IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i6p2249-d1353204.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are New Campus Mobility Trends Causing Health Concerns?

Author

Listed:
  • Zeenat Kotval-K

    (School of Planning, Design & Construction, Michigan State University, 552 W. Circle Dr., East Lansing, MI 48840, USA)

  • Shruti Khandelwal

    (School of Planning, Design & Construction, Michigan State University, 552 W. Circle Dr., East Lansing, MI 48840, USA)

  • Eva Kassens-Noor

    (School of Planning, Design & Construction, Michigan State University, 552 W. Circle Dr., East Lansing, MI 48840, USA)

  • Tongbin Teresa Qu

    (School of Planning, Design & Construction, Michigan State University, 552 W. Circle Dr., East Lansing, MI 48840, USA)

  • Mark Wilson

    (School of Planning, Design & Construction, Michigan State University, 552 W. Circle Dr., East Lansing, MI 48840, USA)

Abstract

An influx of new mobility trends such as fare-free bus transportation, ride hail, and e-scooter services to improve access and affordability of transportation on campus may be shifting the travel behavior of campus patrons such that it affects their long-term health outcomes. The main research questions explored in this study are as follows: (1) why university patrons choose new modes of travel?; (2) what existing mode did the new modes of travel replace for the riders?; and (3) is the average body mass index (BMI) of users primarily using non-motorized transit options lower than those using motorized or both (referred to as hybrid) for on-campus travel needs? An online survey was administered to a campus community (n = 3309) including students (48%), faculty (15%), and staff (37%) in fall of 2018 when fare-free bus transportation and e-scooters became available on campus, and a gradual increase in ridership of ride-hail services was simultaneously observed. This study found that campus patrons were more inclined to replace active modes of travel with affordable and accessible modes of transportation, thereby substituting their walking or biking routine with app-based transportation services. The mean BMI among travelers who chose motorized transportation modes was more than active travelers, and the BMI was statistically significantly associated with age, gender, race, class standing (undergraduate/graduate), and residence on/off campus. This study concludes with suggestions to prevent substitution of active with non-active transport choices and provides policy guidelines to increase awareness on achieving physical activity levels through active modes of travel for university patrons.

Suggested Citation

  • Zeenat Kotval-K & Shruti Khandelwal & Eva Kassens-Noor & Tongbin Teresa Qu & Mark Wilson, 2024. "Are New Campus Mobility Trends Causing Health Concerns?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:6:p:2249-:d:1353204
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/6/2249/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/6/2249/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alejandro Tirachini, 2020. "Ride-hailing, travel behaviour and sustainable mobility: an international review," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 2011-2047, August.
    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. Sarath K. Guttikunda & Sai Krishna Dammalapati & Gautam Pradhan & Bhargav Krishna & Hiren T. Jethva & Puja Jawahar, 2023. "What Is Polluting Delhi’s Air? A Review from 1990 to 2022," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-37, February.
    2. Hasselwander, Marc & Bigotte, Joao F. & Antunes, Antonio P. & Sigua, Ricardo G., 2022. "Towards sustainable transport in developing countries: Preliminary findings on the demand for mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) in Metro Manila," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 501-518.
    3. Dan Wang & Liang Yan & Fangli Ruan, 2022. "A Combined IO-DEMATEL Analysis for Evaluating Sustainable Effects of the Sharing Related Industries Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Ammar Al-lami & Adam Torok, 2023. "Sustainability Indicators of Surface Public Transportation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Xiaoxia Dong & Erick Guerra & Ricardo A. Daziano, 2022. "Impact of TNC on travel behavior and mode choice: a comparative analysis of Boston and Philadelphia," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 1577-1597, December.
    6. Kumar, Akshay & Gupta, Akshay & Parida, Manoranjan & Chauhan, Vivek, 2022. "Service quality assessment of ride-sourcing services: A distinction between ride-hailing and ride-sharing services," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 61-79.
    7. Ghimire, Subid & Bardaka, Eleni & Monast, Kai & Wang, Juan & Wright, Waugh, 2024. "Policy, management, and operation practices in U.S. microtransit systems," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 259-278.
    8. Mark Friesen & Sascha Albers & Jan Wajerski & Julie Laeremans, 2024. "The diffusion of dynamic pricing in the European parking industry," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(1), pages 3-13, February.
    9. Chen, Long & Huang, Jiahui & Jing, Peng & Wang, Bichen & Yu, Xiaozhou & Zha, Ye & Jiang, Chengxi, 2023. "Changing or unchanging Chinese attitudes toward ride-hailing? A social media analytics perspective from 2018 to 2021," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    10. Zwick, Felix & Axhausen, Kay W., 2022. "Ride-pooling demand prediction: A spatiotemporal assessment in Germany," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    11. Boffa, Federico & Fedele, Alessandro & Iozzi, Alberto, 2023. "Congestion and incentives in the age of driverless fleets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    12. Ho, Chinh Q. & Tirachini, Alejandro, 2024. "Mobility-as-a-Service and the role of multimodality in the sustainability of urban mobility in developing and developed countries," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 161-176.
    13. Li, Xinghua & Yang, Yueyi & Guo, Yuntao & Souders, Dustin & Li, Jian, 2023. "Understanding the role of risk perception and health measures in ridesourcing usage in the post-COVID-19 era," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    14. Peer, Stefanie & Müller, Johannes & Naqvi, Asjad & Straub, Markus, 2024. "Introducing shared, electric, autonomous vehicles (SAEVs) in sub-urban zones: Simulating the case of Vienna," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 232-243.
    15. Fayed, Lynn & Nilsson, Gustav & Geroliminis, Nikolas, 2023. "On the utilization of dedicated bus lanes for pooled ride-hailing services," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 29-52.
    16. Christopher Hoehne & Matteo Muratori & Paige Jadun & Brian Bush & Arthur Yip & Catherine Ledna & Laura Vimmerstedt & Kara Podkaminer & Ookie Ma, 2023. "Exploring decarbonization pathways for USA passenger and freight mobility," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    17. Gödde, Jan & Ruhrort, Lisa & Allert, Viktoria & Scheiner, Joachim, 2023. "User characteristics and spatial correlates of ride-pooling demand – Evidence from Berlin and Munich," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    18. Liu, Yicong & Loa, Patrick & Wang, Kaili & Habib, Khandker Nurul, 2023. "Theory-driven or data-driven? Modelling ride-sourcing mode choices using integrated choice and latent variable model and multi-task learning deep neural networks," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    19. Małgorzata Dudzińska & Marta Gross & Agnieszka Dawidowicz & Ada Wolny-Kucińska, 2023. "The Influence of Changing Socioeconomic Conditions in Europe on the Prioritisation of Risks in Travel Behaviour: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-24, December.
    20. Tian, Guang & Ewing, Reid & Li, Han, 2023. "Exploring the influences of ride-hailing services on VMT and transit usage – Evidence from California," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:6:p:2249-:d:1353204. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.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.