Urban Travel Behavior as the Outcome of Public Policy: The Example of Modal-Split in Western Europe and North America

Abstract

Urban transportation systems and travel behavior vary widely, even among countries with similar per-capita income, technology, and urbanization. This article compares modal—split—how people get from place to place—for 12 countries in Western Europe and North America. Differences in travel behavior arise largely from public policy differences, especially from differences in automobile taxation. In addition, variations in transit subsidies, land use controls, and housing programs significantly influence travel choices, although sometimes only indirectly. The success of public transportation depends more on supportive urban development and automobile taxation policies than on transit subsidies. The absence of such complementary policies in the U.S.—unlike the other countries studied—explains the ineffectiveness of the attempt to revive American public transportation exclusively through large subsidies.