First and last mile travel mode choice: A systematic review of the empirical literature

Abstract

The first and last mile (FLM) problem is the lack of adequate connectivity between transit stations and trip origins/destinations. Consequently, this problem increases the probability of driving private cars directly to the destinations and reduces the patronage of public transit. For appealing the use of sustainable transport for accessing public transit, it is imperative to identify the factors influencing FLM travel mode choice. This review synthesizes the empirical FLM literature and identifies the key factors that influence FLM travel mode choice including conventional factors (e.g. socio-demographic characteristics and built environments); exogenous factors that can reduce the appeal of sustainable FLM transport (e.g. crime and weather); and unique factors related to emerging transport and informal public transit. From these findings, we chart a future FLM research agenda under three thematic areas: (1) theory for enhancing the understanding of FLM travel mode choice; (2) data and modeling approaches for discussing the feasibility of using emerging data sources and providing modeling avenues to progress; (3) policy and practice for encouraging the use of sustainable travel for FLM.

Keywords:

• first mile
• last mile
• public transport
• transit access
• travel behavior change
• travel mode choice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 We are thankful for the anonymous reviewers who suggested to include some latest articles on sustainable mobility associated with the FLM travel. To this end, we have added 7 articles resulting that the total number of reviewed articles is 47. These 7 articles are also highlighted by asterisks in Table 1 – a list of publications included in this systematic review.

2 “-” denotes a negative relationship.