Exploring Characteristics of Commuting Trips in Downtown Areas of Chinese Counties

To understand the situation of commuting trips in downtown areas of Chinese counties, a questionnaire survey was carried out in three typical Chinese counties. Results of the survey were analyzed to explore characteristics of commuting trips of these counties, which were concerned with going to work, going to school, and coming home. The study indicated that commuting trips accounted for more than 80% of all the trips of inhabitants in downtown areas of the three counties, which accounted for the predominant importance of commuting trips in people’s daily life. Important characteristics such as modes, occurrence time, and carpooling of commuting trips were studied thoroughly. The study implied that there were some variances between counties, as far as characteristics of commuting trips were concerned. Therefore, when measures for improvement of commuting trips are taken into consideration, each county should have its own strategies which are based upon its unique characteristics.