Urban commuting patterns can be viewed as the spatial manifestation of the outcome of labour market processes. Recent theoretical and empirical work investigating urban labour markets has emphasized the role of spatial wage differentials in mediating the interrelationship between labour supply and demand distributions and the dynamics of land-use change. This thesis represents an extension of such research. A simulation approach to commuting modelling, based on the explicit characterization of the interrelationship between urban location and interaction in terms of labour market processes, is developed. The solution path logic of the simulation model is designed to provide normative commuting outcomes, given the spatial pattern of labour supply and demand, under a wide range of assumptions concerning labour market processes and choice-making behaviour of market participants. An explicit characterization of the labour market, based on the specification of an endogenous behavioural assumption set, defines a model version. Thus, the model may be used to test the ability of various behavioural constructs to explain empirical commuting patterns. The justification and internal logic underlying the development of a specific model version is presented. This version is based on the assumption that the decision by a worker to apply for a job is objectively rational, given that the market environment does not provide certainty as to the outcome of an application. It is shown that such choice behaviour is analogous to the game-theoretic mixed strategy solution to non-cooperative games under uncertainty. The algorithm of the operational model incorporating this approach is detailed. The model was tested on empirical commuting patterns derived from Vancouver Census data, and model results were compared with those obtained from a positive entropy-based model. Commuting predictions exhibited a level of accuracy comparable to that achieved by the calibrated entropy model. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

This thesis contributes to the literature on the choice of transport mode for commuting trips, with special focus on the difference between urban and rural commuting in Scotland. The thesis begins by giving an overview of discrete choice theory and some empirical models consistent with this theory, before reviewing the literature on empirical applications of mode choice models for commuting trips. In the following, multinomial, nested and mixed logit models using data from a survey of commuters in the University of St Andrews are developed. The models are used to estimate aggregate mode-choice elasticities that can assist the development of efficient car reduction policies in St Andrews and other small towns in rural areas. The direct elasticities of the car mode are found to be comparable to estimates reported in studies of urban commuting, while the demand for public transport is found to be considerably more elastic. The value of in-vehicle travel time is found to be lower than in most studies of urban commuting, reflecting that the roads in the St Andrews area are relatively uncongested. Subsequently, current car drivers' willingness to use a Park and Ride service prior to the implementation of such a service are examined. The results show that the modal shift away from parking on-site will be small unless the new service is accompanied by measures aimed at making parking on-site less attractive such as introducing parking charges. Finally, the effect of the 'compact city' on modal split and congestion are examined. As well as making urban transport more sustainable as a result of an increase in the use of public transport, making cities more compact is found to contribute to lower levels of congestion in urban areas through a reduction in complex trip chains.

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Philosophy