Because our analysis includes only trips described explicitly as social trips, our analysis unavoidably omits some social and recreational trips.Īs with the commute mode choice analysis above, multinomial logistic regression is the most common statistical technique used to test the relationships between various factors and mode choice. But if a teenager travels to the mall and spend time with friends, the trip will be designated a “shopping” trip in the NHTS despite the obvious social component. An after work journey to a grocery store in search of food for dinner by a weary single mother is almost certainly a non-social shopping trip. Although the respondents give the purpose of their trips, some purposes-for example, shopping-can be either social or non-social. However, using the NHTS to analyze social travel in this manner has limitations. MethodologyĪs we explained in the previous chapter, the NHTS asks respondents about the purpose of their travel, and we classify their travel as social travel if they give “visiting friends or relatives” or “other social or recreational” as reasons for making a trip. Accordingly, this chapter uses data from the NHTS surveys to construct a model of mode choice for social trips. Regardless of age, however, research on subjective well-being has consistently shown that time spent in social and recreational activities is positively associated with happiness (Dolan, Peasgood, and White 2008).
Indeed, social and recreational trips form a larger share of teen travel than adult travel. Developing social relations independent of familial and neighbor relationships is a central part of the teenage transition into adulthood-and social and recreational travel is central to this transition. So while policymakers and transportation analysts, perhaps understandably, tend to focus on commuter travel, other trips-including social trips-are important to quality of life as well. With respect to trip purpose, all work and no play make Jack and Jill dull children. Understanding the factors that affect mode choice is essential for planning for the transportation needs of future generations.
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