The path and time efficiency of residents' trips of different purposes with different travel modes: An empirical study in Guangzhou, China

• Published in: Journal of transport geography Vol. 88; p. 102829
• Main Authors: Yang, Wenyue, Chen, Huiling, Wang, Wulin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Carbon; Circuity index; Efficiency; Emissions; Generalized additive models (GAMs); Non-motorized transport; Path efficiency; Public transportation; Sustainable development; Time efficiency; Travel; Travel modes; Urban transportation; Path efficiency; Non-motorized transport; Time efficiency; Circuity index; Generalized additive models (GAMs)
• ISSN: 0966-6923; 1873-1236
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102829

Improving residents' travel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from travel are the key issues for sustainable development of urban transportation. This study first employed a circuity index to measure the path efficiency of residents' trips based on 2015 survey data in Guangzhou and developed a generalized additive model (GAM) to investigate the relationship between the path efficiency and travel distance for different purposes of trip and different travel modes. On this basis, it further evaluated the time efficiency of different travel modes for each trip. The results showed that there is a complex and nonlinear relationship between the path efficiency and travel distance, which differs between different purposes of trips and different travel modes. In general, trips by non-motorized transport have a lower circuity index and higher path efficiency than those by cars or public transport. Moreover, non-motorized transport is the time-efficiency optimal mode for almost half of the trips, especially for daily shopping trips. However, people prefer to choose public transport on their trips even though public transport is not the time-efficiency optimal mode for these trips. Generally, only about half of the residents chose the time-efficiency optimal mode for their trips. Those who did not choose the time-efficiency optimal mode tended to choose the modes with higher carbon-intensity. The conclusions of this study indicate that for improving travel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from transport, more efforts should be focused on the non-motorized travel environment and developing relevant policies to encourage more walking and cycling.
•The path efficiency of each trip was measure by the circuity index.•The generalized additive model was developed to investigate the relationship between the CI and travel distance.•The time efficiency of different travel modes for each trip was evaluated with the application of TIQS.•Trips by non-motorized transport usually have higher path efficiency and time efficiency.