominika, 2012. "Travel trends among young adults in Germany: increasing multimodality and declining car use for men," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 443-450.
    4. Tommy Gärling & Kay Axhausen, 2003. "Introduction: Habitual travel choice," Transportation, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 1-11, February.
    5. Scott Le Vine & Charilaos Latinopoulos & John Polak, 2014. "What is the relationship between online activity and driving-licence-holding amongst young adults?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(5), pages 1071-1098, September.
    6. Dargay, Joyce M, 2001. "The effect of income on car ownership: evidence of asymmetry," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 807-821, November.
    7. Clark, Ben & Chatterjee, Kiron & Melia, Steve, 2016. "Changes to commute mode: The role of life events, spatial context and environmental attitude," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 89-105.
    8. Michael Grimsrud & Ahmed El-Geneidy, 2014. "Transit to eternal youth: lifecycle and generational trends in Greater Montreal public transport mode share," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 1-19, January.
    9. Scott Vine & Charilaos Latinopoulos & John Polak, 2014. "Erratum to: What is the relationship between online activity and driving-licence-holding amongst young adults?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(6), pages 1341-1341, November.
    10. Alexa Delbosc & Graham Currie, 2014. "Changing demographics and young adult driver license decline in Melbourne, Australia (1994–2009)," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 529-542, May.
    11. 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.
    12. Zhang, Junyi, 2014. "Revisiting residential self-selection issues: A life-oriented approach," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 7(3), pages 29-45.
    13. Noreen C. McDonald, 2015. "Are Millennials Really the "Go-Nowhere" Generation?," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 81(2), pages 90-103, April.
    14. Gordon Stokes, 2013. "The Prospects for Future Levels of Car Access and Use," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 360-375, May.
    15. Tim Schwanen, 2008. "Managing Uncertain Arrival Times through Sociomaterial Associations," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 35(6), pages 997-1011, December.
    16. Alexa Delbosc & Graham Currie, 2013. "Causes of Youth Licensing Decline: A Synthesis of Evidence," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 271-290, May.
    17. Zhang, Junyi & Yu, Biying & Chikaraishi, Makoto, 2014. "Interdependences between household residential and car ownership behavior: a life history analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 165-174.
    18. Hjorthol, Randi, 2016. "Decreasing popularity of the car? Changes in driving licence and access to a car among young adults over a 25-year period in Norway," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 140-146.
    19. Scheiner, Joachim, 2014. "Gendered key events in the life course: effects on changes in travel mode choice over time," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 47-60.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Muromachi, Yasunori, 2017. "Experiences of past school travel modes by university students and their intention of future car purchase," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 209-220.
    2. Krueger, Rico & Rashidi, Taha H. & Vij, Akshay, 2018. "X vs. Y: An Analysis of Intergenerational Differences in Transport Mode Use Among Young Adults," SocArXiv unezy_v1, Center for Open Science.
    3. Delbosc, Alexa & Naznin, Farhana, 2019. "Future life course and mobility: A latent class analysis of young adults in Victoria, Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 104-116.
    4. Krueger, Rico & Rashidi, Taha H. & Vij, Akshay, 2018. "X vs. Y: An Analysis of Intergenerational Differences in Transport Mode Use Among Young Adults," SocArXiv unezy, Center for Open Science.
    5. Blumenberg, Evelyn & Ralph, Kelcie & Smart, Michael & Taylor, Brian D., 2016. "Who knows about kids these days? Analyzing the determinants of youth and adult mobility in the U.S. between 1990 and 2009," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 39-54.
    6. Beige, Sigrun & Axhausen, Kay W., 2017. "The dynamics of commuting over the life course: Swiss experiences," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 179-194.
    7. Alexa Delbosc, 2017. "Delay or forgo? A closer look at youth driver licensing trends in the United States and Australia," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 919-926, September.
    8. Julia Janke & Calvin G. Thigpen & Susan Handy, 2021. "Examining the effect of life course events on modality type and the moderating influence of life stage," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 1089-1124, April.
    9. Doody, Brendan J., 2020. "Becoming ‘a Londoner’: Migrants’ experiences and habits of everyday (im)mobilities over the life course," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    10. Thigpen, Calvin & Handy, Susan, 2018. "Driver's licensing delay: A retrospective case study of the impact of attitudes, parental and social influences, and intergenerational differences," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 24-40.
    11. Ralph, Kelcie & Delbosc, Alexa, 2017. "I’m multimodal, aren’t you? How ego-centric anchoring biases experts’ perceptions of travel patterns," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 283-293.
    12. Haseeb, Attiya & Mitra, Raktim, 2024. "Travel behaviour changes among young adults and associated implications for social sustainability," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    13. Klein, Nicholas J. & Guerra, Erick & Smart, Michael J., 2018. "The Philadelphia story: Age, race, gender and changing travel trends," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 19-25.
    14. De Vos, Jonas & Alemi, Farzad, 2020. "Are young adults car-loving urbanites? Comparing young and older adults’ residential location choice, travel behavior and attitudes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 986-998.
    15. Melia, Steve & Chatterjee, Kiron & Stokes, Gordon, 2018. "Is the urbanisation of young adults reducing their driving?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 444-456.
    16. Müggenburg, Hannah & Busch-Geertsema, Annika & Lanzendorf, Martin, 2015. "Mobility biographies: A review of achievements and challenges of the mobility biographies approach and a framework for further research," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 151-163.
    17. Nurul Habib, Khandker, 2018. "Modelling the choice and timing of acquiring a driver’s license: Revelations from a hazard model applied to the University students in Toronto," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 374-386.
    18. Zhang, Yixue & Zhao, Pengjun & Lin, Jen-Jia, 2021. "Exploring shopping travel behavior of millennials in Beijing: Impacts of built environment, life stages, and subjective preferences," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 49-60.
    19. He, Sylvia Y. & Thøgersen, John, 2017. "The impact of attitudes and perceptions on travel mode choice and car ownership in a Chinese megacity: The case of Guangzhou," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 57-67.
    20. Schoenduwe, Robert & Mueller, Michel G. & Peters, Anja & Lanzendorf, Martin, 2015. "Analysing mobility biographies with the life course calendar: a retrospective survey methodology for longitudinal data collection," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 98-109.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eee:transa:v:104:y:2017:i:c:p:319-336. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    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.