Intercity travel in northeastern rural regions of the U.S.

Neely, Sean; Lee, Brian H. Y.; Sentoff, Karen · 2015 · ROSA P / University of Vermont. Transportation Research Center

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Summary

This report addresses the under-researched area of intercity travel behavior originating from rural and less populated regions in Northern New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and non-metropolitan Massachusetts) to major Northeastern cities (Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.). The primary research question investigates the relationship between access to trip planning information, personal technology use, and attitudes toward traveling by automobile, intercity bus, and passenger rail. The study aims to fill gaps in understanding travel decisions where public ground transportation is a viable option, while also developing a multimodal network dataset for future accessibility analysis. The methodology centers on the "Intercity Travel, Information, and Technology Survey," conducted in May 2014 by Resource Systems Group on behalf of the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center. The survey recruited 2,560 valid respondents via online panels, ensuring an even split between a control group and a test group across the four states. The instrument comprised 98 questions covering recent travel history, general preferences, and a hypothetical scenario involving a trip to New York City. Crucially, respondents were randomly assigned to either a control group or a test group; the test group was provided access to an intercity travel planning web tool displaying bus and rail scheduling options for the hypothetical trip, while the control group was not. Statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon rank sum test compared responses between groups, examining differences overall and stratified by gender, age, and education level. Preliminary analysis revealed significant differences in responses between the control and test groups, particularly regarding internet access and household composition. For instance, test group respondents were more likely to report accessing the internet via public services, while control group respondents more frequently cited home internet access. Significant variations also emerged when stratified by demographics. Among males, the test group was more likely to have used airplanes for Boston trips and pamphlets for schedule information, whereas the control group more often selected "other" modes for Washington D.C. trips. Education level further influenced results; for example, respondents with Bachelor’s degrees in the test group were more likely to have used intercity buses for recent Boston trips compared to their control counterparts. Conversely, those with high school education or less in the control group were more likely to have used intercity buses for recent trips. These findings suggest that exposure to digital planning tools and demographic factors significantly correlate with mode choice and information-seeking behaviors. The significance of this work lies in its contribution to understanding how information access influences travel decisions in rural-to-urban contexts, a domain previously dominated by metropolitan-to-metropolitan studies. By integrating attitudinal and behavioral data, the report provides a foundation for future travel demand analysis. Additionally, the development of a multimodal network dataset for the study region offers a valuable resource for examining multimodal accessibility. The findings imply that targeted information interventions, such as digital planning tools, may differentially affect travel preferences across various demographic segments, highlighting the need for nuanced approaches in transportation planning and policy for rural populations.

Key finding

Access to an intercity travel planning web tool significantly influenced respondents' reported internet access methods and household characteristics, with test group members more likely to use public internet services and control group members more likely to have home internet access.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 2560

Provenance

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• urban rural setting