The journey to work in Barcelona and its surroundings

Abstract

The journey to work represents a very important part of daily urban mobility; it depends on both personal characteristics of every worker and spatial distribution of urban activities such as housing, work, services, and leisure. Distance, time, and mode of transportation involved in the trip from home to work differs according to sex, but the reasons for such differences are not yet clear. Based on data drawn from a home interview conducted in 1981, this article analyses the journey to work in the Conurbation of Barcelona. Similarly to other metropolitan areas in developped countries, women have shorter worktrips and rely more than men on the use of public transit and on foot modes of transportation. The level of household responsibilities is, as shown in previous research, a reason for women's smaller participation in the paid labor force. However, there is no conclusive answer supporting any relationship between household responsibilities and women's shorter worktrips.