Car purchase after childbirth: exploring the impact of public transport accessibility

Keywords: mobility biographies, car ownership, transport justice
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Research shows that the event of childbirth, and entering parenthood, tends to increase car ownership. This in turn can have long-term impacts on car use. Additional insights from mobility research and theory suggests that new parents can develop a car-dependent way of living that runs counter to prevailing climate policies.

In this context, the current study investigates the influence of public transport accessibility on car ownership among first-time parents in the Oslo region. Specific attention is paid to the varying effect of accessibility among households with high and low income. Linear probability and fixed-effects models are applied among parents and a control group of non-parents to uncover the causal relationship between these factors .

The results show that access to high-quality public transport reduces the likelihood of car ownership in the years after family-formation. However, the influence of public transport accessibility varies substantially with income level. Households with high income are able to combine car ownership with high access, whereas low- and middle-income households have to sacrifice one for the other.

These findings have several policy implications. First, urban regions with a combination of gentrification in the central city and social filtering in the suburbs face a potential conflict between environmental and social sustainability. Finding ways to increase central-city opportunities for low- and medium-income families is an important step towards greater overall sustainability. Second increasing public transport accessibility might not be sufficient in relation to high-income households. Reduction of car ownership for this group appears to require supplementary measures.