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Commuting Economy

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  • Enda Murphy
  • James E. Killen

Abstract

This paper revisits the notion of random commuting within the excess commuting framework. In doing so, it argues that the average random commute, is a more appropriate basis for measuring the efficiency of urban commuting patterns. Using this as a base, the paper introduces two new measures of commuting efficiency based on measuring the collective commuting economy of individuals for the journey to work: commuting economy and normalised commuting economy. It is argued that because the average random comute has an intrinsically behavioural interpretation, the measures introduced yield more explicit explanations of the overall nature of travel behaviour within the constraints set by land use geography and the spatial distribution of the transport network. The framework is applied for two different years, 1991 and 2001, and for different modes of transport. The results show that the average actual commute has moved further away from the average random comute, implying that greater intermixing of residential and employment functions has led to more efficient commuting behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Enda Murphy & James E. Killen, 2011. "Commuting Economy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(6), pages 1255-1272, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:48:y:2011:i:6:p:1255-1272
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098010370627
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhou, Jiangping & Sipe, Neil & Ma, Zhenliang & Mateo-Babiano, Derlie & Darchen, Sébastien, 2019. "Monitoring transit-served areas with smartcard data: A Brisbane case study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 265-275.
    3. Xiang Zhou & Xiaohong Chen & Tianran Zhang, 2016. "Impact of Megacity Jobs-Housing Spatial Mismatch on Commuting Behaviors: A Case Study on Central Districts of Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Suzuki, Tsutomu & Lee, Sohee, 2012. "Jobs–housing imbalance, spatial correlation, and excess commuting," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 322-336.
    5. Zhou, Jiangping & Murphy, Enda & Long, Ying, 2014. "Commuting efficiency in the Beijing metropolitan area: an exploration combining smartcard and travel survey data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 175-183.
    6. Zhou, Jiangping & Murphy, Enda, 2019. "Day-to-day variation in excess commuting: An exploratory study of Brisbane, Australia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 223-232.
    7. Jiangping, Zhou & Chun, Zhang & Xiaojian, Chen & Wei, Huang & Peng, Yu, 2014. "Has the legacy of Danwei persisted in transformations? the jobs-housing balance and commuting efficiency in Xi’an," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 64-76.
    8. Longxu Yan & De Wang & Shangwu Zhang & Dongcan Xie, 2019. "Evaluating the multi-scale patterns of jobs-residence balance and commuting time–cost using cellular signaling data: a case study in Shanghai," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 777-792, June.
    9. 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.
    10. Schleith, Daniel & Widener, Michael & Kim, Changjoo, 2016. "An examination of the jobs-housing balance of different categories of workers across 26 metropolitan regions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 145-160.
    11. Zhai, Wei & Bai, Xueyin & Peng, Zhong-ren & Gu, Chaolin, 2019. "A bottom-up transportation network efficiency measuring approach: A case study of taxi efficiency in New York City," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    12. 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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