Browsing by Author "Klein, Nicholas J."

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    Get on the (curbside) bus: The new intercity bus
    (Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2015) Klein, Nicholas J.
    Curbside buses are intercity buses that pick up and drop off on city streets and corners instead of bus terminals. These new buses have only been operating for 15 years but have quickly revitalized and transformed the intercity bus industry, leading to the first increases in ridership in 50 years. Using a passenger intercept survey of both curbside and established carriers, such as Greyhound, I address two basic questions about this new mode: Who uses curbside buses? And what is the effect of curbside buses on competing modes? The findings indicate that curbside buses appear to be attracting different passengers than established carriers. After using curbside buses, passengers are less likely to use Amtrak for intercity trips, but the buses have no effect on their likelihood to drive.
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    Life events, poverty, and car ownership in the United States: A mobility biography approach
    (Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2019) Klein, Nicholas J.; Smart, Michael J.
    What causes families to buy or give up a car in the U.S.? Following the mobility biography approach, we use a nationally representative panel data set, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), to examine the role of life events and changes in the built environment and compare the effect that these events have on changes in car ownership. We find that coupling, graduating from college, and the birth or adoption of a child all are associated with increases in car ownership, while breaking up is associated with decreases in car ownership. Moving to or away from transit-rich, dense, walkable neighborhoods matters but only when one moves to a very different type of neighborhood. We also find that life events have a stronger association with gaining a car for non-poor families than for families in poverty. Life events are windows of opportunity when families reevaluate their travel patterns. Interventions at these critical junctures could be an expedient way to decrease car ownership and its attendant problems, especially when combined with improving alternatives to the automobile.