Income and Urban Transport Demand

Income and Urban Transport Demand

Variations in the urban transport demand by purpose are observed according to income levels. The higher the income, the more trip generated, but each type of trip has a different elasticity. Work-related trips tend to have little elasticity since they are the most fundamental forms of mobility, irrespective of income. As income increases, trips related to less essential purposes, such as shopping, social interactions, and business, increase substantially. Thus, the mobility of people in higher-income ranges has a wider variety of non-work-related trips.

The above graph is a synthetic representation of the number of trips per person per day according to income level. Such aggregate figures vary substantially according to whether mobility occurs in a developed or a developing economy. For instance, in the United States, the higher income groups will generate about 13 trips per person per day, while the lowest income groups would generate about seven trips per person per day.