Accessibility and the Value of Time in Commuting

Abstract

of time, particularly the well-known paper by Becker [3], has stimulated interest in empirical studies of the value of time in alternative uses. In transportation economics, a number of techniques have been developed to measure the demand for travel by different modes or routes; the value of time is then inferred from rates at which travelers elect to use, say, toll roads or public transit.1 These developments parallel a similar interest by economists concerned with the theory of residential site choice and with the effects of accessibility on location and residential property values. The theoretical relationship between accessibility and land values has been discussed by Wingo, Alonso, Muth, Mills, and especially Mohring [13; 14; 15]. In general, accessibility may be defined as the reciprocal of the costs of moving people and goods between points in space. Highway accessibility to employment opportunities has several important dimensions including differences in operating costs, driving time, safety, and the ease and pleasantness of driving. Theory suggests that these costs should be capitalized into the value of urban land and property values should reflect differential levels of accessibility. However, in empirical studies, most researchers have employed straight-line distances to the CBD [1, 226]. The use of CBD air-distances tends to ignore (1) access to multiple points, especially those which are work related, (2) con-