Identifying School Travel Mode Choice Patterns in Mersin, Türkiye

This study investigates the factors affecting the choice of school travel mode among students in Mersin, Türkiye, focusing on walking, private car, public transit and school bus. A two-step modeling approach was adopted. First, a latent class cluster analysis (LCCA) was applied to identify subgroups of students with similar characteristics. Then, separate multinomial logit (MNL) models were estimated for each cluster. The data come from the 2022 Urban Transport Master Plan household survey and include 2798 students from 2092 households. The results show that trip distance is the most consistent and significant factor across all clusters, as increasing distance makes students more likely to use motorized modes instead of walking. Gender also demonstrates a consistent influence in specific clusters, where male students are less likely to travel by private car. Similarly, residing in a single-family house consistently increases the likelihood of car use in multiple clusters. Conversely, the influence of household structure, parental education, income, and household size differs significantly between clusters, underlining the importance of considering group-level differences in school travel behavior. These findings suggest that policies aiming to promote sustainable school travel should be sensitive to the needs of different student groups. Integrating land use and transportation planning may help to support active and shared modes of travel.