Within-Household Allocation of Travel: Case of Upper Austria

Abstract

The interactions between the heads of a household with regard to their out-of-home activities and travel behavior in Upper Austria are investigated. To answer the research questions, a structural equation model is developed. The data used in the modeling process are from an extensive travel diary of over 100,000 households in Upper Austria combined with extensive data on land use and local economic activities. The main result of the model is that sex-specific division of labor in nuclear families is still common. If women are working, the number of their maintenance trips is reduced, but this reduction is not compensated for by men. Normally, female employment is connected with a decrease in the number of other female activities and an increase in car ownership and traveled distances. In addition, the model shows that out-of-home activities often are carried out together. The number of reachable infrastructure facilities is the most important spatial variable, whereby good access promotes the reduction of car-ownership and traveled distances.