The Separation of Workplace from Place of Residence & the Necessity of the Automobile

How Does The Separation of Workplace from Place of Residence Influence the Necessity of the Automobiles?

Reeder's (1956) investigation in Spokane, Washington was concerned with the separation of workplace from place of residence. Data from interviews was collected from 331 respondents, and was coded on the basis of education, age, income, residential and job mobility, occupation, house type, dwelling area rating, in addition to the journey to work variables of mode of transportation, costs, and time. Reeder (1956) points out that the mode of travel in the city is related to the city's size. His study in Spokane revealed that 73 percent of the sample used an automobile to travel to work. His findings also show that the cost of the journey to work was greater for a larger number of commuters using an automobile than for those using public transportation. The costs for automobile and public transportation were 26 and 14 cents per day, respectively (Reeder, 1956). The growing separation of the workplace from the place of residence has caused the automobile to become a necessity for the average American worker, as the automobile affords more flexibility for such situations.