It is not how far you go, it is whether you can get there: modeling the effects of mobility on quality of life in rural New England

• Published in: Journal of transport geography 2013-07, Vol.31, p.113-122
• Main Authors: Kolodinsky, Jane M., DeSisto, Thomas Patrick, Propen, David, Putnam, Matthew E., Roche, Erin, Sawyer, William R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate; Climatology; Demand; Geography; Mathematical analysis; Mobility; Quality of life (QOL); Rural; Rural transportation; Structural equation modeling (SEM); Transportation; Weather
• ISSN: 0966-6923; 1873-1236
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.05.011

•The number of trips made does not affect QOL. Policies promoting trip making may be misguided.•Unserved travel demand, although not common, strongly and negatively affects QOL.•A sense of community and feeling safe in a community positively affects QOL.•A sense of community and feeling safe in a community decreases unserved travel demand.•Lack of access to grocery stores indirectly affects QOL through increased unserved travel demand. Many northern rural areas in the United States present particular challenges to providing year-round transportation options for residents. Climate and the distribution of population and amenities present challenges to developing rural mobility systems that may result in a higher quality of life. Using structural equation modeling and a 2009 survey of residents of Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, this study estimated how the availability of built amenities, natural amenities, weather and attitudes toward travel explain actual and unserved travel demand and subsequently quality of life. The presence of unserved travel demand significantly decreased quality of life, while the predicted number of trips taken had no impact. With regard to quality of life in northern rural climates, future mobility initiatives would have more impact by addressing trips not taken as measured by unserved travel demand, instead of number of trips or vehicle miles traveled.