A Nested Ensemble Approach with ANNs to Investigate the Effect of Socioeconomic Attributes on Active Commuting of University Students

Khaled Assi, Uneb Gazder, Ibrahim Al-Sghan, Imran Reza and Abdullah Almubarak
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Khaled Assi: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Uneb Gazder: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bahrain (Issa Town Campus), Zallaq 32038, Bahrain
Ibrahim Al-Sghan: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Imran Reza: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Almubarak: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: Analysis of travel mode choice is vital in policymaking and transportation planning to comprehend and forecast travel demands. Universities resemble major trip attraction hubs, with many students and faculty members living on campus or nearby. This study aims to investigate the effects of socioeconomic characteristics on the travel mode choice of university students. A nested ensemble approach with artificial neural networks (ANNs) was used to model the mode choice behavior. It was found that students generally prefer motorized modes (bus and car). A more detailed analysis revealed that teenage students (aged 17–19 years) had an approximately equal probability of selecting motorized and non-motorized modes. Graduate students revealed a higher tendency to select motorized modes compared with other students. The findings of this study demonstrate the need to promote non-motorized modes of transport among students, which is possible by providing favorable infrastructure for these modes.

Keywords: nested ensemble ANN; mode choice; active commuting; sensitivity analysis; university students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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