An Exploratory Study of Transit and Active Commuters in US Transit Station Areas

dc.contributor.authorCunningham, Alan Felderen
dc.contributor.committeechairBuehler, Ralphen
dc.contributor.committeememberSanchez, Thomas W.en
dc.contributor.committeememberWernstedt, Kris Fredericken
dc.contributor.committeememberHankey, Steven C.en
dc.contributor.departmentPublic Administration/Public Affairsen
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-28T08:00:51Zen
dc.date.available2025-06-28T08:00:51Zen
dc.date.issued2025-06-27en
dc.description.abstractResearchers have examined transit and active commuting in relation to land use, infrastructure, and economic factors, but few have considered their relationship with each other, especially not for the US. This thesis aims to understand the relationship between transit and active commuters within and between rail transit station areas. Multiple linear regressions were conducted at the national level and for each metro with rail transit service. Each regression used one of the four commuter types (home- and work-based transit or active commuters) as the dependent variable and the other three as independent variables. In addition, bivariate regressions were performed between the four commuter types and 30 demographic, economic, or transit service attributes at the national level and for 24 metros with rail transit. This study found that the number of significant relationships between commuter types was positively correlated with the number of station areas in a metro, with work-based relationships being most common. No station area attributes from the bivariate comparisons improved the fit of the national level models, suggesting that further analysis of metro attributes and models may be fruitful. The main finding was that station areas with large populations of transit commuters also had large populations of active commuters, although this relationship varied between metros and home or work transit or active commuters.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralResearchers have explored transit and active commuting in relation to land use, infrastructure, and economic factors, but not at a national level or focused on transit station areas for both transit and active commuters. This thesis examines these relationships in Census tracts with transit, using multiple regressions to identify relationships between populations of home- and work-based transit and active commuter among the 29 US metros with rail transit stations. It also investigates how land use, economic factors, and transit service attributes impact home- or work-based transit and active commuters across the national set of Census tracts. This thesis suggests that more developed transit networks have more significant relationships among commuters in station area tracts. Metros that enhance their transit networks can positively impact both transit and active commuting between and within transit station areas.en
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:44039en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/135737en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/en
dc.subjectTransit Oriented Developmenten
dc.subjectActiveen
dc.subjectTransiten
dc.subjectActive Commutersen
dc.subjectTransit Commutersen
dc.subjectHome-based Tripsen
dc.subjectWork-based Tripsen
dc.subjectTransit Station Areaen
dc.subjectLand Useen
dc.subjectNational surveyen
dc.subjectCommuter 2010en
dc.subjectACSen
dc.subjectCTPPen
dc.subjectmetro surveyen
dc.subjectTransit Station Attributesen
dc.subjectTransit Servien
dc.titleAn Exploratory Study of Transit and Active Commuters in US Transit Station Areasen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplinePlanning, Governance, and Globalizationen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Cunningham_AF_D_2025.pdf
Size:
2.53 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Name:
Cunningham_AF_D_2025_support_1.docx
Size:
13.14 KB
Format:
Microsoft Word XML
Description:
Supporting documents