Transportation Service Determined by Population Characteristics

How do Population Characteristics Affect Transportation Service?

By focusing on the population characteristics of Los Angeles - income, age, race, automobile ownership, and education - we can identify changes in urban physical structure that are linked with changes in transportation technology (Mayer, Kain and Wohl, 1972; Kain, 1967; Kain and Beesley, 1965, 163-85; Richardson, 1972, 108). The assumption of this research is that consumers rationally choose a form of transportation according to their social and spatial position within the urban market. Examining the background characteristics of people and their choices of transportation for the journey to work, the research reveals that higher-income automobile owners are less likely to use public transit than those with lower incomes who do not own cars (Yago, 1983). In addition, rapid urbanization, a sense of civic responsibility, the presence of upper socioeconomic groups, and a racially and ethnically diverse population are associated with better public transportation service as well as increased highway spending (Leggitt, 1974).