An investigation on mode choice and travel distance demand of older people in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Canada: application of a utility theoretic joint econometric model

This paper uses a utility-theoretic joint econometric model to investigate the factors affecting mode choice and travel distance of older people (age 65+) along with the interrelationship between these two. The main objective is to investigate the effects of modal accessibility on travel distance requirements of older people and resulting implications of social exclusions. Empirical models are estimated by using a household travel survey conducted in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Canada. The empirical model reveals that older people living in the NCR often need to travel longer distances for engaging in various activities because of poor modal accessibility. It is also evident that the effects of accessibility are not the same across the region. Older people living far from the central business district (CBD) need to travel longer distances compared to the older people living close to the CBD. With an increasingly older population in the region, an increasing of risk of transportation-related social exclusion may be implied because of the need for longer distance travel to engage in activities. Most importantly, such implications in the NCR is driven more by the region’s urban form and land use patterns than the performance of the regional transportation system.