Long-term and Mid-term Mobility During the Life Course Sigrun Beige Travel Survey Metadata Series 28 January 2013 Travel Survey Metadata Series Long-term and Mid-term Mobility During the Life Course Sigrun Beige IVT, ETH Zürich ETH Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich January 2013 Abstract Long-term and mid-term mobility of people involves on the one hand decisions about their residential locations and the corresponding moves. At the same time the places of education and employment play an important role. On the other hand the ownership of mobility tools, such as cars and different public transport season tickets are complementary elements in this process, which also bind substantial resources. These two aspects of mobility behaviour are closely connected to one another. A longitudinal perspective on these relationships is available from people's life courses, which link different dimensions of life together. Besides the personal and familial history locations of residence, education and employment as well as the ownership of mobility tools can be taken into account. In order to study the dynamics of long-term and mid- term mobility a retrospective survey covering the 20 year period from 1985 to 2004 was carried out in the year 2005 in a stratified sample of municipalities in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Keywords Long-term and mid-term mobility during the life course Preferred citation style S. Beige (2013) Long-term and mid-term mobility during the life course , Travel Survey Metadata Series, 28, Institute for Transport Planning and Systems (IVT); ETH Zürich Beige, S. und K. W. Axhausen (2006) Residence locations and mobility tool ownership during the life course: Results from a retrospective survey in Switzerland, paper presented at the European Transport Conference, Strasbourg, October 2006. Beige, S. and K. W. Axhausen (2006) Long -term mobility decisions during the life course: Experiences with a retrospective survey, paper presented at the 11th International Conference on Travel Behaviour Research, Kyoto, August 2006. Beige, S. (2006) Long-term mobility decisions in the life course, paper presented at the 6th Swiss Transport Research Conference, Ascona, March 2006. Beige, S. und K. W. Axhausen (2005) Feldbericht der Befragung zur langfristigen räumlichen Mobilität, Arbeitsberichte Verkehrs - und Raumplanung, 315, IVT, ETH Zürich, Zürich. 1.0 Document Description Citation Title: Long-term and mid-term mobility during the life course Subtitle: A retrospective survey Identification ZUK Number: Authoring Entity: Sigrun Beige (IVT, ETH Zurich) Other identifications and Prof. Kay W. Axhausen acknowledgements: Producer: Institute for Transport Planning and Systems Copyright: Institute for Transport Planning and Systems Date of Production: 2005-04-01 Software used in Nesstar Hierarchy Builder Production: 2.0 Study Description Citation Title: Long-term and mid-term mobility during the life course Subtitle: A retrospective survey Identification ZUK Number: Authoring Entity: Sigrun Beige (IVT, ETH Zurich) Other identifications and Prof. Kay W. Axhausen acknowledgements: Producer: Institute for Transport Planning and Systems Date of Production: 2005-04-01 Software used in Nesstar Hierarchy Builder Production: Funding Institute for Transport Planning and Systems Agency/Sponsor: Grant Number: ZUK Distributor: Institute for Transport Planning and Systems Access Authority: Prof. Kay W. Axhausen Study Scope Long-term and mid-term mobility during the life course , Residential Keywords: mobility , Ownership of mobility tools , Retrospective survey , Life course calendar Topic Retrospective survey on long-term and mid-term mobility decisions Classification: during the life course Long-term and mid-term mobility of people involves on the one hand decisions about their residential locations and the corresponding moves. At the same time the places of education and employment play an important role. On the other hand the ownership of mobility tools, such as cars and different public transport season tickets are complementary elements in this process, which also bind substantial resources. These two aspects of mobility behaviour are closely connected to one another. A longitudinal perspective on these Abstract: relationships is available from people's life courses, which link different dimensions of life together. Besides the personal and familial history locations of residence, education and employment as well as the ownership of mobility tools can be taken into account. In order to study the dynamics of long-term and mid-term mobility a retrospective survey covering the 20 year period from 1985 to 2004 was carried out in the year 2005 in a stratified sample of municipalities in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Time Period: -- Date of Collection: -- Country: Switzerland The survey is carried out in a stratified sample of municipalities in Geographic the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. These municipalities are Coverage: Bassersdorf, Bülach, Dietlikon, Dübendorf, Horgen, Kloten, Rümlang, Wallisellen, Wangen-Brüttisellen, Winterthur and Zurich. Geographic Unit(s): Municipalities Unit of Analysis: Households Persons All households in the stratified sample of municipalities in the Canton Zurich, Switzerland. Predominantly households that moved within the last five years are sampled, including movers within the Universe: municipalities as well as arriving and departing residents. Therefore, about one fourth of the sampled households live in other Swiss municipalities. Methodology and Processing Retrospective Survey for the 20 year period from 1985 to 2004 Time Method: Pretest: 10-2004 Main survey: from 01-2005 to 03-2005 Data Collector: Sigrun Beige Predominantly households that moved within the last five years are Sampling sampled, including movers within the municipalities as well as Procedure: arriving and departing residents. Therefore, about one fourth of the sampled households live in other Swiss municipalities. The survey was carried out by means of a self-completion written questionnaire which was tested for operability, comprehensibility and acceptance beforehand. The questionnaire consists of two parts, a household form and a person form. The household form asks for the current address, a short description of all persons living in the household and the household income. In the person form socio- demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents are collected. The essential part of this form is a multidimensional life course calendar for the years from 1985 to 2004. Such a calendar was used previously in life course research to retrospectively record family, education and employment histories as well as courses of disease. A life course calendar is based on a complete visual reconstruction of the past. So a plain and compressed picture of the respondents' own life comprising several dimensions is developed which is also interesting and motivating for them to recover. Linking the various aspects together supports their recollection as associations are formed. At the same time, the graphic representation of the life course increases the quality and accuracy of the data since inconsistencies in the timing of events between different dimensions become easier to detect. Furthermore, the life course calendar permits a comfortable handling of the complexity of the information Mode of Data and a rather straightforward recording of relatively detailed Collection: sequences of events in comparison to the conventional question- response format. Besides it is a very flexible survey instrument. The calendar itself is a matrix with a horizontal time axis for the observed time period from 1985 to 2004 with semi-annual precision. The six- month-intervals are chosen because this time unit is small enough to ascertain the sequence and relation of events. But at the same time, it is necessary to consider the amount of detail as well as accuracy and time distinctiveness with which respondents are able to remember. Specifications on a semi-annual basis are feasible without larger difficulties. Along the other axis of the calendar the different items of the retrospective survey are arranged vertically. For the 20 year period information about important events of the personal and familial history, such as the move out of the parents' house, marriages, divorces, births, deaths and retirements, is collected. These events are more readily remembered and, therefore, are able to provide important reference points for the timing of other events. In addition, the household size and type are surveyed. Another dimension covers the moves and corresponding places of residence asking for the address, size and costs of the accommodation. Furthermore, the respondents are asked to indicate their changing ownership of cars and different public transport season tickets, such as national annual tickets, regional annual and monthly tickets and half-fare discount tickets. Data on the places of education and employment, on the main mode of transport for the commuting trip as well as on the personal income is also collected for the period from 1985 to 2004. Respondents are asked to enter in each case the duration by marking the beginning and the end. A line provides a record in a simple dichotomy and in parts a state (kind of event, places of residence, education and employment) needs to be specified. For better comprehension and understanding an example of an already filled in life course calendar is included in the questionnaire. Type of Research Self-completion