Modelling intra-household interactions in time-use and activity patterns of retired and dual-earner couples

Xinjun Lai, William H.K. Lam, Junbiao Su, Hui Fu

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ageing population has become a global problem in which enhanced understanding on their activity-travel patterns is needed. In this paper, an analysis of retired and dual-earner couples is conducted to investigate how retirement would change their activity time use and patterns. In particular, intra-household interactions are considered, to explore the interdependencies among household members’ choices, social-demographics and travel behaviours. Household survey data from Hong Kong are employed. Results show that retirement would substantially increase joint participations and durations in various out-of-home activities. In addition, the importance of walkability is emphasised for retired couples in a mixed-land-use and transit-dependent city, and a potential social exclusion issue is identified for the low-income retired population. Scenarios analyses including changes of built environment and lifestyles (e.g., telecommuting, online shopping and food delivery) are conducted, to investigate how couples would reallocate the saved travel time. In summary, this paper highlights the importance of considering the group decision mechanism in a household for activity generation and travel demand forecasting. It sheds light on policies to improve quality-of-life for couples before and after the retirement.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)172-194
Number of pages23
JournalTransportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
Volume126
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2019

Keywords

  • Activity-based model
  • Ageing population
  • Group decision
  • Online-to-offline services
  • Walkability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Transportation
  • Management Science and Operations Research

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