Chapter 1/1

Chapter 1

Introduction and Study Overview

INTRODUCTION

The United States is the most mobile society in the world, with the automobile being the

most common form of transportation and the trip to work the most important daily journey made

by most people. Nevertheless, access to automobile transportation among various segments of the

workforce differs widely. Many trends have changed the composition of the workforce and,

consequently, the journey to work in the decades between 1960 and 1990. For example, although

a slight majority of workers still commute to central cities, the relocation and growth of

workplaces in the suburbs and outside the metropolitan areas have impacted on travel patterns.

Another trend with implications for transportation planning is the growth in the number of parttime workers and the self-employed. To the extent that part-time workers include economically

disadvantaged workers, there is a need to understand the characteristics of these workers,

including the occupations and industries in which they are employed, as well as their current

worktrip commuting patterns.

Purpose of the Study

This is a study of part-time workers and their worktrip behavior. It identifies the groups

most likely to work part-time and highlights significant demographic, economic, and

transportation differences among these workers and their full-time counterparts. This study pays

particular attention to the availability of automobiles to part-time workers and the extent of their

use as a commuting mode.
Chapter 1/2

Knowing the facts about part-time workers’ commuting behavior is essential if we are to

understand how specific transportation policies may impact this segment of the workforce. The

shift of the U.S. economy from manufacturing to service industries which employs a large

proportion of part-time workers, has important implications for transportation policies related to

automobile use.

 The flexibility afforded by the automobile makes it uniquely suited to part-time workers

given their non-standard hours. While automobile use is almost universal among these workers,

certain groups within this population experience barriers to access. This study should be valuable

therefore to transportation planners at every level of government, who need detailed information

identifying these barriers in order to match available services to the needs of the population.

The new welfare program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), requires

large numbers of people to enter the workforce, and, federal, state, and local planners may

therefore be interested in new initiatives to ensure that these former welfare recipients have access

to the transportation they need to have to take advantage of job opportunities. This study will

prove valuable to these policymakers as it provides insights into the work related transportation

barriers experienced by the low-income population.

Organization of the Report

This report features three main areas of analysis: (1) a literature review of the subject of

part-time workers and their journey to work; (2) identification of the segments of the population

most likely to work part time; and (3) an analysis of transportation access and the worktrip of

part-time workers.
Chapter 1/3

In Chapter 2, we review the literature regarding both part-time workers and the journey to

work. We found no specific studies involving part-time workers and their journey to work and,

therefore, focused our report on this significant gap in the research. 

In Chapter 3, we identify four groups of workers who dominate the part-time

workforce— teenagers, women, seniors, and the elderly— and analyze the occupational and

income differences among those groups and full-time workers.

In Chapter 4, we analyze the worktrip behavior of part-time workers, placing emphasis on

the transportation barriers they encounter. We examine most particularly their access to

automobiles for their journey to work.

Finally, in Chapter 5, we provide some of the key findings that emerged from the study

and discuss the most important questions and implications for transportation policy. 

Presented below are some of the key findings of the study. These findings are discussed in

greater detail within the report.

Key Findings

This study makes numerous detailed comparisons between various segments of the parttime workforce as well as between part-time and full-time workers as well as their worktrip

behavior. A few comparisons worth highlighting follow.

! There are 22.7 million part-time workers in the United States, of whom 14.6 million are

women (64 percent) and 8.1 million are men. In 1990, there were 3.9 million teenagers

working part-time, 1.1 million senior citizens between the age of 60 and 64, and 3

million elderly workers over 65 years old.
Chapter 1/4

! The number of female part-time workers increased by 17 percent between 1980 and 1990.

The proportion of females in part-time work was 19 points higher than their proportion in

the general workforce.

! Fifty-nine percent of married women and 13 percent of unmarried women who work parttime have children (under 18 years old) at home.

! Part-time workers were employed an average of 21 hours a week. 

! Services, sales, and labor accounted for 4 out of every 10 part-time jobs, compared to 2

out of every 10 full-time jobs.

! In 1990, 4 out of every 10 part-time workers lived in households with annual incomes of

less than $30,000. Minority part-time workers were more likely to live in such households,

than were their white counterparts.

! Automobile availability was similar for part-time and full-time workers. Only 5 percent of

part-time workers and 4 percent of full-time workers live in households with no private

automobile. Part-time workers in low-income households were more likely than other

part-time workers to have no automobile available.

! Across all levels of personal income, black part-time workers represent the largest

proportion of workers in households with no automobile.

! The proportions of people who carpooled or drove alone to work differed little between

the part-time and the full-time working populations. Public transit, walking, and cycling

were more important commuting options for part-time workers than for full-time workers,

but the percent of both groups using each of these options was less than 10 percent.
Chapter 1/5

! Unmarried women with children under age 18 used the automobile in their work trip at a

lower proportion than their married counterparts.

! Many part-time workers start their commute at times when public transit may not be a

viable option. Only 2 out of 5 part-time workers depart for work between 6 a.m. and 8:29

a.m, compared to 2 out of 3 full-time workers. Part-time workers were three times more

likely than full-time workers to depart for work after 12 noon.

! More than half of all women working part-time in professional occupations depart for

work between 6 a.m. and 8:29 a.m., compared to 29 percent of those in sales occupations.

Data and Definitions

The data used in this study is derived from the Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) of

the 1990 Census of Population and Housing. The PUMS contains records representing 5 percent

of the housing units and the persons in them as well as the full range of population and housing

information collected in the 1990 Census (including 500 occupational variables). The PUMS data

on labor force status and the journey to work were related to the reference week, which was the

calendar week preceding the date on which the respondents completed their questionnaires or

were interviewed by enumerators. Table 1.1 provides a definition of some of the key variables

used in the analysis.
Chapter 1/6

Table 1.1 Definition of Key Variables

 Variables Definitions

Employment Status

Hours Worked per week Those who worked 35 or more hours each week were

Household Type

Household housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group

Income

Household Income Household income includes the income of the householder and

Journey to Work

Mode of Transportation This refers to the principal mode of travel or type of

Private Vehicle Occupancy Private vehicle occupancy refers to the number of persons who

Departure Time Time of day a person usually left for work.

Commuting Time Time it took to get from home to work. The elapsed time

classified as full-time and workers reporting 1 to 34 hours were

classified as working part-time.

A household includes all persons who occupy a housing unit. A

of rooms, or a single room that is occupied as separate living

quarters.

all other persons ages 15 and older in the household, whether

related to the householder or not.

conveyance that the person usually used to get from home to

work.

usually rode to work in the same vehicle. Those who drove

alone included persons who usually drove alone to work as well

as those who were driven to work by someone who then drove

back home or to a nonwork destination. 

includes the time spent waiting for public transportation,

picking up passengers in carpools, and engaging in other

activities related to getting to work.