Driving as a commuting travel mode choice of car owners in urban China: Roles of the built environment

Car dependency has been well recognized in low-density urban areas in developed countries, where travel demand management (TDM) has focused on providing transit-riding and non-motorized modes of transport, rather than restricting car ownership. In contrast, many megacities in China have adopted vehicle quota systems, fearing that additional car owners will become addicted to driving despite the soaring travel congestion and air pollution. This study investigated two research questions: Under what built environment characteristics would China?s car owners give up driving for other commuting modes? Are the effects of built environment characteristics on car ownership and commuting mode choice spatially heterogeneous across zones? We use a household travel survey in Nanjing city, where no car quota system exists, to examine car owners? commuting mode choice. Innovatively, a multilevel discrete choice model with sample selection was used to reveal the effects of the built environment on car ownership and commuting mode choice simultaneously. We found significant spatial heterogeneities in car ownership and commuting mode choice across traffic analysis zones, while the built environment was found to play an important role. Our findings suggest that Chinese urbanites may be less addicted to driving than they appear, and city governments should be more progressive in regulating driving by improving the urban form.