National Center for Sustainable Transportation

Individual travel options are quickly shifting due to changes in sociodemographics, individual lifestyles, the increased availability of modern communication devices (smartphones, in particular) and the adoption of emerging transportation technologies and shared-mobility services. These changes are transforming travel-related decision-making in the population at large, and especially among specific groups such as young adults (e.g., “millennials”) and the residents of urban areas.

This panel study improves the understanding of the impacts of emerging technologies and transportation trends through the application of a unique longitudinal approach. The authors build on the research efforts that led to the collection of the 2015 California Millennials Dataset and complement them with a second wave of data collection carried out during 2018, generating a longitudinal study of emerging transportation trends with a rotating panel structure. The use of longitudinal data allows researchers to better assess the impacts of lifecycle, periods and generational effects on travel-related choices, and analyze components of travel behavior such as the use of shared mobility services among various segments of the population and its impact on vehicle ownership over time. Further, it helps researchers evaluate causal relationships between variables, thus supporting the development of better-informed policies to promote transportation sustainability.

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