Date: August 1, 2014
Author(s): Michael Smart, Kelcie M. Ralph, Brian D. Taylor, Carole Turley, Anne E. Brown, Herbie Huff, Nathaniel Holmes
Abstract
The era in which the male breadwinner’s commute to work was the most important journey for transportation planners and engineers is over. While the story of women joining the workforce is well documented, it is less widely known that trips to work now account for only 16% of trips and are dwarfed by what is known as household-related travel: shopping, family errands, and trips to school and church (53%). The explosive growth in both household and child-serving travel is occurring within the context of a rise in so-called non-traditional households: single-parent families, same-sex partnerships, and three-generation families in which grandparents live with offspring. This study looks to answer three related questions about household-related labor and travel within varying family structures:
What are the differences between men and women in household-serving travel?
What are the time use and travel patterns in three-generation households?
What are the differences between gay, lesbian, and straight families in household-serving travel?