Changing student mobility behaviour under financial crisis: Lessons from a case study in the Oporto University

Catarina Cadima, Cecília Silva and Paulo Pinho

Journal of Transport Geography, 2020, vol. 87, issue C

Abstract: This paper explores how the commuting patterns of university students have changed in the face of the financial crisis that has affected Portugal in 2008. In this research, we focus on the mobility behaviour of students from the Faculty of Engineering of Oporto University (FEUP). Based on two similar surveys carried out in 2006 and 2012, i.e. before and during times of financial crisis, and macrosocial data from the Portuguese Census and from the metropolitan public transport system, we provide detailed accounts of commuting patterns, including main motivations, barriers, and discuss the influence of considering different scales of analysis of the built-environment. The results show a general trend to reduce the students' costs of commuting by living with their families and using more often public transports. Our results also suggest an increasing level of inequality towards mobility, reinforced by austerity policies, which may lead to undesirable travel behaviours in the future. Although the overall evolution of students' travel behaviour points towards greater sustainability, the identified changes also suggest social-spatial injustices.

Keywords: Mode choice; University students; Crisis; Daily commuting patterns; Oporto (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0966692320301319

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102800

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