Household-mode choice and residential-rent distribution in a metropolitan area with surface road and rail transit networks

The authors formulate a model integrating households' residential-mode choi ce and residential distribution in a metropolitan area with surface streets and rail transit networks. The model was constructed to describe transport ation-residential land-use interaction by means of continuous analytical ap proaches and mathematical programming methods. Heterogeneity among resident ial sites and households is also considered, to alleviate aggregation bias. The model is formulated to minimize the sum of households' generalized tra vel costs and Tent costs under user equilibrium by incorporating flow-conge stion effects and the bid-rent effects of different income households. Deci sion variables include the number of households and flow intensity at each residential site, and the number of transferring passengers at each rail tr ansit station. In addition, the generalized travel cost, households' reside ntial distribution, and rent-cost distribution in a metropolitan area are a nalyzed to explore the benefits of rail transit lines. The results reveal t hat, upon completion of rail transit networks, savings in travel time from each residential site to the central business district are more marked for longer commuting distances. Moreover, rent costs are, as expected, higher i n areas along rail-transit lines.