Integrating road carrying capacity and traffic congestion into the excess commuting framework: The case of Los Angeles

Abstract

The excess commuting framework has advanced a series of metrics through which a city or a region’s jobs-housing balance and commuting efficiency can be measured. This study seeks to add to the conceptual development and extension of the excess commuting framework. Specifically, it considers the carrying capacity (of links) and related congestion issues in the excess commuting framework and demonstrates that overlooking these characteristics has important implications for excess commuting metrics. Drawing on an empirical case study, it shows that when carrying capacity and traffic congestion are accounted for, the observed commute is longer than otherwise. Excess commuting tends to be higher than its counterparts in previous excess commuting studies. The findings suggest that future excess commuting studies should take account of carrying capacity and congestion in determining excess commuting metrics. Moreover, high-quality connections (preferably via public transport) between jobs and housing allied with sufficient carrying capacity of popular links/routes for commuters are crucial preconditions for cities and regions to harvest the full benefits of jobs-housing balance policies targeted at the reduction of the average commute distance and vehicle miles travelled.