Role of Spatial Configuration in Commuting Trade-Offs of Two-Worker Households: A Case Study in the Greater Toronto Area

Abstract

This research investigates the commuting trade-offs between individuals in two-worker households with home and work locations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). A commuting trade-off occurs when a home relocation results in one worker incurring a higher commute distance for the other worker to work closer to the home location. This research uses stated preference data and multilevel modeling to demonstrate that two-worker households adjust their home–work spatial configuration which results in commuting trade-offs between individuals. This research uses the angle between the two workplaces, measured at the home location, as a variable in its empirical model. This variable is a descriptor of the home–work spatial configuration and a predictor of total household commute distance. The modeling results indicate an inverse relationship between total household commute distance and the difference between individual commutes. This suggests that individuals in two-worker households trade off their individual commute distances and, in that process, reduce total household commute distance. A key policy implication arising from this research relates to the jobs–housing balance within a catchment area. Two-worker households have been regarded as a hindrance to achieving jobs–housing balance as the two work locations present a constraint in relocating the home near both work locations. However, as this research shows, workers will trade off their individual commute distances such that a home relocation results in a shorter commute distance for one worker and longer commute distance for the other.