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The ease of travel: A person-based measure of people’s ability to travel

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  • De Vos, Jonas

Abstract

In this paper I present the concept of “ease of travel”. Ease of travel (EoT) refers to how easily people can travel given their travel motivation, travel skills, travel options, and travel quality. EoT may differ by mode and influence people’s travel behaviour, participation in out-of-home activities and experience of travel. EoT differs from the commonly used (perceived) accessibility concept, which mainly focuses on activity destinations and (perceptions towards) built environment characteristics. EoT, on the other hand, focuses on travel and highlights personal abilities and motivations for travel. It may provide valuable insights in people’s travel behaviour intentions and can help in creating more sustainable travel patterns, but also in stimulating better access to out-of-home activities and generating satisfying travel, thereby improving people’s subjective well-being. EoT may serve as a user-friendly and policy-relevant tool to assess people’s ability to travel. In this paper, a conceptual framework is presented and measures of EoT are tested using a sample of 2,593 University students and staff. Results suggest that a subdivision of EoT in four elements is reliable. Finally, I also present avenues for further research.

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  • De Vos, Jonas, 2024. "The ease of travel: A person-based measure of people’s ability to travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:187:y:2024:i:c:s0965856424002222
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2024.104174
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