How does public transit serve post-secondary students in Toronto? A utility-based analysis of accessibility by transit for non-mandatory trips

Post-secondary students are a segment of the population whose activity-travel behaviour is not well understood. In particular, there is a relative dearth of studies that have examined the determinants of behaviours related to participation in out-of-home activities among post-secondary students. This study uses data from a web-based survey administered to students attending universities in Toronto to examine the determinants of the location choice decisions of these individuals when using transit to participate in non-mandatory activities. Additionally, count- and utility-based measures of accessibility by transit for university students in Toronto are calculated and compared. The specification of the location choice model offers insights into the determinants of location choice decisions made by university students for non-mandatory trips. The results highlight the impacts of transit level-of-service and land use attributes on location choice decisions. Moreover, the findings suggest that the impacts of these attributes can differ based on socio-demographic characteristics. The comparison of count- and utility-based accessibility measures underscores the shortcomings of the former, which stem from the treatment of all opportunities as equally attractive. The results of this study aim to contribute to the literature by offering insights into an aspect of the activity-travel behaviour of post-secondary students that has received relatively little attention. Similarly, the results of the study can be used to help inform planning decisions by shedding light on the activity-travel behaviour of a segment of the population that has typically been underrepresented in traditional household travel surveys.