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Are Long Commute Distances Inefficient and Disorderly?

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  • Morton E O'Kelly
  • Michael A Niedzielski

Abstract

By joining ideas from the spatial interaction and excess commuting literatures, we integrate and organize three related aspects of commuting statistics: trip length, distance decay, and entropy. We use concepts and calculations from the excess commuting literature to improve interpretation of trip length parameters in a doubly constrained trip distribution model. We derive a direct mathematical relationship between trip length and entropy, thereby providing an analytical model to calculate the ease with which trip lengths might be reduced. The new analysis not only ties these statistics together in a mathematically useful way, but also allows for a new entropy metric—relative entropy—that determines the organization (or lack thereof) of aggregate work trips. As a result, we disentangle the entropy component from the distance component and offer new perspectives on aggregate commuting in a comparative framework. Twenty-five cities are classified in an interesting and useful way that includes the average trip length and the degree of organization in each city.

Suggested Citation

  • Morton E O'Kelly & Michael A Niedzielski, 2009. "Are Long Commute Distances Inefficient and Disorderly?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(11), pages 2741-2759, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:41:y:2009:i:11:p:2741-2759
    DOI: 10.1068/a41327
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. O’Kelly, Morton E. & Niedzielski, Michael A., 2008. "Efficient spatial interaction: attainable reductions in metropolitan average trip length," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 313-323.
    2. Frost, Martin & Linneker, Brian & Spence, Nigel, 1998. "Excess or wasteful commuting in a selection of British cities," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 529-538, September.
    3. Morton E O'Kelly & Wook Lee, 2005. "Disaggregate Journey-to-Work Data: Implications for Excess Commuting and Jobs–Housing Balance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(12), pages 2233-2252, December.
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    1. Halás, Marián & Klapka, Pavel & Kladivo, Petr, 2014. "Distance-decay functions for daily travel-to-work flows," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 107-119.
    2. Kanaroglou, Pavlos S. & Higgins, Christopher D. & Chowdhury, Tufayel A., 2015. "Excess commuting: a critical review and comparative analysis of concepts, indices, and policy implications," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 13-23.
    3. Thomas, T. & Tutert, S.I.A., 2013. "An empirical model for trip distribution of commuters in The Netherlands: transferability in time and space reconsidered," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 158-165.
    4. Korsu, Emre & Le Néchet, Florent, 2017. "Would fewer people drive to work in a city without excess commuting? Explorations in the Paris metropolitan area," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 259-274.

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