Suggested Citation:
Hoyos, Miguel, Luis Guzman, Giovanni Circella (2018) Understanding the Mobility Patterns of Millennials and Older Adults in Bogotá, Colombia. Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Today’s young adults, also known as millennials, often adopt different lifestyles and behaviors from those of the older generations. Noticeable differences in millennials’ choices include preferences for residential location, vehicle ownership or transportation-related decisions. Most studies, to date, have focused on the mobility patterns of millennials in the United States, Europe and other developed countries. Still, very little evidence exists on millennials’ choices in developing countries, and in Latin America in particular. This paper attempts to fill this research gap. In the paper, the authors analyze the mobility patterns of individuals belonging to three different age groups in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, using data collected with the regional household travel survey. Approximately 30% of the inhabitants of Bogota have between 18 and 35 years, confirming the importance of understanding what influences millennials’ decisions and that impacts their choices have on society. Using data collected in the Bogota household travel survey from 2011, the authors estimate a multinomial logit model to investigate the factors affecting the choice of the transportation modes to use for commuting and non-commuting trips. Several differences are found among individuals belonging to the different groups, and even between younger and older millennials. The impact of life stage is important: for example, a higher proportion of younger millennials is still studying or just starting to work, often in low-paying jobs, limiting the ability of these individuals to afford a car or a motorcycle. Older millenials show a stronger relationship between the use of cars and household income.

Key words: Aged, automobile ownership, behavior, developing countries, income, mobility, mode choice, multinomial logits, residential location, travel surveys, young adults