Abstract:Millennials, a demographic cohort born in the last two decades of the 20th 2 century, are reported to adopt information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their everyday lives, including travel, to a greater extent than older generations. As ICT-driven travel-based multitasking influences travelers’ experience and satisfaction in various ways, Millennials are expected to be affected at a greater scale. Still, to the authors' knowledge, no previous studies have specifically focused on the impact of travel multitasking on travel behavior and the value of travel time savings (VOTTS) of young adults. To address this gap, the authors use an original dataset collected among Northern California commuters (N=2216) to analyze the magnitude and significance of individual and household-level factors affecting commute mode choice. The authors estimate a revealed preference mode choice model and investigate the differences between Millennials and older adults in the sample. Compared to Non-Millennials, the mode choice of Millennials is found to be less affected by socio-economic characteristics and more strongly influenced by the activities performed while traveling. Young adults are found to have lower VOTTS for both in-vehicle and out-of-vehicle travel time, after controlling for personal attitudes and the propensity to multitask. This study contributes to better understanding the commuting behavior of Millennials, and the factors affecting it, a topic of interest to transportation researchers, planners, and practitioners.

Note:Presented at Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 8-12, 2017