Exploring the Impacts of Location Factors on the Travel Behavior of Urban Low-Income Residents in China

The main objective of this study is to examine travel characteristics and travel chain characteristics of urban low-income residents in different locations. Using the travel data collected in the city of Huzhou, a two-step clustering analysis was conducted to identify low-income residents. A method of K-means clustering based on principal component analysis was utilized to divide the central district into a transportation advantaged area and a common area. It was found people in the common area generally have lower mobility than those in the advantaged area. They make fewer trips with longer distance and duration. Travelers in the common area make more trips by bus. The number of the travel chain of residents in the common area is less than that in the advantaged area. With respect to trip purpose, people in the advantaged area are simple, while purposes in the common area are complex. Some policy implications were recommended in the context of providing travel equity services to improve the mobility of urban low-income people, including mixed land development, slow traffic design, public transport service, and a travel subsidies strategy.