Exploring the relationship between past and present activity and travel behaviours following residential relocation. A case study from Kunming, China

Residents' activity-related travel patterns are not only based on short-term decisions but also impacted by long-term factors, such as attitudes and past behaviours that have developed in people's daily lives. This study examines the impacts of service facility accessibility, past behaviours and travel attitudes on activity-related travel patterns among relocated residents from the urban centre of Kunming, China to a suburb. This study applied path analysis modelling to explore the influencing mechanisms of activity-related travel behaviours after relocation. The results showed that residential relocation led to a reduction in commuting time, whereas it was not found to have significant effects on car use for commuting. As for non-working activities and related car use, for activities, travel attitudes and past behaviours had a more positive effect on the frequency of shopping and social network activities than on the effects of service facility accessibility. Car use for these activities tends to be for trips of social network activity. Shopping activities may be replaced by online shopping, and derived trips also reduced. The study contributes to the literature on residential relocation and travel behaviours and to the connection between past behaviours and attitudes and travel behaviours.