University Community Commuting Trip Patterns: Temporal Assessment

Abstract

The trip pattern of the university community is a vital component of the overall transportation demand of a province, but it is not well epitomized in travel demand models. This descriptive research assessed the temporal commuting pattern in the university environment, with special focus on universities in southwestern Nigeria. This study was achieved by using detailed questionnaires and oral interviews for data collection from both staff and students in the universities considered. Information on socioeconomics, demographics, the frequency of trips, trip time, and transportation mode choice were analyzed. We adopted statistical software SPSS version 21 and Microsoft Excel for the data analysis. The results of our research showed that the use of the shuttle as a transportation mode declined as the trip time increased, among university staff, with an R 2 of 0.9308. Conversely, bicycle use increased irrespective of the trip time for both student and staff, with a R 2 value of 0.928. Universities' commuting patterns are important, because the commuting habits of students and staff have consequences on the motivation for both study and work. Ultimately, this data will help transportation policy makers work on the effective strategy required for efficient transportation planning in the university environment in similar cities in Nigeria and developing nations.